Jews, God, and History

Plot

From Library Journal
The vitality and longevity of Jewish culture raises the question: How did this tenacious people survive throughout history when many other cultures and religions were annihilated or absorbed? Uniquely, they accomplished this without a homeland for nearly 2000 years. The work, a revision of a huge history written shortly after World War II, doesn't dwell on the Holocaust but presents a history of ancient and modern Jewish states and spells out how Torah and Talmud kept alive a tradition of abstract thought: a potent survival tool. The work also details differences between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews and the split that created Christianity. The rift among the Semites, i.e., with Islam and the Arabs, gets less attention. Anna Fields narrates this classic, which, to Jews and non-Jews alike, successfully captures the history of the Jewish experience. A useful addition to most collections.AJames Dudley, Copiague, NY.