Description

It is a story like no other: an epic of endurance against destruction, of creativity in oppression, joy amidst grief, the affirmation of life against the steepest of odds.

It spans the millennia and the continents – from India to Andalusia and from the bazaars of Cairo to the streets of Oxford. It takes you to unimagined places: to a Jewish kingdom in the mountains of southern Arabia; a Syrian synagogue glowing with radiant wall paintings; the palm groves of the Jewish dead in the Roman catacombs. And its voices ring loud and clear, from the severities and ecstasies of the Bible writers to the love poems of wine bibbers in a garden in Muslim Spain.

Within these pages, the Talmud burns in the streets of Paris, massed gibbets hang over the streets of medieval London, a Majorcan illuminator redraws the world; candles are lit, chants are sung, mules are packed, ships loaded with spice and gems founder at sea.

And a great story unfolds. Not – as often imagined – of a culture apart, but of a Jewish world immersed in and imprinted by the peoples among whom they have dwelled, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, from the Arabs to the Christians.

Which makes the story of the Jews everyone’s story, too.

Publisher Review

Schama at his best, a labour of love, as full of memorable incident as a Bellow novel and wittier than a Woody Allen movie * The Times * Schama has written a proud and personal story of his people, one that will make a good starting point for those interested in one of history's most fascinating and tragic tales -- Josh Glancy * Sunday Times * Inspiring... Schama tells it with panache, weaving facts and anecdotes into a vivid history * Observer * Unforgettable...a delicious cacophony of conversations and clamorous arguments echoing across history * Daily Telegraph * A spirited, immensely enjoyable and wide-ranging account... [expresses] both the triumphs and the tragedies with irrepressible enthusiasm and his customary eloquence * Financial Times *