A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood 1st Edition

Having recently completed a long book on the Holocaust, I wanted to read a short history of the Jewish people. The Holocaust book caused me to desire a more complete understanding of the history of anti-Semitism. In other words, what went on before the Holocaust? Professor Scheindlin's book helped to answer some of my questions.The book starts at the year 1220 B.C.E. and ends in modern times (the copyright on my edition is 1998). I learned a lot from this book. I was fascinated by the Third and Fourth Lateran Councils, and how their injunctions adversely affected the Jews. Professor Scheindlin writes, "The Third Lateran Council, in 1179, was an important milestone, since it revived some long-neglected restrictions on the Jews, some of which were designed to bring about the social separation of Jews and Christians. Jews were prohibited from having Christian servants or employees, Christians were prohibited from living in Jewish neighborhoods, and the testimony of a Christian was to be accepted against that of a Jew. The Fourth Lateran Council, in 1215, took a decisive step further toward the segregation of Jews by creating the hated Jewish badge, which labeled every single Jew as a shameful outcast. It also prohibited Jews from holding public office and from appearing in public on Easter and certain other holy days." The purpose of sharing this quote from the book is twofold. First, I want to show what a good writer Professor Scheindlin is. Second, I want to show some parallels in how the Jews were treated in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the twentieth century. History can indeed repeat itself.There is much more to the book than the small slice of history quoted above. If you are looking for a concise and well-written history of the Jewish people, I highly recommend this book. I'm sure I will read it again.

Raymond P. Scheindlin has managed to write, in 263 pages, an accurate, secular and very readable history of the Jewish people. He takes the reader, chronologically, from the period of the first known references to the Israelites outside the Bible, (1220 B.C.E.), an Egyptian inscription commemorating the victory of the pharaoh Marniptah over the wandering tribe, to the declaration of Israeli statehood in 1948, and further still to the present peace negotiations in the Middle East. This sweeping and highly informative work presents the major geographical, cultural and political forces that have determined the course of Jewish history. Scheindlin also discusses the many individuals, secular and religious, who have shaped the mindset and character of the Jewish people.I am taking a course in Jewish history and asked my professor for "an excellent but readable book" on the subject. I told him I wanted to be able to "enjoy the reading process as well as study." He immediately suggested Rabbi Scheindlin's "A Short History of the Jewish People." I must say that if it is possible to call a history book "riveting" and "compelling" and still maintain credibility, I will say it. I could not put the book down! The text is beautifully written and the history itself, as well as the people who made it, are fascinating. The book also serves as an excellent outline of Jewish History and has assisted me in understanding the course's assigned texts. Highly recommended!JANA

The book lives up to its name of being a short history of the Jewish People.With easy to read chapters, and well cited sources, OUP doesn't fail at delivering a quality monograph.

Scheindlin has managed to write nearly the perfect book for a lower division course on Jewish history. He successfully spans the entire scope of Jewish history from legendary times to the modern State of Israel in a mere 263 pages of very readable prose. His writing is neither dry nor laden with jargon. He writes like Leon Uris or Herman Wouk.Two issues of debate in the book should be supplemented with additional readings. The first is that the portrayal of the Jewish-Christian schism is only presented in the context of medieval Antisemitism, and a more balanced and informative view of the formative period of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity is found in From Text To Tradition by Lawrence Schiffman. The second is the lachrymos portrayal of Jewish life in the Middle Ages. That should be balanced with Salo Baron's groundbreaking article "Ghetto and Emancipation," reprinted in The Menorah Treasury, ed. Leo W. Schwarz (Philadelphia, 1964).With those two caveats, I would recommend this book for any introductory Jewish history or Jewish studies survey class.

This is probably the best survey history of the Jewish people that I've read. It is a "friendly" read, not overly dense and not overly simplistic. Also, the author has a modern, pro-Jewish perspective (as compared to some authors that see Judaism just as a precursor to Christianity, or reduces Jewish civilization to just a faith). I was a graduate student focusing on Jewish history and I've read a lot of them. I've used Scheindlin's book when I've taught Jewish history classes and my students found it informative and accessible.

I enjoyed this book and learned alot about Jewish history from it. I had some problem with the organization. It is organized by geographic area rather than historical periods. As a result it was difficult to understand what was happening in Europe and North Africa at the same time. I was somewhat confused by the author's use of the terms Sephardic and Ashkensac, as I had always through the Sephardic Jews were those from North Africa and Spain, but the author appears to include others as well.

Love this book. A very good read and primer for anyone trying to study Judaism. I used this for my conversion and learned so much from it. Nicely written.

I've read several of the short histories of the Jewish people and this is the best of the lot. In fact it's one of the best short histories I've read on any subject. It's clear, easy-to-read, informative, objective and interesting. I would definitely recommend this over the two by Myers and Brenner. Neither of those are rubbish but the Scheindlin one is the best.

Bon aperçu de l'histoire du peuple juif de cette époque.

只今読んでます。私が最も知りたい事。なぜユダヤ人は迫害されてきたのに聖書がこれだけ非ユダヤ人に読まれているのか。答えを見つけたいです。

excellent book..

This is readable, concise and very informative.