"Brimming with thoughtful insights and gentle wisdom, Bill Countryman's Interpreting the Truth critiques the current narrowing of biblical interpretation to a fragmented conversation between like-minded specialists by focussing attention on the social practice of interpretation. For him, interpretation as social practice requires a creative and dynamic interaction among three essential elements: the interpreter, the text, and the community for whom the text is being interpreted. Countryman insists on the real complexity of this process of interpretation, if it is to reflect the complexity of human cultures past and present. His laudable aim is to re-direct the work of biblical scholars to the faith communities and other interested publics who stand in need of their contributions. This book is a "must-read" for biblical interpreters and everyone for whom such work on the Bible is important." Professor Mary Ann Tolbert, George H. Atkinson Professor of Biblical Studies, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA--Sanford Lakoff