I like the Thompson bible, but don't use it all the time. I use it when I'm working on a special topic or need some different perspectives on a passage.

It is primarily "influence free", although that's not entirely possible, of course. Dr. Thompson was a Methodist. There certainly are no "doctrinal" notes in the Bible, but a specific viewpoint does come through in some of the sections about people and books of the Bible.

I have both the regular print and the large print . . . large print is definitely the way to go, although it makes for a larger and heavier volume.

The leather that Kirkbride uses is not "deluxe" or "premium" leather, except perhaps in the centennial edition they're offering now. It's a little on the stiff side, but certainly no problem.

Also worth mentioning that you can buy Thompson Bibles from places like Amazon.com and cbd.com at a discounted price. CBD has both black and burgundy editions in genuine leather for $39.99 on their web site right now. The large print is listed at $85.99.

One other point: the Thompson does use some translations from "the revised version" in the margin. I don't find this to be a problem, any more than using a dictionary, as long as you're clear that the actual wording is that in the text itself.

Lee