The Bible As History would be a good place to start. This book was written over 20 years ago and establishes the truth of many Biblical accounts that were thought of as myth by many scholars. Since then archeology has been able to establish even more Biblical details as historical fact.
Experts (secular and Christian) consider the Bible book of Job to be the earliest book EVER written. Accounts in the Bible cover a period of about 5,000 years. As to the hypocracy slur would you care to list a few beliefs you would put in that catagory?
Why don't you read the Bible for yourself to find your answer to Q3. There are several modern translations that are easy to read and understand. I would recommend the New American Standard, which is considered the best modern word-for-word translation, however, many prefer the New International for ease of reading. Or you could try the Jerusalem Bible which is a modern translation of the Catholic Bible, which contains books the Protestants consider apocraphal.