"This
is a book about the most dramatic day in the history of the world,
the day on which Jesus of Nazareth died. It opens at 6 P.M.—the
beginning of the Hebrew day—with Jesus and ten of the apostles
coming through the pass between the Mount of Olives and the Mount of
Offense en route to Jerusalem and the Last Supper. It closes at 4
P.M. the following afternoon, when Jesus was taken down from the
cross. . . . The fundamental research was done a long time ago by
four fine journalists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The rest has
been added in bits and pieces from many men whose names span the
centuries."—from the Foreword