The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve

In this "wonderfully rich, detailed, humorous, imaginative" (Wall Street Journal) exploration, Greenblatt reveals the passionate theological, artistic, and cultural investment over centuries in the story of Adam and Eve. He examines the decisive contributions of Augustine, Durer, and Milton to this mammoth project of collective creation as he reckons with the story's volatile progeny, both "good" and "evil" rich allegory, vicious misogyny, deep moral insight, narrow literalism, provocative questions and stubborn denials of scientific truth. And, of course, some of the greatest triumphs of art and literature.

Profoundly resonant and so very "real" to millions of people, Adam and Eve remain, in Greenblatt's view, a means for understanding "the difference between a lie and a story," and exploring the mythic heart of Western culture.