A History of the Jewish People [Paperback]

Hayim Ben-Sasson (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674397312 | ISBN-13: 978-0674397316 | Publication Date: October 15, 1985

A History of the Jewish People presents a total vision of Jewish experiences and achievements--religious, political, social, and economic--in both the land of Israel and the diaspora throughout the ages. It has been acclaimed as the most comprehensive and penetrating work yet to have appeared in its field.

Six distinguished scholars at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, have set forth here for the first time the authentic story of the Jewish past that is relevant to the Jewish present. Special attention is paid to the significant historical sources that have come to light in the past decades, to the findings of archaeological research, and to source materials in Jewish studies such as talmudic literature--sources that have too often been ignored by historians.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This ambitious history by six Hebrew University scholars seeks to encompass the full range of the Jewish experience in nationhood and exile. It is an impressive work...considering the necessary compression--5,000 years and a scattering of settings virtually worldwide covered in just over 1,100 pages--the work is an achievement of consequence.
--Robert Kirsch (Los Angeles Times )

Offering a full panorama of Jewish existence from the dim origins of the 2nd millennium B.C.E. to the hard politics of modern Israel, this work breaks new ground for a one-volume history, both in its range and in its authority...The book as a whole is a monument to scholarship and feeling, immersing the reader on every page in the rich texture of the Jewish heritage.
--Chaim Raphael (Commentary )

This huge collection of essays by "leading scholars at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem" brings to ultimate expression the "peoplehood-and-history" theory of Jewish historiography.
--Jacob Neuser (American Historical Review )

Represents one of the finest compendia on the topic published to date. (Jewish Week )

Language Notes

Text: English, Hebrew (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1232 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (October 15, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674397312
• ISBN-13: 978-0674397316
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From biblical times through the formation of modern Israel in a thousand pages, September 26, 2005

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History of the Jewish People (Paperback)

This is a big and interesting book. It begins with not only the traditional telling of the origins of Biblical Israel, it does not shy away with the intellectual problematics of that story. However, it is not as dismissive of the ancient stories as are most modern critics.

Only about one third of the book deals with biblical times at all, and much of that is well within historical times in the sense that we have contemporary records from other sources. The bulk of the book deals with the Jewish people in other settings, how their fortunes ebbed and flowed, and how they finally won emancipation in Europe.

There is also a telling of the rise of the Zionist movement, the Holocaust, and the founding of modern Israel. Although the later is very short and does not deal with the latest developments because the book is now twenty years old.

It reads quite well. You need not let its thousand page length hold you back because it reads more like a novel than a dry and dusty history. If you take your time reading it you will have more time to think about what you are reading and it will stick with you permanently. If you dash through it, all this great information will evaporate like the morning dew.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good set of Academic studies, January 18, 2006

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A History of the Jewish People (Paperback)

This is a scholarly history of the Jewish people edited by H.H. Sasson. There are six sections, the first dealing with the Origins and Formation of the People is by A.Malmat. The second section deals with the first Temple Period and is by H.Tadmor.The third dealing with the Second Temple Period is by Menachem Stern. The fourth concerned with the Mishnaic and Talmudic Period is by S.Safrai. The Medieval Period is by the General Editor H. H. Sasson. And the distinguished sociologist Shmuel Ettinger covers the modern period.
Because this work is done by a number of different scholars it has a certain narrative choppiness. But instead it is a rich informative volume especially in regard to social and economic history.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a Difficult Read, and Filled With Many Interesting Details., July 16, 2006

By 

J. E. Robinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of the Jewish People (Paperback)

It is the Jewish year 5766. It is a long time for one group of people to stay together following their religion through one era after another and still survive as a group - even without a homeland until recently in 1948 when Israel was founded as a formal Jewish state and democracy. So Jews are a fascinating group of people and frankly have made contributions to the arts and sciences well in excess as one might expect to their small numbers relative to other groups.

I found this to be an excellent and detailed book over 1000 pages long and going backing time to the first tribes of Israel. The book seems to have a few gaps but for the most part is a detailed and comprehensive review of the history of the Jewish people. I think it is equally weighted in terms of secular and religious Jewish ideas and culture.

A lot of effort is made to connect the history with various Jews that have made important social and scientific contributions. That pulls the book together and makes it a more interesting read.

Do not be put off by the length (thickness) of this epic book. It is well written without any slow spots and reads almost like a novel.

Four or five stars.