In this important and groundbreaking book Jin Han expounds the significance of the social function of apocalyptic language as pedagogy for an oppressed people. He demonstrates the central place which the apocalyptic texts have in Second Temple Judaism as epistemological transforming texts, in which dreams of another world are crucial for maintaining hope, by forming an alternative outlook on the world. -- Christopher Rowland, Dean Ireland Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford A brief summary of the main thrust of Han's work does not do justice to the sophistication and broad range of the interdisciplinary scholarship that Han brings to bear on his basic argument. * Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Spring 2009 * Han's book probes the complexities of Daniel and its larger apocalyptic environment with great acumen and presents his results in compelling fashion. Readers will find that reading and writing are topics of large significance in understanding apocalyptic. Both an introduction to apocalyptic and an exploration of Daniel as an example, this book is written in a "language" that opens up both subjects with clarity and depth. The result for the reader is a new literacy in things and language apocalyptic. The book is powerfully theological and in touch with the issues of contemporary life about how we may think and believe in situations of hopeless adversity. -- Patrick D. Miller, Professor of Old Testament Theology Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary