I'm surprised I have not seen it mentioned yet, so I'll add Thomas Friedman's "Who Wrote The Bible?" to the list. The Bible is an utterly fascinating history lesson, if you don't take it as the inerrant word of God. Where the stories came from, who brought them together, how they got edited and modified over the centuries... Friedman really makes it into a great detective story! It's a page-turner, and not academically dry or boring at all. The one caveat is that he takes his conclusions a bit further than the evidence currently supports. Even to the point of naming an individual editor, through a series of logical leaps that are just not supported by the data. However, big picture, this is a great read, and a really excellent tool for understanding why the Bible is so weird, and what those little details can tell us, if we look closely. Great book. Withstands multiple readings, as well.