Customer Reviews

Jewish People, Jewish Thought : The Jewish Experience in History

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This is an amazing treatise for those who need to understand biblical context or the some of the beliefs undergirding the Israel-Palestine conflict. There is not another book like it. Seltzer does an amazing job of telling this story in a clear and concise way.

In this excellent, readable and scholarly book we find the most comprehensive review of Jewish civilization, Jewish history and Jewish thinking. This unique book combines the study of Jewish history with profound analysis of Jewish thought. A must book for every student of Jewish history as well as for those seeking to learn more about the Jewish people through its history.

I was assigned 'Jewish People, Jewish Thought' as preliminary reading for a university course in Jewish Studies. A hefty tome some 770 pages long (excluding extensive notes), it represents one historian's attempt to document the story of the Jews in its entirety, from ancient figures to political dilemmas of the present day, with sections detailing all major events and currents of philosophical and theological thought that have played their part in Jewish life.

In terms of its basic mission, Seltzer's book is very successful. It is an excellent resource, densely-packed with facts and explanations. The 'Jewish Thought' of the title is covered, thinker by thinker, in paragraph sketches that provide biographical information, concise explanations and links to predecessors and broad movements as context.

A good grounding in the emergence of the other Abrahamic religions is also provided, helping to give a clear picture of how Christianity and Islam have interacted with Judaism as they have developed in time. Seltzer's coverage of the Tanakh is particularly strong, with concise and eloquent summaries of the books and their contents.

In terms of reading experience, however, I must admit that I found it hard going. While Seltzer's style is fairly accessible and resists condescension, it is nonetheless rather dry, especially when dealing with 19th Century Jewish thought. Even with a lively interest in the book's subject matter, I struggled to maintain my focus as I read through from cover to cover.

In light of my experience, I'd suggest maybe using it primarily for reference purposes, though its layout is not particularly conducive to dipping in and out. Although this is ultimately a textbook, its style and presentation are decidedly old-fashioned. Each lengthy chapter is designed to be read straight through, without distractions often found in contemporary textbooks, such as 'fact boxes' or teaching aids.

Events are overwhelmingly presented in chronological order, running from ancient times to the present, a few centuries per chapter, though as the book progresses, separate sections are increasingly devoted to 'history' and 'thought'.

The reader is also buoyed along by a generous smattering of illustrations reproduced in the same black and white as the text. While these are clearly intended to complement the text, they do not directly illustrate it, and their presence breaks up the dizzying onslaught of information nicely, humanising philosophers by showing their faces.

As a book published at the end of the seventies, 'Jewish People, Jewish Thought' is in some ways beginning to show its age. The section on recent developments in history and thought could do with a little updating, and would benefit particularly from discussions of issues like the role of women in Judaism and current debates over conversion and Jewish status between different religious streams.

Having said that, given the historical scope of Seltzer's work, it is able to retain most of its direct relevance today, and, if you can get hold of a copy (some of the second-hand prices are eyewateringly high) it makes a very useful overview for the student or ambitious lay reader.

Extraordinarily researched history complete with photographs of antiquities as old as 5000 years. A masterful work that is very readeable.