The Story of the Jews : A 4,000-Year Adventure

Plot

Amazon.com Review
For every Talmudic scholar there are 10 well-intended souls who can't scan a page of Genesis without snoring. But thanks to Stan Mack, the history of the Jews is accessible to anyone who's ever succeeded in reading the comics. With humor, biblical quotes, cartoon sketches, historical accuracy, and an irreverent tone, Mack sums up 4,000 years of Jewish history in a fast-paced, delightful narrative. So a few incidents and details get lost along the way--more important is that what's included actually gets read, because Mack's style and drawings are so beguiling. From Abraham's covenant with God and the introduction of monotheism (a Jewish soldier instructs a Canaanite at sword point, saying "Y'see, our God isn't really fighting your God because our God is your God and your God isn't really a God because...") to today's diverse denominations ("My synagogue is unaffiliated. Our members have an equal say, are nonideological, and have low dues"), Mack's quips and sketches cover a lot of ground, from the Exodus, Romans, Christians and Moslems, onward. He sashays through ghettos and shtetls, illustrates Europe's anti-Semitism and Zionist fever, breezes through immigration to the U.S., WWII, and the establishment of Israel, ending with Jewish culture in the late 20th century. Backed by an index (which makes this a reference instead of a comic book) and a savvy political cartoonist's eye for irony, Mack's book emanates a fondness for his subject. And he tells a good story. --Stephanie Gold --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
YA-At a near breakneck pace, this graphic-novel-style capitulation of history may be short on explanations but does an extraordinary job of presenting the experiences of the Jewish people in relation to social developments and political exigencies of every era. Humorous line cartoons with the occasional dialogue balloon expressing an "Oy" or an exemplary bit of pilpul carry readers through centuries of Biblical trials, tribulations, and discoveries. Secular Jews may find themselves deeply engaged by this facile journey through a past they haven't been able to reconstruct from traditional world-history courses. Other readers, too, will find a gem or two to nod and smile over. The greatest strength of this text is Mack's ability to humanize the nexus of cultures, whether it is Jews with Syrians, Jews with Greeks, or Jews arriving in the U.S. A supplement to ethnic-studies texts as well as an informative choice for casual readers.