A History of the Jews (Perennial Library)

A History of the Jews (Perennial Library)

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02  ·  rating details  ·  539 ratings  ·  43 reviews
A brilliant and comprehensive one-volume survey covering 4,000 years of Jewish history and the impact of Jewish genius and imagination on the world. "An absorbing, provocative, well-written, often moving book."-- "Christian Science Monitor" "An extraordinary amount of useful information." "--New York Review of Books"
Paperback, 644 pages
Published September 14th 1988 by Harper & Row (first published 1987)
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Community Reviews

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Elaine
This history of the Jews is written through the ideas of a devout Christian who believes, i think wrongly, that Jesus intended to abandon Judaism in order to start a new religion . Yet, Johnson's own account of Jesus' ministry confirms that Jesus, a student and follower of Hillel, had as His mission the aim of getting Jews to practice what they preached

Before enlarging upon this perhaps controversial claim, we should consider Johnson's reasons for writing the 4000 year recorded history of the...more
Regina Doman
Paul Johnson ... ah, this man is a treasure. The only thing I can think of that comes close to being as good as reading a book by Paul Johnson is reading a book by David McCullough -- and I read David McCullough mainly to console myself after having finished another book by Paul Johnson.

Johnson brings a relentlessly moral worldview to his various surveys of history, and he has just enough difference in temperament and worldview from me to keep me reading critically. I have come to look forward...more
Erik
This caught me up on Biblical mumbo jumbo, the dawn of rabbinism, all the juicy violent tidbits about the Spanish Inquisition, Russian pogroms, French conspiracy theory, and Holocaust. Finally it updated my about the origins of Zionism, and helped my have a deeper understanding of the ongoing Arab/Israeli conflict. This book does seem to have a Jewish favoritism thing going on...yet it was written by a Christian. You sort of get to see the dilemma of the religion of Judaism, and the race of Jews...more
Kim
This was very well done. The author seemed to mainain his objectivity, although that is always up for debate, I guess. I found the ancient history and the modern history equally enjoyable, perhaps because I have some basic knowledge in these areas, but the middle history (1000-1800) was pretty much all new to me and helps complete the picture. I remember a plant from my childhood that we called a "Wandering Jew" and I finally understand the meaning of this phrase (if not why it is applied to tha...more
Michael Seidel
The first three parts of the book were very interesting and I especially enjoyed learning about the prophets as actual people, as well as all the variety of Jewish sects that sprung up in antiquity. Where the book runs out of steam starts in the fourth part, when he starts to get bogged down by continuous listings of dates and cities of expulsions and pogroms. We get it, already! Listing dates and locations doesn't make for an interesting book. He also gets bogged down with listing all these peo...more
QVT
It's a tough book to read. It's relatively well written, although I've seen better organized histories. Obviously it was something of a monumental task and getting it together in this form is impressive. It's just so depressing. Johnson tries his best to make it sound like we haven't spent the better part of four thousand years being treated as "sub-humans" or not human at all. Tries and fails, it must be said. A noble failure.

The major complaints I had: The ancient history section is a little s...more
Jeffrey Cohan
This book was written by one of the most prominent historians of the 20st Century, and as a best-seller in the late 80s, has certainly been read by a large number of non-Jews. But this book should be read by every Jew who lacks a full appreciation for what Judaism has contributed to modern civilization. And the vast majority of Jews fit that description.

It isn't so much what Johnson will teach you – it's how he says it, how he transmits the essence. To wit, here is part of his description of Mos...more
Shawn
This is not just a history of the Jews. It is a history of Western Civilization. It covers so much, it is at times overwhelming. It is hard to sum up one’s response to a book that covers nearly 5000 years and every major event in the West. I can do no better than quote Johnson from his Epilogue: “It seems to be the role of the Jews to focus and dramatize these common experiences of mankind, and to turn their particular fate into a universal moral” and “The Jews believed they were a special peopl...more
Ray
Its one of those highly anecdotal, tart, opinionated, under-footnoted, rambling British style histories, like Owen Chadwick's Secularization of the European Mind, or Peter Brown on Augustine, or one of Thomas Cahill's popular books. I'm sure Johnson is way off at points (I don't know enough to know where). And he is way to sympathetic to his subject to be balanced. He's a neo-con politically, spending the early '80s with the American Enterprise Institute, hanging out with Zionist Jews like Irvin...more
Manugw
COLOSSAL WORK

