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I came to this book as an Arab reader, growing up with songs, poems, and books written about beloved Jerusalem, but never have I come across a book offering such a luxurious detailed and honest view and at such a scale! Written with remarkable neutrality and taking us through the diverse and rich history of the most disputed and news making region in the world! This comprehensive, and unpatronising treatment of Jerusalem's past is neither overwhelmingly scholarly to gloss over the gory (and fascinating) details, nor too hurried as to miss out important facts. Simon Sebag Montefiore combines the rare talent of total political and cultural understanding with a great and most eloquent narrating skill!
"Jerusalem, the Biography" is a new sort of History, written as a biography, through the people who made Jerusalem, starting with King David and ending with Barrack Obama, over a span of 3000 years. Each section is about a person who, made, destroyed, believed in, or fought for Jerusalem, some are ordinary people, some are monsters and dictators. There is massacre, siege, blood, violence, but also beautiful poetry.
The story of Jerusalem, is truly (as the author expressed) the story of the world, as well, of the Middle East, of religion, of holiness, of empire! I was thrilled to read about one of the greatest philosophers, the Arab historiographer "Ibn Khaldoon", about Suleiman the Magnificent, Caliph Muawiya, Saladin Dynasty, Druze princess and angelic voiced Singer "Asmahan", the Hashemite (Sherifian) Dynasty, and most exciting to read was some poignant poetry by Nizar Qabbani.Read more ›
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102 of 108 people found the following review helpful
Simon Montefiore has already proven himself as a superb biography writer in his works on Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsarand Catherine the Great and Potemkinamong others, he then made the very difficult transition of writing a novel - Sashenka: A Novel which once again impressed with a beautiful story and yes, the attention to historical detail that only a true expert is capable of.
In Jerusalem he surpassed himself. This was a true masterpiece - a biography of a city yet so much more. This isn't just a retelling of facts - through stories, anecdotes, and pages and pages of researched history you really feel as if you are stepping back through time and experiencing Jerusalem's history first hand.
Jerusalem is never boring, like the city itself it is vibrant, mysterious, and occasionally controversial. Yet even as I found myself disagreeing with the author - I was still enjoying the book. I could not put it down.
When discussing Jerusalem there will always be more than one voice, and more often than not those voices are raised, but Montefiore's Jerusalem tries to bring as many voices as possible and include them in the narrative. That is just one of the things that make Jerusalem unique.
I cannot recommend Jerusalem enough, it is a 'Must Read' - absolutely brilliant, I feel privileged to have read it and as always, wait impatiently to read what Simon Montefiore has in store.
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81 of 89 people found the following review helpful
When I first started to read this book I was often quite irritated. The author clearly knew so much about the pre 19th century world of and around Jerusalem that I was frustrated that he did not go into more detail. The long succession of characters, the leaping over large gaps in time, all led me to put aside the book repeatedly. Yet I persevered and thank goodness I did. As it ran into the 19th and 20th centuries and the detail seemed to come more into view (or possibly I could see it just as one reads a book, identifying the shapes without having to recognise each letter).
And the object of the book began to become clearer (maybe I am none too bright and should have seen this earlier). It became more and more apparent that Jerusalem is almost a metaphor for human kind's frailties, faiths and prejudices. While many of the characters throughout history have been wise enough to realise that compromises and accommodation are possible without necessarily sacrificing all the principles they adhere to, regrettably there are others who can only see the world in a binary black and white, whether they be fundamentalist Christians, Islamists or Jews or whatever. These often use a very selective view of history to justify prejudice and religiously inspired mayhem.
I am in admiration of this remarkable work and wish to thank the author for providing many hours of enjoyable stimulation.
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87 of 103 people found the following review helpful
I'd be happier with closer proof reading. The Mediterranean isn't eastward of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar didn't take Jerusalem 100 years before he was born, and Jesus isn't the Aramaic for Joshua. Yes, it's a well written book, but these clinkers make me unwilling to accept it as authoritative.
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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful
This is a remarkable book in several ways, and I have rarely been so truly ambivalent when writing a review. The fact that the author foretells such reactions in his introduction does little to mitigate these feelings or justify his work.
On the one hand, the book is well-written and contains some fascinating detail. Montefiore knows how to do research and convey it in a readable and hence enjoyable fashion. I never find him tiresome, and I learn things constantly as I read. He has a way of incorporating details and then allowing the reader to see the bigger picture in a way that is truly admirable.
On the other hand, Montefiore is a rare combination of incredulity and naive, uncritical acceptance when it comes to the sacred. For example, he tersely declares that Herod's massacre of the innocents "never happened" (when even the most liberal scholars grudgingly admit such an act would be most like Herod, and since erstwhile historians would have little reason to record the death of a dozen peasant children in a sleepy village, silence is hardly an argument), while on the other hand speculating in almost tabloid fashion about Mary the mother of Jesus remarrying one Clopas (when different Marys are as common in the Gospel accounts as squirrels in an oak forest). In some cases, he makes absurd assertions that no self-respecting New Testament scholar would even think (such as Jesus' brother, James, being one of his original twelve apostles--that James only rose to prominence after the birth of the church).Read more ›
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