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Sarna's book guides the reader through Exodus, and tries to place it in the context of other Middle Eastern cultures (while at the same time not ignoring the key differences between Israel and its polytheistic neighbors). The book is full of interesting little tidbits: for example, "Mose" (meaning "son" or "one who is born" in Egyptian) was commonly a part of ancient Egyptian names, and kings had names like "Thut-mose" (so it makes sense that the Egyptians would name a baby "Moses" or some variant thereof). Basically a work of history rather than theology--that is, it doesn't really purport to address the big questions of who wrote Exodus, etc. Rather, it shows readers how Exodus made sense to ancient readers familiar with heathen customs.