Review of "Misquoting Jesus" - Part 1 (#11)

Warning - Not for the faint of heart or Mind.
In 2005 Bart Ehrman published a book about "how the Bible was changed and why." What follows is my chapter by chapter engagement with that text.
Introduction - I found the introduction to be properly biographical and raise the right questions with just the right amount of tease for those interested in this topic. On page 7 he asks, "What good is it to say that the autographs were inspired? We don't have the originals!"
Fair enough. It did seem to me that he was reasoning backward on p. 11 when he says, "Just as human scribes had copied and changed the texts of scripture, so too had human authors originally written the texts of scripture." Of course that is a fact, as such; but the implication up front is that their humanity also caused errors from the beginning.
One word that will appear a lot in the book is the word "reconstruct" (pages 15, 84, 99, 105 and 208, at least). His mission in this book is clear. Where he ends up will not thrill many Christians.
Chapter 1 - The Beginnings of Christian Scripture. This was a helpful chapter that paints the historical background of the opening centuries of how the Bible came to be.
He lists 8 kinds of books that were written in the days of the early church, and traces the formation of the canon. One main point Ehrman constantly makes is that the art of writing was primitive and most Christians were illiterate and yet Christianity was a very literary endeavor (p.42) ; also, the earliest scribes were paid professionals, he asserts, and not necessarily Christians.
That's enough for now. Chapter 2 begins the more difficult task. Should you read the book first? Sometimes that is a good thing to do. However, if not, then maybe this review will help you make that decision.