The Shepherd is based on the biblical story of David who, although he lived over three thousand years ago, his songs (psalms) are still sung and his insights into the relationship between the God he passionately believed in and his creation, were written long before our responsibility for each other and for the world around us became recognised as essential for our continued existence. Nothing in this book is contrary to the main facts of that account, but I have attempted to fill in much that was left out and make connections not obvious in the original in an attempt to paint a fuller account of one of the most extraordinary men of all time with all his strengths and weaknesses. Both hero and the king against whom all who followed him were measured, he was also a man who, although he ruled justly when he finally succeeded Saul his predecessor, who hunted him for years before dying fighting the Philistine invaders, was capable of violence, destroying his enemies with cunning as well as courage and even resorting to murder to get what he wanted. So, both saint and sinner, I hope this may help to see him more clearly.
