The Land and the Book is an illustrative description of the Holy Land with direct references to Biblical passages. It is designed for general and popular reading, rather than for the professional, and therefore it has been deemed necessary to avoid dry textual exposition. To make the book more readable, the author has adopted a modified form of dialogue, but without introducing fictional characters. This literary device is used to segue between topics. Written by the author while he lived in the lands described, the book evinces the feeling of sharing the journey with the author, giving impressions of mountain-top views and lake-side reflections. The pictorial illustrations have been prepared with much care and are beautifully executed. They add greatly not only to the interest, but also to the real value of the work. Many of them are original, and others selected from the best existing sources, and several were drawn by the author’s son, W. H. Thomson. The maps have been compiled and drawn with exclusive reference to the present work, and embody the valuable results of geographical explorations in the Holy Land of the period. The indices assist the reader in finding Scripture passages on which the texts and illustrations may have a bearing.

William McClure Thomson (1806-1894) was a Presbyterian clergyman and missionary. Educated at Miami University, Ohio, and Princeton Theological Seminary, he was sent as a missionary to Syria and Palestine on two tours of duty. This present work was the direct result of his reflections during these tours.