"…the author presents the various arguments of the people involved in this debate. He gives the views of evangelical scholars who believe in the trustworthiness of the biblical text, the views of those who present a minimalist or revisionist view of the text, and the views of those who are in between. In the end, he presents his own views and conclusions in light of the biblical and archaeological evidence. Hawkins recognizes the merits of the biblical text without rejecting the evidence provided by the archaeological data...the book contains many black and white pictures, a list of the archaeological periods, the names of all the pharaohs of the Eighteenth and the Nineteenth Dynasties, several charts, and a Glossary that explains many of the terms used in the book. <em>How Israel Became a People</em> is a book worth reading. Those who do so will gain a wealth of information about early Israel." <br />--Claude Mariottini, Professor of Old Testament, Northern Baptist Seminary