 | GetTextbooks.co.uk Compare Prices & Save up to 90% | | |
|
| Login | Sign up | Settings | New! iPhone App | My Wish List | My iBundle |
 | | A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood by Raymond P. Scheindlin ISBN-10: 9780195139419 ISBN-10: 0-19-513941-0 ISBN-13: 9780195139419 ISBN-13: 978-0-19-513941-9 Paperback 2000-07-27 Oxford University Press, USA Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Where did the Jews come from? How did they retain their strong sense of community through centuries of dispersion? How have the Jews of the present, with their proud ethnic identity and thriving national home, emerged out of the downtrodden Jews of the past? Such questions arise naturally in the minds of anyone contemplating the long history of Jewish people. In one concise, authoritative volume, A Short History of the Jewish People provides insights and answers. This sweeping and highly informative work presents the major geographical, cultural, and political forces that have determined the course of Jewish history, introducing the many individuals, both religious and secular, who have shaped the character, mindset, and prospects of the Jewish people. Organized chronologically, the narrative follows the Jewish experience from legendary times to the peace agreements currently being negotiated in the Middle East. And, to give this overview an international and timely perspective, Raymond P. Scheindlin focuses his study on the pivotal events and dominant communities within each historical period. Written by a respected Hebrew scholar, cultural historian, noted author, and rabbi, A Short History of the Jewish People carefully describes the story of a people as varied as the many cultures in which they have lived. Including detailed maps and stirring photos, as well as timelines and sidebars, this pioneering work is a valuable resource for anyone broadly curious about the Jewish people. | ||
Amazon.com Review "Jewish history is often told not as a narrative of real people with human problems and interests but as an idealized national myth," writes Raymond Scheinlin, in the introduction to his excellent A Short History of the Jewish People. Scheinlin is an observant Jew, but his book is not a history of the Jewish religion. It is a history of Jewish tribes around the world and the ways "they have interacted with the nations and cultures among whom they have lived, adapting to their environment while retaining a variety of continuities." The book's brevity precludes exhaustiveness, but its focus on particular Jewish communities and its disciplined analysis of their political successes and foibles give readers a firm grasp on the movements in Jewish history that have shaped the Middle East, Europe, and America. Amply illustrated with maps and photographs, the fluid prose of Scheinlin's History make this book a useful starting point for anyone seeking a secular history of Judaism that is neither skeptical nor hostile to religion. --Michael Joseph Gross | ||
Reviews | ||
Good Overview of Jewish History I enjoyed this book. At the time, I was considering conversion, and I wanted a context or history to which I could relate other readings and information. This book gives a good overview of the (plight?) history of the Jews. Of course, it turns out that because of the diaspora, that Jewish history is world history. | ||
Superb! I can't praise this little book enough. I went to a predominantly Jewish high school, have attended Jewish weddings, funerals and Bar Mitzvahs, yahrzeit ceremonies, at least one Klezmer concert, Seders too numerous to count, and participated in sitting Shiva when my partner's parents died. For a recovering Catholic, I thought I had a reasonably broad knowledge of Jewish life and history. There was so much I never knew! Reading this book has immeasurably enriched my understanding of Jewish cultura and has given me perspectives and insights that I never had before. The major discovery for me was of the astonishing resilience of this people. The Jews continue to thrive despite over 2,000 years of persecution, outlasting their historical oppressors from the Babylonians and the Romans to the Nazis and the Stalinist communists, As my experience with and admiration of Jewish culture shows, they've also "conquered" a great many of us Christians--we, who have in many ways been their fiercest and most persistent persecutors. The writing is graceful and engaging and Rabbi Scheindlin does a wonderful job of making this complex history both comprehensive and comprehensible by covering one historical thread, usually the narrative of a single time and place, in each chapter. Anyone with even a passing interest in the heritage and history of their Jewish friends or relatives should read this book. I'm going to wait a month on two, and then read it again. | ||
Great concise history of the Jews This book is excellent in its readability as it provides a concise yet comprehensible history of the Jewish people. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to expand their knowledge, or who can make use of this outstanding sourcebook. Those who want more detail can use the book's bibliography for more advanced study. | ||
Highly informative This book is packed with information that is offered in a very readable manner. The author did an exceptionally fine job. I did not expect to learn so much or be so fascinated. | ||
Useful book for lower division instruction Scheindlin has managed to write nearly the perfect book for a lower division course on Jewish history. He successfully spans the entire scope of Jewish history from legendary times to the modern State of Israel in a mere 263 pages of very readable prose. His writing is neither dry nor laden with jargon. He writes like Leon Uris or Herman Wouk. Two issues of debate in the book should be supplemented with additional readings. The first is that the portrayal of the Jewish-Christian schism is only presented in the context of medieval Antisemitism, and a more balanced and informative view of the formative period of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity is found in From Text To Tradition by Lawrence Schiffman. The second is the lachrymos portrayal of Jewish life in the Middle Ages. That should be balanced with Salo Baron's groundbreaking article "Ghetto and Emancipation," reprinted in The Menorah Treasury, ed. Leo W. Schwarz (Philadelphia, 1964). With those two caveats, I would recommend this book for any introductory Jewish history or Jewish studies survey class. | ||