In this book Vernon Robbins, Professor of Religion at Emory University, provides the most in-depth and systematic discussion to date of the method of Biblical interpretation known as socio-rhetorical criticism, a method he has been developing through numerous articles and books since the publication of Jesus the Teacher: A Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation of Mark in 1984. It should be noted that his Exploring the Texture of Texts: A Guide to Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation, a book similar to the one being reviewed, also appeared in 1996. Although both books contain a very similar outline, Exploring the Texture of Texts is intended to guide readers through the steps of actually applying socio-rhetorical methods, while Tapestry lays the theoretical and methodological foundations for the approach.