All God's Children [Paperback]

James D. Snyder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Did Rome’s first century rulers know of Jesus? Why and how did Rome force the Jewish heartland into a suicidal rebellion? Why did Rome almost destroy itself so soon after the height of its glory? How did the first Christians survive and even grow?  The years AD. 31-71 were among the most turbulent in human history, and All God’s Children is the most complete account ever assembled of how the Christians and Jews challenged the Roman world -- and why the degeneracy of their political overlords paved the way. All God’s Children is a factual history, but one using a fictitious narrator and the historical novel genre in order to reach beyond scholars to a mass audience. By seeing the first century through the eyes of Attalos, a Greek ex-slave and Roman immigrant who writes in A.D. 80, the reader is drawn into first century life before the existence of popes, crusades and cathedrals to the narrator’s world of Olympic gods, rigid aristocracy and tormented masses. The result is a griping, inspiring tale of courage and compassion in a world of debauchery and despotism.          

Editorial Reviews

Review

....[Snyder] has uncovered virtually every nuance of the times, and the reader's view is almost one of an eavesdropping historian...." -- Midwest Book Review, April 8, 2000

"...does an admirable job of giving chronology and coherence to a shadowy period." -- Booklist, April 1, 2000

All God's Children is told by an ex-slave writing from Rome as he looks back over 40 years that convulsed his world. The historical background has been throughly researched by James Snyder, and it is reflected in a style vividly evoking the spirit of the first Christian century. It makes a wonderful read, and I think it's the best book on this subject that I have ever encountered. -- Prof. John Freely, University of the Bosphorus and author of 30 books on Aegean history

As much as possible, James Snyder has let the ancient sources tell their own stories, entwining them with relatively few fictional characters, an approach that offers a useful introduction to the surviving literature of the period. I especially appreciate his understanding that polytheistic Romans were religious people, too. -- Dr. Gary Johnson, Chairman, History Department, University of Southern Maine

Snyder brings this important historical period to life while attending to crucial historical sources. -- Humanities, August, 2000

Snyder...has done an excellent job of merging fact with fiction, and his passion for history is ever present throughout the story. -- A Closer Look, Summer 2000

From the Author

Most otherwise educated people can cobble together a passable account of Jesus' life. It's seldom so when it comes to the "Second Greatest Story Ever Told" - the stirring saga of the first century Christians who followed in Jesus' footsteps. Two of the many reasons why are that Roman writers didn't track events in numbered years the way we'd like them to, and the New Testament Bible isn't always organized in chronological order.

All God's Children makes three contributions that other histories of this period have yet to do. First, it relates the tumultuous events of A.D. 31-71 in chronological order, with each chapter covering roughly two years.

Second, each chapter examines the separate affairs of the Roman, Christian and Jewish worlds so that readers can understand how each society influenced the others' destinies. Only with that three-dimensional perspective can one fully appreciate the suffocating degeneracy of imperial Rome and the courage required by Christians and Jews alike to challenge it.

Thirdly, this book is unlike the typical modern scholarly analysis in that it attempts to offer no perspective beyond A.D. 80. And this leads me to the reason why it was written as fiction. There is nothing in the story itself that was not reported by ancient Christian, Jewish or Roman writers. However, the book is narrated by a fictitious Greek ex-slave who writes in A.D. 80 as he looks back on 40 years that convulsed his world. He knows nothing of future popes, cathedrals and crusades. By seeing the Roman world through his eyes, readers will find themselves staring into the bedrock of the first century history and emerging with a greater appreciation of those who changed the tide of history for at least 2000 years to come.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 679 pages
• Publisher: Pharos Books; 1st edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967520002
• ISBN-13: 978-0967520001
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,555,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Introducing James D. Snyder


Jim Snyder has been a writer, editor and publisher since graduating from the Northwestern University School of Journalism in 1958. He soon moved to the nation's capital and became a governmental affairs correspondent for several magazines. In 1984 he founded Enterprise Communications Inc., which produced business magazines and trade shows.

When Enterprise was acquired by the Thomson-Reuters news organization in 1997, Jim returned to his first love, writing. His first book, the culmination of 18 years of research "whenever I had the time to travel and study," was All God's Children, a historical novel covering the earliest days of Christianity from A.D. 30 to A.D. 70. "Some people said it was too long," he says, "so I wrote a shorter version of the same story as a straight history. Either way,those 40 years after the crucifixion were probably the most turbulent, dramatic and misunderstood in human history."

Adds the author: "Although the first two books involved a lot of travel to places like Rome and Jerusalem, the actual writing took place at our home on the Loxahatchee River in Florida. I love to kayak, and often it leads me up Jonathan Dickinson State Park to the site of Trapper Nelson, its famous 'celebrity-recluse.' The result was a book entitled Life and Death on the Loxahatchee, and it opened my eyes to the wealth of history in South Florida that was waiting to be researched and written."

Next came two pictorial histories, Five Thousand Years on the Loxahatchee, the story of Jupiter-Tequesta, and Black Gold and Silver Sands, describing the struggle and success of farming in Palm Beach County. Snyder's fourth book on Florida history is A Light in the Wilderness: The Story of Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and the Southeast Florida Frontier.

