ARA Review by mjcarlozzi40 of The Biblical Clock

[mjcarlozzi40]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Biblical Clock.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Biblical Clock by Daniel Sheldon / Friedmann is a well written book with thought provoking material, beliefs, and predictions. This review does not judge the religious beliefs held by Sheldon / Friedmann, but sticks to the book’s material as presented.


Let me first tell that I purchased this as an audiobook. After the first hour, it was clear that the material covered in The Biblical Clock would require several visits to previous paragraphs. I was not impressed by the audio version and decided to purchase the book. The ability to look back at previous chapters helped tremendously in connecting some of Sheldon / Friedmann’s complex conjectures.


The book is divided loosely into three subjects. The first third lists out the various men & women, throughout history, whose experiences helped formulate the foundation of Sheldon / Friedmann’s calculations. Significant credit must be given here. Some of the details were dry, but Sheldon / Friedmann does an incredible job keeping the reader engaged during this segment.


The middle third of the book develops the plot of The Biblical Clock. This is the meat and potatoes of the book and the portion I found most fascinating. Having not read Sheldon / Friedmann’s previous books or verifying any of the details he lists to support his hypothesis, I found his suggestions interesting and thought provoking. Certainly, people much smarter than I can debate with Mr. Sheldon / Friedmann the accuracy of his suggestions.


Like I mentioned before, the material covered in this short read is dry and based on science, math, and historical data. Yet again, Sheldon / Friedmann does a fantastic job describing his vision in ways the non-scientific mind may understand.


The last portion of the book was focused on bringing the previous two portions together. Frankly, I did not enjoy this portion and found myself wanting to be done with the book. Sheldon / Friedmann’s style seemingly changed, jumping frantically from one hypothesis to another. His attempt to ease the reader into his opinion by introducing fictional stories to convey the narrative falls short. The final pages of The Biblical Clock do little to summarize Sheldon / Friedmann’s argument, further distancing the reader from grasping his perspective.


In spite of several shortcomings, The Biblical Clock is a good, short, read. It’s well written and engaging throughout most of the book. I rated The Biblical Clock a 4 out of 5.


The primary reason for not giving a five star was the last section of the book. As I detailed above, Sheldon / Friedmann’s style changed. I did not feel Sheldon / Friedmann pushed his religious or political beliefs on the reader, a remarkable feat considering the point of the book.
While not necessary, it might be worth the readers time to read Sheldon / Friedmann’s previously published books to gain a better insight to The Biblical Clock. While I am not a religious scholar, my own religious background helped understand many of Sheldon / Friedmann’s points in during the first half of the book.


The same premise does not necessarily apply to the scientific points made during the novel. Sheldon / Friedmann does a superb job explaining and correlating scientific events, like the Big Bang, to the religious occurrences throughout history.


Do I recommend The Biblical Clock? Yes. Grab the paperback version and spend a rainy afternoon navigating the complex theories Sheldon / Friedmann has pasted together in a remarkably, well-written story.

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