Kass.

The Beginning of Wisdom, by Leon R. Kass.
After two decades of studying the Bible and consulting books about the Bible, I can honestly say that I have never read anything as lucid, informative, thorough, illuminating, and critically relevant as Kass's book on Genesis.
It is unlike any other commentary I am aware of, in that, rather than being set up as a standard verse-by-verse exposition, it follows the ideas and the storyline of Genesis in a coherent, chronological format.
Nothing is omitted from discussion, or avoided, every verse is treated, but always in a way that lends itself to a greater understanding of the integrated whole of Genesis.
Kass's expert interaction with the text is a result of his twenty years of teaching a seminar on Genesis, and his commitment to the premise that "to discover the meaning, a text must be studied in its own terms." (p.14).What we need is "a disinterested and philosophic pursuit of the truth" (p.2). By "disinterested" Kass means a pursuit without an agenda, without a bias (without prior assumptions, religious or otherwise) and by "philosophic", he simply means "wisdom-seeking".
And by "truth", well, to me that is one of the great things about the book... the author believes that there IS such a thing as truth, and wisdom, for that matter. A seemingly rare position to hold, among today's modern academia. It may be an approach that does not work for every reader, but it works for me.
He says that there are three methodological assumptions on how to read Genesis. The first is to read thoroughly skeptically, in which case the reader would most likely want to quit reading after just a few pages. Secondly, entirely by faith, by which the reader already believes everything even prior to reading the first few pages. Thirdly, the way of "thoughtful engagement", by which the reader suspends his/her disbelief and has an earnest desire to simply let the text speak for itself. Much as we would do with other literary works, even novels. This third method is the one Kass advocates as being his own, and encourages all readers to adopt. In doing so, he presents an assessment of Genesis that is quite different from what I may have heard in my own seminary education, but it is one that I regret not having adopted sooner. For I have learned more in reading this book, than in all of my previous years of formal instruction.
If the Bible characters existed at all, well, here we see them as they really were... not just Bible Superheros, not infallible demi-gods (as they are often portrayed) but as real live people who made as many bad judgements as good, and were not always as pious or Godly as we readily assume. Aside from all of this, the book is readable. By that, I mean, it is not pedantically smudgy nor needlessly polysyllabic. It is clear, it is so wonderfully readable and clear-headed, and laced with footnotes, often describing how the source of his findings came not from himself, but from his students and colleagues.
He states his purpose clearly. "First, to demonstrate by example a wisdom-seeking approach to the Bible that attempts to understand the text in its own terms yet tries to show how such an understanding may address us in our current situation of moral and spiritual neediness. Second, to recover in their full power the stories of Genesis as tales to live with, as stories illuminating some of the most important and enduring questions of human existence. Third, to make at least plausible the power of the Biblical approach and response to these questions, with its emphasis on righteousness, holiness, and reverence for the divine." (p.13).
Does the book succeed, regarding these goals?
Yes.
Is there a better book on understanding Genesis available today?
No. Not that I am aware of.