The most influential story in Western cultural history, the biblical
account of Adam and Eve is now treated either as the sacred possession
of the faithful or as the butt of secular jokes. Here, acclaimed scholar
Stephen Greenblatt explores it with profound appreciation for its
cultural and psychological power as literature. From the birth of the
Hebrew Bible to the awe-inspiring contributions of Augustine, Dürer, and
Milton in bringing Adam and Eve to vivid life, Greenblatt unpacks the
story's many interpretations and consequences over time. Rich allegory,
vicious misogyny, deep moral insight, narrow literalism, and some of the
greatest triumphs of art and literature: all can be counted as children
of our "first" parents.