Ranging from Abraham first steps out of Ur to contemporary Israel, you will find that every single chronological statement or explanation is the product of a very deep research, and this is what it makes this book so valuable
It is also very important to highlight that even though Johnson is not Jewish, this book is cited as a reference material by prominent Rabbies and recommended by many highly qualified Jewish websites as a classic for consultation
Anna West
May 14, 2008 Anna West rated it 3 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Jews
I got it for Sid but then I didn't have a book so I've been reading it instead. there is no way he is going to get through it. This book is really interesting. It starts wih the first Jew, Abraham and traces from the Old Testament the lives of Jews all the way to present day. I thought it would be fascinating to have a copy of the bible nearby (I don't) to compare passages with those in the book, because it pretty much follows it chronologically.
That being said, I didn't even make it through a q...more
Mike
I have the ancient history of the Jews by Josephus, but haven't read it yet. Johnson's is comprehensive, and multifaceted, as all of his books are, talking about movements, thoughts and ideas that have shaped the rich and amazing history of this numerically small, but highly influential people through time. A great read for anyone!
David Prager
Superb one-volume history of the Jewish people. Johnson is a fine writer, with a flair for the dramatic, but in a British understated way. This sweeping history covers the entire story through the centuries, from Abraham to the present. Very enjoyable and intellectually stimulating read.
Julián
Aunque abiertamente pro-mercadolibre, es una de las más detenidas investigaciones que existen sobre el pueblo judío, pues trasciende los hábitos de la historia positivista-documental y entrecruza referencias con otras disciplinas como la arqueología, la antropología y la hermenéutica comparada; con la ventaja adicional de que, al ser una mirada externa y no antisemita, permite ver lo mismo la crueldad y supersticiones que han aparecido en el devenir de esta cultura que su ancestral racionalismo,...more
Rick
Very informative but extremely long. I made it to the 19th century and gave up on it. This book provides fine detail of the history of Jews. Too much detail for my taste. I would prefer something with more generalizations.
Chrissy
This isn't the type of book I just sit and read through. I consider it somewhat of a reference book and I really do like Paul Johnson as a writer. I like his perspective and approach.
Sue
First borrowed from the library and then purchased. Very readable. Great explanations of the experiences of the Israelites (BC times) when serving the state vs serving Yahweh, the necessity of the state when defending against neighboring and warring countries, the growth and codification of Jewishness during the Babylonian captivity and how that captivity was beneficial ...

Compared to other books I'm currently reading on same subject, this account is longer, wordier (but not offensively so), an...more
Maria
Took me several years to read in its entirety . Glad I did it because I learned a lot about the Middle East as well.
Damián
Jan 20, 2012 Damián marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Cuando complete la colección con: la historia del islamismo y la historia del cristanismo lo leere.
Liza
Incredibly informative for anyone who wants to get an understanding of the place Jews hold in today's world.
Cherilyn
It is a bit dry at some areas but generally I liked it. Very interesting on how Jews came to be...
Bryan Blakeman
I wish every Christian would read this and understand your part in it.
Craig J.
A History of the Jews by Paul M. Johnson (1988)
Andre
This is a large epic volume on God's Chosen People.
Steve Hemmeke
Packed with info, but not encyclopedic; insightful
Rob
this book is so fascinating - especially the rise of 19th century leftist radicalism and the secular-jewish intelligentsia... however parts of the holocaust and WWII discussion are at odds with some things i read in "rise and fall of the 3rd reich" which makes me wonder about Johnson's objectivity. he also uses the word "adumbrate" about 300 times so you probably want to look that one up. i did but i promise never to use it. also, the closer i get to the end, the longer it seems to get... like a...more
Patrick Novak
Sep 04, 2007 Patrick Novak rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone
This is the best religious book I have ever read.
The best book on human history I have ever read.
Shows the common history that all of our modern religions share and the struggle for power, deception and lunacy that is humanity in fighting for one religious view over others. No religion is right. We are all decedents from one ancestor and we owe it to others to respect other opinions and views and save humankind from repeating the mistakes of the past which we don't seem to be able to do. Good lu...more
Rowdy Scarlett
Big book on Jewish history. Well written and an interesting read.
Cool
Jul 08, 2010 Cool marked it as to-read
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La historia de los Judios (Paperback)
A History of the Jews (Hardcover)
A History of the Jews
La Historia de los Judios (Paperback)
A History of the Jews

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Paul Johnson works as a historian, journalist and author. He was educated at Stonyhurst School in Clitheroe, Lancashire and Magdalen College, Oxford, and first came to prominence in the 1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the New Statesman magazine. He has also written for leading newspapers and magazines in Britain, the US and Europe.

Paul Johnson has published over 40 books incl...more
More about Paul Johnson...
Churchill A History of the American People Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830

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