“Eschewing the traditional compulsion to cover the entirety of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in a single term, John Kaltner has crafted an introductory textbook that works from the principle that “less is more.”  By limiting his attention to six key themes—creation, covenant, liberation, being human, “the other,” and social justice—and tracing them through the canon and beyond, Kaltner deftly exposes first-time readers to both the central ideas and major interpretive questions surrounding the biblical text.  Breezy and readable, the book should prove useful to instructors who are looking for ways to make the academic study of the Hebrew Bible more accessible to introductory students.”