Filled with inter­est­ing full-col­or pho­tographs, recon­struc­tion draw­ings, and charts accom­pa­nied by excel­lent descrip­tions, this is a use­ful sur­vey of the his­to­ry of the Tem­ple Mount, by the founder and edi­tor of Bib­li­cal Archae­ol­o­gy Review. With a journalist’s eye for what is inter­est­ing, Shanks takes the read­er back­ward through the his­to­ry of the area, from the cur­rent state to its ear­ly peri­od. The book is replete with archae­o­log­i­cal details, his­to­ry and leg­ends, inscrip­tions, chang­ing inter­pre­ta­tions, and even dis­cus­sions of forg­eries. One learns of the var­i­ous rival, over­lap­ping, and flu­id claims of Mus­lims, Chris­tians, and Jews, while fol­low­ing how the archae­o­log­i­cal details illu­mi­nate the var­i­ous his­tor­i­cal devel­op­ments in clear, con­cise lan­guage geared to the non­spe­cial­ist. Index.