Jim has been a long-time volunteer at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, most recently serving as Chairman of the Board. He has also served on the board of Friends of Jonathan Dickinson State Park for several years. Recently he was a member of the Florida Historical Commission, which oversees state grants for renovation of historic structures.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enormous, complicated, educative work of great interest., April 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: All God's Children (Paperback)

James D. Snyder, a Presbyterian elder, writer, editor andpublisher with over 30 years' experience, tells a chilling andfascinating tale of an ex-slave writing from Rome from the death of Jesus Christ to the expansion of the new Christian Word over the next 40 years. Snyder has thoroughly researched this site by making numerous visits to various sites and digging up an impressive body of investigative materials.

Snyder juxtaposes the rise of Christianity with the ever-growing corruption of the Roman Empire. The forty years included in this saga encompasses historical events after the crucifixion of Jesus up to the destruction of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem. He includes the powerful leaders of the time: Caesar Augustus, Herod the Great, Herod Agrippa, Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Seneca, Peter, Paul, Mark, and John.

His descriptions make the reader feel like he is on a tour of the area, with one important distinction. He has uncovered virtually every nuance of the times, and the reader's view is almost one of an eavesdropping historian, as when he describes the treachery and death of Messalina, Claudius' young and promiscuous wife who made the critical mistake of openly marrying Gaius Silius at the castle of Claudius during his absence and carrying on what can only be called an orgy:

"Only then did Messalina truly understand her position. Without further word, the mother calmly opened a drawer and offered her daughter a dagger. Messalina looked at it as though it were a serpent. She put it to her throat, but could not strike. Then she moved it to her breast, but her hand was as if frozen. The soldiers watched her for a few silent seconds. In the next instant an officer ran her through. Claudius was still at his dinner table when news came that Messalina had died. He did not even ask whether it was by her own hand or by whose. After an eerie pause, Claudius called for more wine and the conversation went on."

All God's Children is not for the faint of heart. It is an enormous and complicated volume that provides an educational look at a period of time that is of interest to virtually all Christians.

Shelly Glodowski, Reviewer

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deep Appreciation from the Jewish Perspective, January 2, 2001

By 

Bruce D. Shutan (Toluca Lake, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All God's Children (Paperback)

What makes "All God's Children such an impressive read is the extent to which the author explores the people, places and events that shaped Christianity. This historic novel is exhaustively researched, and it shows. All the time Jim Snyder spent traipsing around Europe and Israel pays off. You can almost sense his familiarity with the key surroundings in countless descriptions that are penned with authority and comfort.

But what makes the book such a compelling read is the high drama that unfolds in the cradle of civilization some 2,000 years ago and the great care that is taken to sort out this confusing period in history and tell the story in chronological order.

As a Jew, I was eager to learn more about how and why the early Christians broke from their Hebrew traditions to preach a gospel that transformed this once mysterious Jewish sect into the modern world's most popular religion. Ironically, my understanding of -- and appreciation for -- the rise of Christianity is enriched by an observation by Jewish historian Flavius Josephus about Judaism's own survival: that an unwaivering commitment to God is enough to overcome the forces of evil and persecution. No one from the period's cast of colorful characters fulfills this mission better than the apostle Paul, who is relentless in his campaign to spread the gospel and absolutely fearless in the face of hostility.

With all the recent battles raging between Arabs and Jews in Israel, I'm sadly reminded after having just read "All God's Children" over the holidays that the more things change the more they stay the same. The Holy Land is still one of the most volatile spots on earth and history appears doomed to repeat itself.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Era Brought to Life, March 24, 2000

By 

Paul Harris (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All God's Children (Paperback)

James D. Snyder illuminates a fascinating era in this historical novel written very much in the Stephen Ambrose mold. No dry account here, it's a gripping page-turner that chronicles some of history's most famous, but perhaps least understood characters, including the Roman emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Caligula and Nero, and apostles Peter, Paul and John. Momentous events, such as the Roman assault on the Temple of Jerusalem, are vividly recounted in context.

In the history of western civilization, the years A.D. 31-71 were surely among the most turbulent. The Roman Empire ruled much of the world, headed by a succession of demented and brutal tyrants. Christianity was in its formative stages as the apostles were spreading the word about Jesus, whose miracles they had personally witnessed. Judaism was going through momentous changes. Persecution of both religions by authorities was as much sport as policy.

The book chronicles in remarkable detail the unbelievable adversity faced by the early followers of these two major religions, and why it happened. Detailed here is the intrigue, the betrayals, the personalities and, rather graphically, the gratuitous torture to which legions were subjected. It is a meticulously researched and superbly written work that fascinates as it enlightens. The story is told chronologically, covering in sequence the enormous swath of events that occurred throughout the Roman Empire during the 40-year span. Typically, each chapter jumps back and forth among activities in Rome, Jerusalem and other points in the Mediterranean region. All characters, events and conversations are drawn from the same primary sources used by all historians - with one exception. The story is narrated by a fictitious character, a freed Roman slave and book publisher named Attalos, who is writing from the perspective of a decade later. This intriguing device lends an air of immediacy to the proceedings while freeing them from the baggage of 2,000 years of history. Attalos is a droll fellow who adroitly guides readers through the maze of characters and events, and braces them for pivotal or especially disturbing occurrence to follow. When he encounters events of historical uncertainty, he alerts them.

Staying abreast of the proceedings takes dedication, due to the confusing names of the myriad characters and destinations. Ancient names are used for cities, for example. Fortunately, maps and directories are included as appendices to help guide readers around the ancient names of cities. No such listing of principal characters is included, however. Another observation: It appears that "All God's Children" is being marketed as a religious book, judging from its title and jacket design. It is not. It is an historical account of the era covered within the New Testament, surely one of the best ever written.