Holiday Gift Guide: The Last Testament: A Memoir by God with David Javerbaum

In the beginning, I took a lunch with Daniel Greenberg of the Levine
Greenberg Literary Agency.

For the future of print was without hope, and void; and darkness had fallen upon the face of the entire publishing industry.

There is something pitch perfect about the tone and tenor of The Last Testament: A Memoir by God (Simon & Schuster). Something so frankly charming, as well as funny, it’s hard not to sit and enjoy.

Among other things, in this book, God corrects misunderstandings that have arisen from previous editions of his works. For instance, in the garden it was Adam and Steve not Adam and Eve and two of every animal couldn’t possibly fit on a single boat. “I did not ask Noah to put two of every animal on the ark. I know what it says in the Bible, but consider: A phylogenetically complete double bestiary contained within a 450,000-cubit-cubit watercraft?”

Readers from every religion will find things to laugh at and/or be offended by in this book. And considering both the topic and the cover art, it might well make a perfect gift for someone on your list this holiday season.

And though God gets the attribution, there was human intervention: David Javerbaum is an 11-time Emmy winner and a former head writer and executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. ◊