I ended up listening to most of this book on Audible, which was very handy but took some getting used to. I found it to be interesting and educational, although a little slow at times. It made up for that with the more interesting bits however.

We read it as part of a Bible study, and I confess that, especially as I was usually driving, I did not often pull out my Bible to refer to the various passages. I still learned lots of new words, expressions, backstories, etc., and context and philosophy related to some of our country's more common forms of Christianity.

In many cases I think Hamilton was speaking to a more conservative audience, trying to put various Biblical or cultural concepts into a wider or more historical context to enable a more sane and rational approach to Scripture. In general, I already agreed with the points he was making, although I had not been familiar with the details, so it was very helpful.

A few years ago I read (and very much enjoyed) Stephen Prothero's Religious Literacy, and this seemed similarly illuminating.