For many people raised in or around religious communities, familiarity with the Bible often means knowing a handful of beloved stories—Noah's ark, David and Goliath, the parable of the prodigal son—without understanding how those pieces fit into a larger whole. A new book by Doug Kroeker, A Walkthrough of the Bible, released by Writers of the West on July 4, 2026, directly addresses that gap by treating the Bible not as sixty-six separate books but as one continuous story.
Kroeker, who has spent most of his adult life studying and teaching the Bible, explained his motivation: "I wrote this book because I came to realize that understanding the Bible is not always as easy as those of us who grew up in the church might assume." He notes that while lifelong churchgoers may have learned the stories as children, "not everyone has grown up in church. They were never taught the stories that we take for granted. When they hear a reference to the Exodus or Promised Land, they may have little idea where those events belong in the Bible or why they even matter." The book is designed both as an introduction for newcomers and as a refresher for those already familiar with Scripture.
Spanning eight chapters, A Walkthrough of the Bible moves from Genesis to Revelation. It begins with the Bible's overall structure, explaining how the library holds together, who wrote it—more than forty authors across roughly fifteen centuries—and why the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament arrange the same material differently. Kroeker then guides readers through major eras: Creation, the Patriarchs, the Exodus, the Conquest, the Kingdom, the Exile, and the return. He explores the prophets' messages and audiences, shows how the four Gospels complement one another, and presents Paul's letters as pastoral responses to specific early churches. Doctrinal themes such as sin, salvation, and the church's mission are woven into the same continuous narrative.
The book has received early praise. Sarah Davis, lead editor, writes, "Doug Kroeker takes a library of sixty-six books, forty-some authors, and fifteen centuries and does something few writers attempt and fewer pull off: he shows it's actually one story, with one grammar underneath it... Anyone who's tried to read the Bible cover to cover and stalled out by Leviticus will find, here, a map worth following to the end." Chad Malvo, production manager at Writers of the West, adds, "Kroeker treats doctrine as living structure rather than a dry appendix, and he's honest about the hard questions along the way instead of smoothing them over. The result reads less like a reference book and more like a companion for the long haul."
Published by Writers of the West, a hybrid publishing company founded in 2004, A Walkthrough of the Bible is available in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover formats. The book's approach may help reverse a trend of fragmented biblical knowledge, offering a coherent overview that connects familiar stories to the broader narrative. As Kroeker puts it, he wanted to "reach people still looking for answers, and leave something of his own faith behind for his children and grandchildren." For readers seeking to understand the Bible as a unified whole, A Walkthrough of the Bible provides a comprehensive and accessible guide.
