The Christmas Story

The finely detailed photographs depict a resplendent cast of characters: the Three Kings, the Shepherds, the Lady on the Camel and the Lady on the Elephant, and a throng of travelers and townspeople and animals who have come to view the Christ Child in the manger. A book that glows with the glory of Christmas, this gilded treasure makes an incomparable holiday gift for the entire family.

This is an elegantly bound book, with spectacular photos of the 18th century crib created by the leading artists of the then Kingdom of Naples. This small book will make an excellent stocking stuffer. The Photographer, Elliot Erwitt, has done a wonderful job of catching all the miniature details of the multitude of figurines used in the crib (or creche, as the book calls it).

Although you are told that the figures are "...no more than twenty inches high", it is not until you reach the last photo of the book, displaying the creche on a table top, that you fully realize how small the entire scene is. Then, you begin to get an inkling of the amount of work the photographer has done to capture the exquisite beauty of each tiny piece.

For me, the overall book is marred by the choice of Gospel texts from the King James Version. For members of the largest Christian church in the United States, the King James Version is not acceptable. Further, the King James Version has blatant errors, such as (see page 19 in this tiny book), Luke 2.13,14, which reads, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men". Various Protestant bible societies have come around to, ".. peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests" This is close enough to the Douay-Rheims, "...peace on earth to men of good will". So, five stars for the excellent photography, one star for the choice of bible version, yields an average of three stars.