Gary Knoppers' new book in the Anchor Bible series dives into the often-overlooked Chronicles, highlighting its significance in understanding Israel's history. It explores the monarchy's role, questioning whether Saul was a hero or a failure, David a great leader or a villain, and if Solomon's reign was Israel's peak or the start of its decline. Chronicles offers unique insights into Israel's past, especially regarding the monarchy, portraying the Davidic-Solomonic era as a time of great achievement. This book, part of a two-volume set on I Chronicles, uses the Dead Sea Scrolls to reconstruct the biblical text, showing how Chronicles draws from earlier works and connects to historical writings from Mesopotamia and Greece.