Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour (Library Edition) [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (Author), Wanda McCaddon (Reader)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1441702164 | ISBN-13: 978-1441702166 | Publication Date: November 1, 2009 | Edition: Unabridged library

In this acclaimed account, Barbara Tuchman reveals that today s troubles in the Middle East originated long before the first efforts at founding a modern state of Israel. Historically, the British were drawn to the Holy Land by two major influences: the translation of the Bible into English and, later, the imperial need to control the road to India and access to Middle East oil. With the lucidity and vividness that characterizes her work, Barbara Tuchman brings to life the development of these dual motives the Bible and the sword in the consciousness of the British people, until they were finally brought together at the end of World War I, when the Balfour Declaration of 1917 established a British-sponsored national home for the modern survivors of the people of the Old Testament.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In her métier as a narrative popular historical writer, Barbara Tuchman is supreme. --Chicago Sun-Times

Barbara Tuchman is a wise and witty writer, a shrewd observer with a lively command of high drama. --Philadelphia Inquirer

From the Inside Flap

With the lucidity and vividness that characterize all her work, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Barbara Tuchman, explores the complex relationship of Britain to Palestine that led to the founding of the modern Jewish state--and to many of the problems that plague the Middle East today.
"Barbara Tuchman is a wise and witty writer, a shrewd observer with a lively command of high drama."
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged library edition (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441702164
• ISBN-13: 978-1441702166
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,598,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Reading from Tuchman as an Author in Progress, October 2, 2002

By 

Molon Labe "Molon Labe" (Chesterfield, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour (Paperback)

I suspect that most people who read Bible and Sword do so after an enjoyable experience with one of Tuchman's acclaimed later works, such as Pulitzer Prize winners The Guns of August or Stillwell and the American Experience in China. I fall into the extreme end of this group, having read all 9 of her subsequent books before tackling this debut offering. Major fans of Tuchman will enjoy Bible and Sword on two levels--as a stand-alone historical work and as a window on the early development of one of the finest American-born historians.

Regarding the work itself, the topic of Britain's relationship with Palestine and central role in the movement toward re-establishment of the Jewish state is fascinating. The canvas is broad, covering roughly 1,700 years from the original Christian communities in 3rd century Britain to the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which established the British policy of restoring the Jewish state to Palestine. The thesis is compelling, namely that the Balfour Declaration was the scion of twin progenitors--the Christian motivation to restore the Jews to the promised land as a prerequisite to the second coming of Christ and the imperial motivation to control the vital Mediterranean commercial route to India and the Far East. Interestingly, Tuchman makes it clear that, with several individual exceptions, these motivations had nothing to do with concern for the Jews but rather originated from the spiritual and temporal aspirations of Britain. The ebb and flow of the Britain-Palestine relationship makes for fascinating reading, covering topics such as the early Holy Land pilgrimages, the Crusades, the role of the British Navy in halting Napoleon's conquest of Palestine and the British role in propping up the Ottoman Turks.

Fans of Tuchman will immediately notice similarities to her later style while being struck by several glaring differences. Her almost lyrical, figurative style, while not as refined or prevalent as additional experience would eventually allow, is on display. For example, in describing the Turkish decision to seek help from Russia in fending off rebellion, she writes, "In his last agony, the Sultan, as a drowning man might clutch at a boa constrictor, accepted the help of his long-loathed enemy the Czar." Unfortunately, unlike her later works, Bible and Sword is plagued by an amazing number of relatively obscure literary, political and historical allusions that leave the reader with the impression of an unproven writer seeking desperately to provide evidence of her erudition. While this can be understood in the context of an aspiring historian without the typical credentials of a PhD and university professorship, it frustrates the non-academic reader, as is evidenced by an earlier Amazon review.

In the final analysis, Bible and Sword is a stimulating read, although unrefined in several respects. If you are looking to read only one or two Tuchman books, this is not the choice. But if you have an interest in the topic and/or a high level of interest in Tuchman as a writer, I highly recommend it.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The title is the best summary of this book, October 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour (Paperback)

Ms.Tuchman traces the relationship between England and the establishment of a Jewish homeland. She takes us from the Beaker people who settled England to the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Tuchman, even in her first book, establishes a narrative style of writing about history that she would later use to achieve awesome heights in historical literature. The main enjoyment of this book is the detailed description of how the English were determined to regain Palestine for the Jewish people, so they then could be converted (whether the Jews wanted to or not),to christianity thus hastening the second comming of Christ. It also spreads some light on the seeming insanity of the puritans, who briefly changed England into a hebraic theocracy to protest the predominance of the Latin Catholic Church. It was probably impossible for Tuchamn to write this book without a little bias seeping through, and at times her treatment of the German people seems to be a little bit one sided, although this is quite understandable. If you ever wanted to know about the historical foundations of the Jewish Homeland, this book is for you.

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gentle reminder of a great debt, June 21, 2000

By 

Paul Bobbitt "Pobbit" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour (Paperback)

As one of Tuchman's first publications, this book is perhaps a little rougher than some of her more recent works. The scholarship is, of course, thorough and brilliant, but the refined irony and humour found in her "Calamitous 14th Century" is somewhat lacking. (Of course, practice does make perfect, and this is a fine early work.)

With this said, her thorough coverage of the Balfour mandate starts not in the 19th century, but far back in the past, even before Britain first began to recognize the Christian debt to the Jews. Starting in the Bronze age, continuing through the Crusades, exploring Victorian ideals, and finishing with a thorough review of the events leading up to the formation of Israel, this book is nothing if not thorough.

For anyone who enjoys Tuchman's work, this book is no disappointment. For anyone curious about the convoluted and intricate relationship between Britain and Palestine, between Christian and Jew, this book is essential reading.