Genesis forms the foundation of the entire Bible, even in its first words, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." The subject is God, the central 'character' of the entire real-life drama. The history of the world began with God already in existence (by God creating the heavens and earth in the 'beginning' assumes that he preceded the 'beginning').
The book of Genesis was written as an historical account, recounting the origins of many things: the earth, man, sin, and the establishment of God's people (Israel), whom He chooses to make His name known throughout the entire world.
Genesis was most likely written by Moses during Israel's exodus as a reminder of who they were as a nation (the lineage from where they came) and who had chosen them to be His people. They were becoming weary through their wandering in the desert and had questioned who this 'Moses' was who had brought them out of Egypt (how they quickly forgot that God was the one who brought them through the Red Sea, chose to dwell with them through the tabernacle, and established a covenant with them).
As I read through Genesis, I'll keep in mind that God is the central character of the story, telling a people about who He is, whom He has chosen, how He chose them, and what He chose
them for.
**A side-note about Genesis:
Many people stumble at the creation account - wondering whether they can believe in a book that starts with (seemingly outlandish?) scientific claims about creating the earth in 7 days, making a woman out of a man's ribs, etc. In a 'scientific' day such as our own, we question the validity of such accounts. Genesis was not written to give us scientific information, but historical information. Whatever you believe about the creation account (there are several views that are floating around), I encourage you to read through Genesis learning about the character of God, the character of His people, and how God interacts with His people.
