I keep meaning to recommend James Kugel's How To Read the Bible, which is very good. Some of its utility is simply in reminding you of history you've long forgotten. I was amused to wander through the story of Cyrus the Great, the emperor of Persia, who freed the Jews from the Babylonian captivity and allowed, and encouraged, them to return to Jerusalem. He was the world's first, and most effective, Zionist -- in addition to the man who united what we think of as Iran. Take that, Ahmadinejad!
