The Jewish 100

by Michael Shapiro

Jewish men and women have been influential in religion, politics, music, commerce, law, sports, diplomacy, philosophy, literature, art, and motion pictures. Who were the most influential Jews, and how do they rank? Individuals from the biblical, classical, medieval, and modern eras appear in the pages of The Jewish 100. This updated edition contains various changes to the 1994 edition, including an entry on slain Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin.

Abraham is the father of the world's three major religions. Karl Marx created an ideology followed by billions. Jesus is still worshipped by billions more, but who is more influential: Mary, the woman who gave birth to him, or Saul of Tarsus/Apostle Paul, the man who spread his Gospel? Einstein's theories split the atom and changed the world. Freud's exploration of the psyche has forever altered our perception of ourselves. But who ranks in front of whom?

Eminently readable, informative, and entertaining, The Jewish 100 is history on a vast scale. It is a panoramic story of an irrepressible poeple who have risen to the greatest heights in a variety of fields, including such master musicians as Mahler, Mendelssohn, Sondheim, Gershwin, and Goodman; such writers and thinkers as Proust, Spinoza, Marx, Buber, and Maimonides; the pioner of media, including Mayer and Sarnoff; diplomats, statesman, and warriors such as King David, Ben-Gurion, Disraeli, Weizmann, and Kissinger; as well as dozens of other giants who have shaped their times and continue to exert influence to this day.

Genres: Judaism, Biography

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 1997

About the author

Michael Shapiro writes about travel, the performing arts, and environmental issues for magazines and newspapers. A former staff reporter and editor at newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, he’s the author of The Creative Spark, a collection of interviews with many of the world’s most creative people, and A Sense of Place, featuring conversations with leading travel writers. His stories appear in National Geographic, AFAR, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.

Reviews

[James Goldberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandpa got this book for us when I was a teenager. On the surface is pretty simple: short biographies of 100 Jews author Michael Shapiro feels have had or will have the most influence on history, for good or ill. But it also can serve as a wonderful gateway into Jewish history, giving a sense of the broad scope of Jewish history through a hundred tiny windows.

[Savannah Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

KAFKA A JEW #W💯💯💯💯

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this book would be fascinating! When I first laid eyes on it, I knew just had to buy it.

"The Jewish 100 - A Ranking of the Most Influential Jews of All Time"

I don't think it's possible for anyone to have more respect or heart-felt affection for the Jewish people than I do. Throughout the ages, they have demonstrated their strength, their courage, and their intellectual genius everywhere they've gone. Dispersed throughout the world following the destruction of their homeland - at least twice - they've been a blessing to every society that accepted them. Even countries that didn't treat them well, i.e. Russia, Germany, Spain, etc., prospered because of the Jewish people living in their midst.

Here are just a few of the names of the people whose mini-biographies are included in this book: Moses, Jesus, Einstein, Freud, Anne Frank, Benjamin Disraeli, David Ben-Gurion, Rothschild, Trotsky, Golda Meir, Mendelssohn, Rabin, Louis Brandeis, Levi Strauss, Begin, Jonas Salk, Kissinger, Houdini, Groucho Marx, Steven Spielberg, and many more. Their lives, their contributions to the society of mankind, are beyond measure. Yes, some of them were not "noble," as we define nobility, but their impact on history is still felt today, no matter long ago or how recently, they lived.

[Nate · Rating 2 out of 5]

great informational read

[Aliah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Концовка испорчена напрочь! Спасибо русскому издательству -- уровня Шапиро не достичь никогда, т.к. его текст читается легко и приятно.