Jewish History

‘Revelatory’ WILLIAM DALRYMPLE ‘An important work’ AFUA HIRSCH ‘Remarkable’ YANIS VAROUFAKIS ‘A book of extraordinary moral clarity’ NATHAN THRALL A sweeping and revelatory history of the hidden tradition of Jewish thinkers who opposed Zionism from Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin...

A historical tour de force that demolishes the myths and taboos that have surrounded Jewish and Israeli history, The Invention of the Jewish People offers a new account of both that demands to be reckoned with. Was there really a forced exile in the first century, at the hands of the Romans? Should we regard the Jewish people, throughout two millennia, as both a distinct ethnic group and a putative nation—returned at last to its Biblical homeland? In this iconoclastic work of history, Shlomo Sand provides the intellectual foundations for a new vision of Israel's future.

The first comprehensive yet accessible history of the state of Israel from its inception to present day, from Daniel Gordis, ""one of the most respected Israel analysts"" (The Forward) living and writing in Jerusalem. Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world’s attention...

WINNER OF THE 2019 DUFF COOPER PRIZE Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A History of the Bible by John Barton, read by Ralph Lister. The Bible is the central book in Western culture, yet extraordinarily there is no proper history of it. This exceptional work, by one of the world's leading...

The Jewish people are one of the oldest living people groups on the planet. The Jews lived alongside the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, and Sumerians - all of whom have since disappeared from the pages of history. Yet the Jews still remain. Despite all of the odds, Jewish culture, language, laws, and religion have remained intact over the course of thousands of years.

How have the Jews survived? For millennia, they have defied odds by overcoming the travails of exile, persecution, and recurring plans for their annihilation. Many have attempted to explain this singular success as a result of divine intervention. In this engaging book, David N. Myers charts the...

In a major work of scholarship both erudite and very funny, Jeremy Dauber traces the origins of Jewish comedy and its development from Biblical times to the age of Twitter. Organizing his book thematically into what he calls the seven strands of Jewish comedy - including the satirical, the witty, and the vulgar - Dauber explores the ways Jewish comedy has dealt with persecution, assimilation, and diaspora through the ages. He explains the rise and fall of popular comic archetypes such as the Jewish mother, the JAP, and the schlemiel and schlimazel.

Our Crime Was Being Jewish contains 576 vivid memories of 358 Holocaust survivors. These are the true, insider stories of victims, told in their own words. They include the experiences of teenagers who saw their parents and siblings sent to the gas chambers; of starving children beaten for trying to steal a morsel of food; of people who saw their friends commit suicide to save themselves from the daily agony they endured.

In AD 66, nationalist and religious revolutionaries in Judaea led a ferocious revolt of the Jewish people against the authority of mighty Rome, culminating in the greatest upheaval and savagery the world had known up to that time. By the end of the conflict seven years later, over one million Jews had perished and tens of thousands were sold into slavery. Until the Holocaust, it remained the greatest tragedy ever endured by a people.

How could the Jews comprise less than one percent of the world’s population, yet make up 22 percent of Nobel laureates? Despite passing through innumerable challenges, the Jews have produced stunningly gifted people in the sciences, humanities, and economics. Through the millennia and around the world, Jewish history is an astounding story of survival against all odds, yet a touching narrative of faith, covenant, and tradition.

Part activist memoir, part crash course in Jewish and Palestinian history, Genocide Bad dismantles Zionist propaganda and maps a course towards collective liberation in ten unapologetic essays.

Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880–1940) was a man of huge paradoxes and contradictions and has been the most misunderstood of all Zionist politicians—a first-rate novelist, a celebrated Russian journalist, and the founder of the branch of Zionism now headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. This biography, the first in English in nearly two decades, undertakes to answer central questions about Jabotinsky as a writer, a political thinker, and a leader. Hillel Halkin sets aside the stereotypes to which Jabotinsky has been reduced by his would-be followers and detractors alike.

This weekend marks Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and one of the holiest times in the Jewish calendar. But what does that mean? Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about Jewish faith, worship, culture, and customs in this fascinating best seller. Rabbi Alfred J. Kolatch reveals the reasons behind specific laws, practices, and ceremonies, shedding light on one of the world's oldest and most influential religions.

Muslims and Jews have engaged one another -sometimes for better, sometimes for worse - for over 1,400 years. Yet recent discourse tends to focus on only the most antagonistic aspects of the two communities' interactions. Marc David Baer paints a more nuanced picture of Muslim-Jewish relations...

Ideal for scholars, students, and anyone seeking spiritual depth or historical insight, The Torah: The Complete Unabridged Collection includes interpretative insights, ethical discussions, and thematic explorations that enhance understanding and engagement. This work serves as a timeless guide that celebrates the teachings and traditions rooted in the heart of Judaism, offering wisdom and inspiration that extends beyond religious boundaries to touch the core of human experience.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 'An engrossing tale of cruel prejudice and resilience' - The Times 'A stunning account of a dark history . . . magnificent' - The Irish Times 'Fascinating' - The Spectator 'Important and timely' - The Telegraph 'Splendid . . . hard to rival' - Literary...

The Romans, through sheer military strength, turned Judea into a client state. They forced the Jews to submit to Roman law, Roman taxation, and to countenance Roman religion. The Jews of Judea exhibited unbelievable strength in resisting assimilation into Roman Hellenistic culture. Their history of dealing with foreign overlords inspired the Jews to hold out and revolt against the Romans.

Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code in an old Egyptian synagogue - the amazing story of one of the most important discoveries in modern religious scholarship. In 1897, Rabbi Solomon Schechter of Cambridge University stepped into the attic of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt, and there found the largest treasure trove of medieval and early manuscripts ever discovered.

The Kosher Capones tells the fascinating story of Chicago’s Jewish gangsters from Prohibition into the 1980s. Author Joe Kraus traces these gangsters through the lives, criminal careers, and conflicts of Benjamin “Zukie the Bookie” Zuckerman, last of the independent West Side Jewish bosses, and Lenny Patrick, eventual head of the Syndicate’s “Jewish wing.” 

Jewish Life in Medieval Spain is a detailed exploration of the Jewish experience in medieval Spain from the dawn of Sephardic society in the ninth century to the expulsion of 1492. An important contribution of the book is the integration of the rise and fall of Jewish life in Muslim al-Andalus into the history of the Jews in medieval Christian Spain. It traces the collapse of Jewish life in Muslim Spain, the emigration of Andalusi Jewry to the lands of Christian Iberia, and the difficult confluence of these two distinct Jewish subcultures.