The Hesterville Bible Trial

The Hesterville Bible Trial is a brilliant hybrid of fiction and non-fiction. While the story is fictional, the testimonies of the witnesses at the trial are drawn from the works of biblical and archaeological scholars. The full transcript of the trial appears as an appendix to the book.

The story begins when Adrian Taylor, a Manhattan attorney, sees televised reports about a white supremacist organization that rejects Judeo-Christian values and espouses a virulent neo-pagan philosophy. Adrian is horrified, but he does not think it will touch him personally. Until it does.

The town of Hesterville, Pennsylvania, becomes a flashpoint for the white supremacist movement. Two local businessman retain Adrian to fight a municipal ordinance forbidding the display of other flags on national holidays. Matters come to a head on the Fourth of July with a violent demonstration reminiscent of Charlottesville, and Adrian suffers a deep personal tragedy. Determined to strike back by discrediting the neo-pagan ideology, he takes on the case of a Brooklyn teacher fired for using the Old Testament as a historical resource in her sixth-grade class. The resulting trial is an epic battle that becomes a media sensation.

"Here's today's most novel novel, penned by a scholar gifted with all the flair and vigor of an ace novelist. The author's flowing and compellingly readable narrative carries the reader into a dramatic law-court confrontation. Old-style academic self-deception clashes with a modern-day array of tangible hard facts in a spirited battle for the Bible."

Dr. Kenneth A. Kitchen, University of Liverpool, Department of Archaeology