A History of the Jews: from the Destruction of Judah in 568 BC to the Present Arab Israeli Conflict

Plot

Conquered, dispersed, nationless, often savagely persecuted, the Jews not only survived but contributed vitally to Western civilization, playing a role in almost every crucial event of world history. In this definitive single volume, recognized as a classic work for over two decades, Dr. Grayzel traces the dramatic story of the Jews as it moves through the rise and fall of the Greek states and the Roman Empire, the barbarian invasion and the emergence of the European nations, the Rensaisance and the Reformation, the French and American revolutions, World War II, and the establishment of the state of Israel.

This is a wonderful history of the Jews, done by a Jewish historian. Before I came to this book, I read A History of the Jews by Johnson, which gave me a really good factual understanding of Jewish history. But Grayzel's volume goes into the real meat of the old royal court history and the signifigance of the different parties involved in the successive revolutions under Roman rule. Why did the Jews rebel so many times, inflicting countless casualties on their populace? The extemists who could not stand Hellenization, and the Hellenizers who wanted to get rid of the Jewish religion altogether, created a struggle that would lead the ultimate destruction of Israel and dispersal of the Jews.