'Unforgettable...a delicious cacophony of conversations and clamorous arguments echoing across history' Daily Telegraph The landmark history of a people, culture and a world.
Not – as often imagined – of a culture apart, but of a Jewish world immersed in and imprinted by the peoples among whom they have dwelled, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, from the Arabs to the Christians.Which makes the story of the Jews everyone’s story, too.
'Unforgettable...a delicious cacophony of conversations and clamorous arguments echoing across history'Daily TelegraphThe landmark history of a people, culture and a world.It is a story like no other- an epic of endurance against destruction, of creativity in oppression, joy amidst grief, the affirmation of life against the steepest of odds.It spans the millennia and the continents - from India to Andalusia and from the bazaars of Cairo to the streets of Oxford. It takes you to unimagined places- to a Jewish kingdom in the mountains of southern Arabia; a Syrian synagogue glowing with radiant wall paintings; the palm groves of the Jewish dead in the Roman catacombs. And its voices ring loud and clear, from the severities and ecstasies of the Bible writers to the love poems of wine bibbers in a garden in Muslim Spain.Within these pages, the Talmud burns in the streets of Paris, massed gibbets hang over the streets of medieval London, a Majorcan illuminator redraws the world; candles are lit, chants are sung, mules are packed, ships loaded with spice and gems founder at sea.And a great story unfolds. Not - as often imagined - of a culture apart, but of a Jewish world immersed in and imprinted by the peoples among whom they have dwelled, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, from the Arabs to the Christians.Which makes the story of the Jews everyone's story, too.
Long-listed for Samuel Johnson Prize 2013 (UK)
“Schama at his best, a labour of love, as full of memorable incident as a Bellow novel and wittier than a Woody Allen movie”
The Times
Schama has written a proud and personal story of his people, one that will make a good starting point for those interested in one of history’s most fascinating and tragic tales -- Josh Glancy Sunday Times
Inspiring… Schama tells it with panache, weaving facts and anecdotes into a vivid history Observer
Unforgettable…a delicious cacophony of conversations and clamorous arguments echoing across history Daily Telegraph
A spirited, immensely enjoyable and wide-ranging account… [expresses] both the triumphs and the tragedies with irrepressible enthusiasm and his customary eloquence Financial Times
400 pages of hatred and hope. Terrific -- William Leith Evening Standard
Schama is an entertaining and eloquent guide through the triumphs and tragedies -- David Bradbury Daily Mail
Schama at his best – a labour of love, as full of memorable incident as a Bellow novel and wittier than a Woody Allen movie -- Daniel Johnson The Times
A remarkably authoritative and engaging book Good Book Guide
Few historians write with the energy of Simon Schama. His second volume on the history of the Jews shows that Schama has lost none of his vigour: the mixture of stories about people, ordinary but more extraordinary, witty asides, Schama family reminiscences, schmaltzy views of Jewish life in past times – all this is there -- David Abulafia Standpoint
Simon Schama is University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University. His award-winning books, translated into fifteen languages, include Citizens, Landscape and Memory, Rembrandt's Eyes, A History of Britain, The Power of Art, Rough Crossings, The American Future, The Face of Britain and The Story of the Jews- Finding the Words (1000 BCE - 1492).His art columns for the New Yorker won the National Magazine Award for criticism and his journalism has appeared regularly in the Guardian and the Financial Times where he is Contributing Editor. He has written and presented forty films for BBC2 on subjects as diverse as Tolstoy, American politics and John Donne.
It is a story like no other: an epic of endurance against destruction, of creativity in oppression, joy amidst grief, the affirmation of life against the odds. It spans the millennia and the continents - from India to Andalusia and from the bazaars of Cairo to the streets of Oxford. It is a story of a Jewish world immersed in and imprinted by the peoples among whom they have dwelled, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, from the Arabs to the Christians. Which makes the story of the Jews everyone's story, too. 'Schama at his best, a labour of love, as full of memorable incident as a Bellow novel and wittier than a Woody Allen movie' The Times 'An exuberant tour de force' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Daily Mail 'Inspiring... Schama tells it with panache, weaving facts and anecdotes into a vivid history' Observer 'Unforgettable...a delicious cacophony of conversations and clamorous arguments echoing across history' Daily Telegraph 'A spirited, immensely enjoyable and wide-ranging account... [expresses] both the triumphs and the tragedies with irrepressible enthusiasm and his customary eloquence' Financial Times
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