A History of the Jews by Paul Johnson

A History of the Jews Reviews

• 
  Olympia

  This book which is an epic journey should have been produced as two novels. It is quite a task to hold for any length of time a book of over 600 pages. I have only started chapter two. I find that each chapter is far too long and by the time you reach the end you've forgotten what the beginning was all about. It doesn't however take anything away from the enormous depth of knowledge and research that the author has undertaken. I bought this as a present but may have to rethink that this present might be just a little too large. A fascinating and very interesting book all the same.
• 
  The Outsider

  Paul Johnson is nothing but thorough in his massive and well researched history of the Jews. Though he is clear and at pains to show the truth about Jewish history and to praise Jews throughout for their contributions to the world, one cannot escape the lack of 'mea culpa' in the Catholic role of persecution he is after all, a leading Catholic writer. He also avoids Geza Vermes' conclusion that Jesus and his followers were indeed wholly Jewish, and not some self appointed Messiah cult. It was Paul who created the fatal schism between followers of Jesus (Joshua, to give him his right name) and the traditional Jewish disciples who took part in the events of his life and death. All the Gospels accepted by the Church were written by Paul's followers well after his split with the Jews, and became increasingly anti Jewish after the First Revolt against Rome. That Johnson is ignorant of these facts is simply not possible.With these caveats, I doubt anyone, Jew or Gentile, would not learn a great deal from this one volume. I know I did. Johnson is intelligent, clear eyed, and creates some wonderful insights into the facts. That Israel today is riven by the same tensions between the worldly (Saul) and the religious (Samuel)is one bold and largely true insight. Johnson is clearly full of praise for the Jews throughout, though he is not sparing in his adept analysis of Jewish self hatred, as seen in Marx and many other characters. This is due to the astonishing persecution throughout the ages, and the internal fight between the worldly and religious. There is much to think about here and reflect.Johnson is also unsparing about his views of tormented Israel and the role of the Arabs, Soviet Union and oil money in creating a topsy turvy image of Zionism as racism. Haven't Jews suffered enough? This is the question asked by the pious Jews who see Israel as man's presumptions over stepping Gods no, there is to come. Though written in 1987, this book has enough bite to be relevant today, and if you have the time, patience and resolve, reading it is well worth while.
• 
  Kindle Customer

  I am about halfway through with the Kindle version of this. As is usual for Paul Johnson, it is an engaging read and hard to put down.The reason I give it 4 stars, however, is due to the Kindle version having a few OCR rendering issues, which detract from the text occasionally (it seems about every other page in some sections). This means sometimes that I have to go elsewhere to see who or what Johnson is writing about.(Until I started using Kindle, I had no idea how many manuscripts weren't committed to digital format by the publishing companies some are so distractingly full of OCR rendering issues. I assume this arises from being copied from hard copies.)
• 
  virgilio pellandini

  A history of the Jews starting with biblical references is bound to be disappointing to the scientifically minded reader. This certainly does not bend this rule…
• 
  alcyst

  Enjoying it. Some odd gaps so far, which probably have to do the the reality of pre history than Johnson's ability. One is the idea that the tribe, that became the nation, that became Israel seemed to emerge with a sense of self before even the religion, or area of settlement became real. Another is the observation that at one stage, about 0AD, perhaps 10% of the population of the Roman empire was Jewish, and had already spread though Italy and many other geographies.Enjoyable read on a big subject.