The simple yet grand language of the King James Bible has pervaded American culture from the beginning-and its powerful eloquence continues to be felt even today. In this book, acclaimed biblical translator and literary critic Robert Alter traces some of the fascinating ways that American novelists-from Melville, Hemingway, and Faulkner to Bellow, Marilynne Robinson, and Cormac McCarthy-have drawn on the rich stylistic resources of the canonical English Bible to fashion their own strongly res