Back in 1944 Macmillan published The Bible and the Common Reader for which we prophesied ""Handled properly this is due for a wide sale"". How wide, few anticipated. The Psalms are probably the best loved and the best known part of the Bible. The historical background, presenting the evidence of the diversity of authorship, the broad span of time, may disturb the fundamentalists, but for most readers this section will be revealing and help put the psalms into proper perspective. One section of the book, briefly reviewing the history of the Jewish people, is of inestimable value; we feel it should come first instead of last- as the author herself suggests. But most deeply and reverently approached is the analysis of the psalms themselves, grouped for specific categories, and lovingly presented so that one goes back again and again to the groups of psalms selected or to ones own Bible for reading and rereading. A book to study- to own.