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The Historical Atlas of Judaism
The history of the Jewish people is as turbulent as it is ancient, and this atlas explores the historic struggles of the Jews, as well as their rich cultural and religious history. This work explores key events, wars, and historical figures in clear concise text and brings Judaism alive through maps and contemporaneous art.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 20, 2017
This book is rich with 120 chapters of two to four pages of descriptions of all aspects of Judaism including beginnings, patriarchs, prophets, kings, neighbors, disputes, the diaspora, persecution, traditions, faith and much more. The chronology of Judaism ranges from Old Testament scripture to twenty first century culture and events. There are maps for almost every chapter to enhance the reader’s knowledge of what is given in the narratives. I can now use the book as a reference book and refer to the maps as I study the bible in more depth.
Barnes and Bacon treat Christ, himself very fairly even considering the Jewish lens from which these authors write. They make New Testament quotes and do not question the historical events of the life of Jesus including miracles attributed to him. And as in most of my reading I am prompted to further reading. Jerusalem is the Holy City, holy to three religions and we know there is contention as to the rightful ownership of not only the city but all of Israel. Therefore, my next book to read is “Who Owns the Land” by author Stanley Ellisen, updated by Charles Dyer concerning the Arab/Israeli conflict over the land.
I recommend “The Historical Atlas of Judaism” as not only a good book to read, but one to keep as a reference and to trace the Jewish faith and culture geographically using the detailed maps provided for every era.
Barnes and Bacon treat Christ, himself very fairly even considering the Jewish lens from which these authors write. They make New Testament quotes and do not question the historical events of the life of Jesus including miracles attributed to him. And as in most of my reading I am prompted to further reading. Jerusalem is the Holy City, holy to three religions and we know there is contention as to the rightful ownership of not only the city but all of Israel. Therefore, my next book to read is “Who Owns the Land” by author Stanley Ellisen, updated by Charles Dyer concerning the Arab/Israeli conflict over the land.
I recommend “The Historical Atlas of Judaism” as not only a good book to read, but one to keep as a reference and to trace the Jewish faith and culture geographically using the detailed maps provided for every era.
March 26, 2012
I'm still trying to decide whether or not this book is worth the $12.98 I paid for it at Barnes and Noble...
It certainly looked like a bargain when I picked it up. Nearly 400 pages printed on slick, heavy-weight paper with color maps on nearly every other page. I figured no matter how bad the accompanying prose was, it was worth it.
And indeed, some of the prose was quite informative as were the vast majority of the maps and other illustrations. The authors clearly know the subject of the history of Judaism well. The problem, and it's a big one, is in the editing. Many of the 2-4 page articles read as if they'd been hastily cut and pasted from another source. Words, and sometimes whole clauses, are missing or misspelled. Only the rare article gives direct reference to the accompanying map. Sometimes, it seems that the wrong map has been assigned to an article. Sometimes it seems as if the wrong legend has been attached to a map. Add to that the rather mysterious system of organization of the book (sometimes chronological, sometimes geographical, sometimes apparently random) and the result is an often confusing mess.
Still, $12.98 IS a bargain for the color maps alone. This book will go onto my reference shelves but I don't think I'll be pulling it out very often.
It certainly looked like a bargain when I picked it up. Nearly 400 pages printed on slick, heavy-weight paper with color maps on nearly every other page. I figured no matter how bad the accompanying prose was, it was worth it.
And indeed, some of the prose was quite informative as were the vast majority of the maps and other illustrations. The authors clearly know the subject of the history of Judaism well. The problem, and it's a big one, is in the editing. Many of the 2-4 page articles read as if they'd been hastily cut and pasted from another source. Words, and sometimes whole clauses, are missing or misspelled. Only the rare article gives direct reference to the accompanying map. Sometimes, it seems that the wrong map has been assigned to an article. Sometimes it seems as if the wrong legend has been attached to a map. Add to that the rather mysterious system of organization of the book (sometimes chronological, sometimes geographical, sometimes apparently random) and the result is an often confusing mess.
Still, $12.98 IS a bargain for the color maps alone. This book will go onto my reference shelves but I don't think I'll be pulling it out very often.
July 24, 2010
I zipped through this slim volume, remembering my backpacking days with pleasure. The accounts of Montezuma's revenge (or its Asian equivalent), camel riding, and Romanian food made me glad that I was in an armchair and not on the road...
May 27, 2012
Factually Incorrect, biased and does a disservice to the topic.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews