Notes for Henry H. Halley: http://www.zondervan.com/news419.htm
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HIS ANCESTOR DISCOVERED THE PATH OF A COMET, BUT HENRY HALLEY HELPED MILLIONS DISCOVER THE PATH TO GOD
Grand Rapids, Mich. - Just as Edmund Halley made his astronomical discovery in 1705, his progeny, Dr. Henry H. Halley directed people to spiritual discovery in the early 1920's. Now 75 years after the first edition of the 6-million copy bestselling Halley's Bible Handbook, his great-granddaughter is ensuring that the most popular Bible handbook in the 20th century reaches even more people in the 21st. Zondervan Publishing House announces the release of the revised and expanded 25th edition Halley's Bible Handbook.
Halley wrote the Handbook with the conviction that everyone ought to be a devoted reader of the Bible and the desire that they gain a greater understanding and love for God. From its beginning as a sixteen page leaflet of "Suggestions Concerning Bible Study," Halley's Bible Handbook has become an over 1,000 page almanac of biblical information and inspiration that has influenced millions around the world.
"Halley's truly was the first Bible handbook, and is by far the most popular," says Stanley N. Gundry, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, Zondervan Books & New Media. "It remains the standard by which all other handbooks are measured."
In keeping with this reputation, the new Halley's reached 40% of its first-year sales projection the first week it released, and Zondervan expects it to exceed 100% in the first 3 months.
"The 25th edition of Halley's Bible Handbook is a thorough revision and updating of the original featuring a new section of Bible study tips, updated archaeological facts, and a newly rewritten section on Jewish history and church history. The book has a fresh, contemporary design with all-new charts, photographs, and maps. It uses the bestselling New International Version throughout.
Retired Zondervan senior editor Ed van der Maas made the revisions under the supervision of Patricia Wicker, Halley's great-granddaughter. Wicker, along with her husband Gary, was entrusted with the ongoing management of the Handbook by Halley's daughter Julia Halley-Berry in 1997. Berry played an important role in the previous edition of the handbook, which was produced in 1964, just before Halley's death at the age of 91.
"Halley's Bible Handbook represents a continuation of my great-grandfather's ministry," says Wicker. "[He] dedicated his life to the spreading of God's Word, and his desire was for everyone to read, know, and love the Bible and to believe and accept its God-inspired message. It's my heartfelt desire that Halley's continues to be a blessing to every reader."
According to Gundry, the goal of the Halley family and of Zondervan in this project is to reintroduce one of the most influential Bible study tools of the last century to a new generation readers at the dawn of this new century. This new edition does so while at the same time remaining faithful to Halley's personal conviction and devotional style.
Halley first developed a name for himself early in the 20th century through his famous lectures where, instead of preaching, he would recite entire books of the Bible from memory. He began his recitations with brief background sketches of the passages he would present, and it was from these sketches that Halley's Bible Handbook began taking shape.
Halley began handing out this information at his lectures in the form of a 16-page booklet of "Suggestions Concerning Bible Study," and by its seventh edition, the booklet had expanded to 144 pages and earned the name Halley's Pocket Bible Handbook. By now, Halley was having it printed by Rand McNally & Company in Indiana. He continued to expand the handbook with archaeological data, a summary of church history, and photographs and maps until it grew to over 700 pages. It was translated into several different languages by foreign missionaries in the 1950's (the Japanese edition sold 20,000 copies, becoming second only to the Bible in terms of popular Christian literature in that country). After selling 1 million copies by 1960, Halley granted Zondervan Publishing House the publishing rights to Halley's Bible Handbook. Since then, total sales have reached nearly six million units.
Zondervan is celebrating 75 years since the printing of Halley's original booklet with a limited run of 500 leather-bound copies of the 25th edition of Halley's Bible Handbook, which will not be available for sale, but will be selectively given away.
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For more information, contact: Tony Voetberg, Communication Specialist Phone: 616-698-3465; Fax: 616-698-3223; email: tony.voetberg@zph.com
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Children of Henry H. Halley and Margaret Alberta Gillie are:
+Edmund Paul Halley, b. August 25, 1900, Kalamazoo, (Kalamazoo County), Michigan, d. September 29, 1989, Stockton, (San Joaquin County), California.
Henry H. Halley (d. May 1965)
Notes for Henry H. Halley: