Maimonides, Joel L. Kraemer
Maimonides, Joel L. Kraemer
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Maimonides
The Life and World of One of Civilization's Greatest Minds

Author: Joel L. Kraemer

Narrator: Sean Pratt

Unabridged: 20 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 02/10/2009


Synopsis

The first definitive biography of Moses Maimonides, one of the most influential intellects in all of human history, illuminates his life as a philosopher, physician, and lawgiver. Recalling such bestsellers as David McCullough’s John Adams and Walter Isaacson’s Einstein, MAIMONIDES is a biography on a grand scale, brilliantly explicating one man’s life against the background of his time.

As a physician, Maimonides is associated with Hippocrates as a founder of modern medicine; his influence in philosophy is equal to that of Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, and Kant; in religion, he is as significant as Moses, Martin Luther, and Saint Augustine; and as a lawgiver, he has been recognized by the United States Congress as one of the greatest alongside Hammurabi and Thomas Jefferson. Now, in a dazzling work of scholarship, Joel Kraemer tells the complete story of Maimonides’s rich life.
Maimonides is at once a portrait of a great historical figure and an excursion into the Mediterranean world of the twelfth century. Joel Kraemer draws on a wealth of original sources to re-create a remarkable period in history when Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions clashed and mingled in a setting alive with intense intellectual exchange and religious conflict. Born in Muslim-ruled Spain in 1135, Moses Maimonides was deeply conversant with Arabic philosophy and literature. By the time he was thirty, he was known for his seminal works on the Jewish practices and law. In Egypt, his training as a physician earned him a place in the entourage of the great Sultan Saladin, and his books earned him respect and influenced generations of Christian, Muslim and Jewish thinkers.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David

Moses ben Maimon, or more popularly, Maimonides, was one of the greatest thinkers of his time. He was born in Muslim-ruled Spain in 1138, and lived most of his life in Cairo, Egypt. This book details his life, the history and culture of his time, his works, his influence, and his writings. I am just......more

Goodreads review by robin

The Life Of The Great Eagle Among the many honorary titles applied to the Jewish sage Maimonides (1138 -- 1204) was the "Great Eagle" derived from the Book of Ezekiel. 17:3: "Thus saith the Lord God: The great eagle with the great wings and the long pinions and brilliant colors." In his biography, "M......more

Goodreads review by Murtaza

The legendary Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides was born in the fading light of Andalusian civilization and ended his life in the New York City of its time: the bustling imperial metropolis of Islamic Cario. Though he was famous in his lifetime we have relatively scant personal details about Maimonide......more

Goodreads review by Gary

At times I suspect the author did not read his own book otherwise how can he say such things as ‘Maimonides loathed superstition in every shape and form’ while also telling us about Maimonides’ beliefs in esoteric rituals concerning women’s menstruation and bathing rituals and other just as equally......more