Hottest NT Books at SBL

Though we are, of course, in an economic downturn, I was surprised that the book hall at SBL was teeming with life.  Though many publishers had downsized (in space and number of books), books were being snatched up quickly.  I will report my ‘picks’ from SBL soon, but I thought I might start off by discussing the “hottest” books.  These books, from what I could see, sold well, sold quickly, and sold out.  Now, it may have helped that a couple of these had review sessions at SBL, but I think they would have done well either way.  Also, being a “Paul” guy, primarily, I wasn’t paying close attention to Gospels books, but one makes the list.

After the First Urban Christians (eds. Todd Still, David Horrell, and Bruce Longenecker; Continuum) – a reassessment of Wayne Meeks’ classic, a quarter-century later.  The contributors are largely UK professors and lecturers, but experts nonetheless.  If memory serves me correctly, Meeks does offer a final essay in reflection of his work on this subject.

The Historical Jesus: Five Views (eds. J.K. Beilby and P. Eddy; IVP).  I have mentioned this book before, but it contains the views of Robert Price, John D. Crossan, Luke Timothy Johnson, Darrell Bock, and James Dunn.  Having read a bit about it from the IVP blog, it sounds fascinating.  I noticed the pile of books thinning out over the conference.

If you have been living in a hole in the desert, I will probably need to inform you of Douglas Campbell’s Deliverance of God.  Just google it and you will probably see the kind of discussions and debates it has already raised.  I did see several people at SBL walking around with it, but it should come with wheels and a handle for ease of transport as it is massive.

Finally, while I did not get a sense for how well it sold, there was a lot of buzz about Dunn’s history of early Christianity which, I have no doubt, will become an instant classic.  In many ways, and I have said this before, this is a historical counterpart to his Pauline theology book – but, of course, this Christian origins piece includes much more.  It should have been out at SBL last year, but just missed it by a couple of months.  So, had it been just off the presses this SBL, perhaps Eerdmans would have pushed it up higher on their advertising and promoting list.  Nevertheless, this book sells itself.  It is still in transit to me, as I shipped all my books when we moved back to the US.  When it arrives, I will get back into it.

Now that I think about it – my list has not leaned too far towards Paul books, though the authors of three of these are Pauline experts.  Nevertheless, I am sure I missed a book or two on Gospels, Acts, or the Catholic Epistles and Revelation.  Do others want to report on books that were flying off the shelves?  I don’t want to just buy into fads, but if folks are shelling out the bucks the buy books (and their wives/husbands are giving them permission to buy!), then it might help to know what people are investing in!  Do tell!

[NB: Kevin Hill pointed out that I had originally said “Hottest Books at SBL”, but I meant hottest NT books…  You OT folks can pitch in, though, as I would still like to know!]