Customer Reviews

A History of the Jewish People

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is a very thick book of the history of the Jewish people. It's actually written like a college textbook. You can read the chapters covering what you find the most interesting, put the book away and read more another time, keep it on hand as a reference, whatever. But it's a really good book!

I highly recommend this book. It's very comprehensive, covering Jewish history from their entrance to the Land of Canaan until just after the Yom Kippur War. I found it to be informative and balanced, giving fair treatment to a wide range of topics.

a fiend of mine studin Judaism has asked me to buy the book. me bein not an Xpert in the field i've just pop'd in the book - but loox like an ultimate refference to the topix. if YuR lookin for a guide on the topic - this is YuR pick!