A History of the Jews, Paul Johnson
A History of the Jews, Paul Johnson
6 Rating(s)
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A History of the Jews

Author: Paul Johnson

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Unabridged: 27 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook (DRM Protected)

Published: 01/15/2008

Synopsis

This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world: their genius, imagination and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.“Why have I written a history of the Jews?…When I was working on my History of Christianity, I became aware for the first time in my life of the magnitude of debt Christianity owes to Judaism…the book gave me the chance to reconsider objectively, in the light of a study covering nearly 4,000 years, the most intractable of all human questions: what are we on earth for? Is history merely a series of events whose sum is meaningless?”—from the Prologue

About Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is a historian whose work ranges over the millennia and the whole gamut of human activities. He regularly writes book reviews for several UK magazines and newspapers, such as the Literary Review and the Spectator, and he lectures around the world. He lives in London.

About Wanda McCaddon

Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Carlos on August 28, 2024

[Read in Spanish] -- [Reseña en español más abajo] A very long book, but despite that it is not long enough to write about the whole story of a religion. A great historian such as Paul Johnson knew how to summarize everything in one book. I could realize how biased from the archaeological and biblica......more

Goodreads review by Gary on June 16, 2021

This review is dedicated to the Jewish Nation, reborn as a sovereign people, in the Land of Israel. In this work Johnson undertakes a comprehensive study of the Jewish people (from the route word Yehudi, meaning people of Yehudah (Judea), popularly referred to today as the West Bank, the ancient crad......more

Goodreads review by Mesoscope on November 03, 2015

I'm not really reviewing this book, I'm explaining why I abandoned it pretty early on. This book is not for me, and personally I feel it shouldn't be for anyone, but you can draw your own conclusions. I abandoned this book when it became excruciatingly obvious that Johnson was cherry-picking histori......more

Goodreads review by Jeffrey on September 15, 2011

This book was written by one of the most prominent historians of the 20st Century, and as a best-seller in the late 80s, has certainly been read by a large number of non-Jews. But this book should be read by every Jew who lacks a full appreciation for what Judaism has contributed to modern civilizat......more

Goodreads review by Rajiv on October 26, 2013

This is an excellent book, and for anyone interested in learning about the Jews, this is an excellent book. Paul Johnson has covered the saga of the Jews in an admirable way. Having said that, it is a heavy read, and may require one or two re-readings after a space of time, to fully understand the b......more

Quotes

“A tour de force…A remarkable achievement.”

“A marvelous book.”

“An absorbing, provocative, well-written, often moving book—an insightful and impassioned blend of history and myth, story and interpretation.”

“It’s no mean feat to successfully compress 4,000 years of history into 645 pages, but Johnson has more than met the challenge…an excellent, nonscholarly history for general readers.”

Awards

  • Federalist Notable Book
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