Booker continues the story he began in his earlier The First Book of David, retelling the life of one of the Bible's most famous and storied figures, King David, who began his life as a humble shepherd boy, shot to fame as the slayer of the Philistine giant Goliath, and eventually entered the court of savage-tempered King Saul. The Second Book of David takes up the story of David at the height of his kingly power, and in a winning formula Booker uses here again, that story is told not from an omniscient viewpoint or from David's own but rather from viewpoints of the people in David's life - the famous Bathsheba, the Prophet Nathan, King Saul's concubine Rizpah and others. These others hardly form a divine chorus; instead, they're a delightfully earthy bunch, and Booker's narrative bubbles with their passions, their various senses of humor, their often conflicting impressions, and a good deal of lightly-done homespun wisdom. Each of the tale-tellers has a delightfully distinct voice, and they all combine to provide a convincingly weathered portrait of King David the fallible, grandiose, utterly fascinating central figure here. This jaunty and insightful dramatization of David's familiar life is highly recommended