Max I. Dimont
Paperback | Pages: 572 pages Rating: 4.1 | 995 Users | 82 Reviews
Declare Epithetical Books Jews, God, and History
| Title | : | Jews, God, and History |
| Author | : | Max I. Dimont |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | 50th Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 572 pages |
| Published | : | June 1st 2004 by Signet (first published 1962) |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. Religion. Judaism. Literature. Jewish. Judaica |
Interpretation During Books Jews, God, and History
How have the Jews survived through so many millenia while other civilizations have declined and perished? What qualities mark the culture that produced Moses, Christ, Spinoza, Marx, Freud, and Einstein? From ancient Palestine through Europe and Asia, to America and modern Israel, Max I. Dimont shows how the saga of the Jews is interwoven with the story of virtually every nation on earth. This is a tale of a people escaping annihilation, fighting, falling back, advancing - a lively and fascinating look at how the Jews have contributed to humankind's spiritual and intellectual heritage in remarkable ways, and across a remarkable span of history.Itemize Books In Pursuance Of Jews, God, and History
| Original Title: | Jews, God and History |
| ISBN: | 0451529405 (ISBN13: 9780451529404) |
| Edition Language: |
Rating Epithetical Books Jews, God, and History
Ratings: 4.1 From 995 Users | 82 ReviewsWrite-Up Epithetical Books Jews, God, and History
This wasn't one of my favorite treatments of Jewish history, but to be fair, I don't think I'm Dimont's target audience. The book was originally written in the mid-twentieth century as a popular history by an author who came late to scholarship. Dimont therefore had to catch the attention of people who, by contrast with American readers of popular histories today, were less automatically convinced of the value of multiculturalism, were likely less personally familiar with Jews, and were moreThis made for a good read - at least the first half. The first half gives a secular overview of Jewish history from Abraham to the Enlightenment. (The word "God" in the title is misleading. He does not appear in the book.) Dimont seems to have two agendas for this part of the book:1 - Prove that Jews did not get kills more often then Christians before the Renaissance. 2 - Prove that Jews kept the world spinning while incompetent Muslims and reactionary Christians let civilization fall into
What if everyone in the world were still pagans today? Where did monotheism come from, and how did the pagan world - and later, various monotheisms - react to the original monotheist nation?Overviews of history are interesting, because they can look at larger trends than one politicians lifespan, or one specific war. This book is tremendously ambitious, as it goes back to pagan days and looks at the changes monotheism made, then continues through various empires, social systems, and political
This book is what I would call a "popularized" history. It's a fairly light and quick read and a good introduction to Jewish history. I take issue with the fact that Mr. Dimont treats certain characters in Jewish literature as historical (e.g. Abraham, Isaac, etc). Also I'm sure he's wrong about certain things. He states that the Zealots gained members from both the Pharisees and Sadducees. By what I know of those two groups, that would have been impossible as the Sadducees were nothing but
i am a big fan of history and this is superb.
Not a new book, but related to a PBS special about the history of the Jews. It relates well to another book I am reading, as part of a Bible Study/book club. I've learned, among other things, that the people of Galilee were converted to Judaism only about a century or so BEFORE Jesus. Galilee was once part of the kingdom of Israel, but all the people (the ten tribes!) were scattered and the land left to what the Jews of the time would have called pagans or idolators, and the kingdom of Judea
Well written, interesting, not dry or academic non-fiction. This book starts with history so old it is barely described in the Bible. I suppose the author is Jewish but this is not a religious book and it covers the birth of Christianity, its ups and downs and the same for Islamic history objectively. In the early days the three seem like fluid sloshing back and forth in a bucket - then the barbarians attack. As an example of his non-religious take on things: "We shall ask the same question at
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