Having established his abilities in the field of biblical research with publication of The Word of God, Pere Auzou again applies the most modern methods and terms to the very real drama of the Bible by presenting in The Formation of the Bible a history of the composition of the biblical writings from Genesis to the Apocalypse. The plan of this new book is determined by the history itself. The author begins his story with the dawning of the civilizations of the Near East, since these civilizations are the soil in which the formation of the Bible has its distant roots. Although Israel becomes the focal point of interest once it has acquired a historical identity, nevertheless, the countries that surround it ans the nations that are its contemporaries continue to be part of the environment in which Israel lives. Hence, they form part of its history.