In his book, McGrath presents in great detail the history of the KJV, examining the technological, historical, linguistic, religious, and political developments that led to its production. He explains how Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the moveable-type printing press enabled the mass production of Bibles and how the rising prestige of the English language and the religious tumult of the Protestant Reformation led to the translation of the Bible--previously only available in Latin--into English. He discusses the rise to popularity of the Geneva Bible, an English translation of the Bible produced in Switzerland by English Protestant exiles during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I (1516-1558). He also describes the political and religious environment faced by King James as took the English throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). He discusses the Hampton Court Conference (1604), called by King James in an attempt to resolve the conflict between the Anglican establishment and the Puritans, who sought to reform the official Church of England. It was during the Hampton Court Conference that King James agreed to a proposal for a new English translation of the Bible, in part due to his desire to placate the Puritans and in part due to his desire to counter the popularity of the Geneva Bible, for which he had a particularly strong aversion (James was particularly incensed by the commentary included in the Geneva Bible, which had a strongly anti-monarchial flavor). McGrath goes on to explain how the translation process for the KJV was carried out, and discusses some of the issues involved in the translation of the KJV and in its first printings. He concludes by examining the role of the KJV in shaping modern English and how it came to be so widely acclaimed, viewed by many English-speaking Christians, even into the 20th century as the Word of God.
In writing about the complex and fascinating history of the KJV, McGrath fully displays his wide knowledge of a multitude of topics, including English history, the English language, and Christian theology. It is clear that he has a great enthusiasm for and understanding of his subject. His style of writing is generally easy to follow and he exhibits occasional flashes of humor. I do have a few quibbles, though. While discussing the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, following the rule of the Puritan Oliver Cromwell, McGrath states "England turned its back on Puritanism as quickly and totally as Germany disowned its Nazi past after the Second World War" (p. 289, First Anchor Books Edition). Perhaps McGrath is not a big fan of the Puritans, but this could be seen as a gratuitous swipe at the Puritans. Whatever their faults, the Puritans were on the whole deeply sincere Christians and likening them to the Nazis seems wholly inappropriate. In addition, in his discussion of the KJV in America, McGrath states that "the emergence of English as the dominant, and finally the official, language of the United States is a fascinating and complex matter..." (p.291, emphasis mine). The problem with McGrath's statement is that English, while clearly the dominant language in the U.S., is not the official language of the country! The fact is that the U.S. does not have a legally established official language. To be fair, however, later in his book McGrath speaks of English becoming "de facto the language of the United States" (p. 293), which is more accurate.
Nevertheless, despite these few (very minor) flaws, I found McGrath's In the Beginning highly enjoyable to read, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the Bible, language, and/or history. One of the most important points that McGrath makes in the book is how deeply the KJV has influenced our language. For example, if I had not read McGrath's book, I would have not realized that common English idioms like "fall flat on his face" and "put words in his mouth" are actually literal English translations of Hebrew idioms in the Old Testament that were created by the translators of the KJV. Thus, McGrath is not exaggerating when he states at the beginning of his book that "the two greatest influences on the shaping of the English language are the works of William Shakespeare and the [KJV]."
Image: Title page of the first edition of the KJV, from Wikipedia