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History of the Jews: A Captivating Guide to Jewish History, Starting from the Ancient Israelites through Roman Rule to World War 2
If you want to discover the captivating history of the Jews, then keep reading... Free History BONUS Inside! The Jewish people are one of the oldest living people groups on the planet. The Jews lived alongside the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, and Sumerians—all of whom have since disappeared from the pages of history. Yet the Jews still remain. Despite all of the odds, Jewish culture, language, laws, and religion have remained intact over the course of thousands of years. Even after being kicked out of their homeland and scattered all over the globe, the Jews were able to hold their customs close to their heart. While in exile, they developed special rules to live by through rabbinical works, such as the Talmud, which gave them a moral compass by which to live, no matter where they might end up. This was a great source of comfort for the Jewish people even while having to live in less than encouraging environments. Their traditions kept them strong. Even from the worst ghettoes in Europe, great minds, such as Moses Mendelssohn, came forth and illuminated the world with their ideas. This light shined so brightly that soon the full emancipation of Jews became the norm in the civilized world. But then, in the middle of the 20th century, disaster struck when the Nazis came to power in Germany. This horrific regime brought death and destruction upon the Jewish people on a scale that the world had never seen before. Yet despite the horrors of the Holocaust, the Jews survived. Not only did they survive, but their ancient homeland of Israel was also soon revived and reborn. When Israel became a state in 1948, the great dream of having a Jewish safe haven became a reality. This is the history of the Jews. In History of the A Captivating Guide to Jewish History, Starting from the Ancient Israelites through Roman Rule to World War 2, you will discover topics such as The origin story of the Jewish peopleHow the Jews first established IsraelAbout the judges and kings who ruled IsraelThe Babylonian captivityLife under Roman ruleHow Christianity emerged from JudaismThe Jewish emancipationThe HolocaustThe formation of IsraelAnd much, much more!So if you want to learn more about the history of the Jews, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!
107 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 8, 2021
659 people are currently reading
370 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
June 30, 2023
Biased against Muslims and brazenly pushes the Zionist agenda. Tries to justify the land grabbing of the Jews from the local Palestinians and establishment of their so called 'Jewish State'. Despicable.
Moreover, every time the author has to praise Muslim reigns where jews were treated in a fair way, he has to do it with a lot of ifs and buts as if he could not have just skip it over. However, when he has to condemn the atrocities against Jews during the crusades, he does it in a meek voice and in a way that can be considered tantamount to giving impunity to Christians.
Moreover, every time the author has to praise Muslim reigns where jews were treated in a fair way, he has to do it with a lot of ifs and buts as if he could not have just skip it over. However, when he has to condemn the atrocities against Jews during the crusades, he does it in a meek voice and in a way that can be considered tantamount to giving impunity to Christians.
January 17, 2021
This book tells us that Moses told the story of the Jews in the first 5 books of the Bible, starting with Genesis. After creation, the Bible follows a specific lineage of people, leading to Abraham, the great biblical patriarch. Abraham is identified as the founding father of Judaism, as a religion. I was not aware that Abraham's father (Terah) made his living making and selling stone idols. Much of the country of Ur was polytheistic. However, Abraham was not; he believed in one God.
The first five chapters of this book relate the early history of the Jews according to the Bible. It is interesting because it clarifies events and puts some things into a geo-political framework (that makes it more understandable). The author describes leaders (and their significance) and how they were viewed by the people alive at the time. When the story continues with Jesus of Nazareth, the book reminds the reader that Jesus was a Jew.
I appreciated the quotes that were shared at the beginning of chapter headings. Generally, they were Jewish leaders/thinkers who would come up in the book's discussion. Thanks also for the explanation of Kabbalah - a school of thought in Jewish mysticism. Giving a snippet of the theory/thought helped me to understand what was meant by 'Kabbalah.'
So much of this book helps explain other things I've read in world history. I was amazed to learn that the Soviets were the ones who entered Auschwitz first (in January 1945). Explaining how Israel was emptied of Jews and how they fought their way back is a story I'd never heard before. It also explains why the Arabs were underwhelmed with the opportunity to share their country. It was interesting to learn that the United Nations, not Britain, brokered the deal.
No wonder there was so much conflict over the creation of Israel. We will probably never get to the bottom of the promises that were made (from all sides) that set the people up for such hostility. It also explains clearly why it is so hard to come to a compromise. It must be incredibly hard for the Palestinians who are still stateless.
This book is profoundly interesting and thought-provoking. I learned so much by reading this overview of the Jewish people.
The first five chapters of this book relate the early history of the Jews according to the Bible. It is interesting because it clarifies events and puts some things into a geo-political framework (that makes it more understandable). The author describes leaders (and their significance) and how they were viewed by the people alive at the time. When the story continues with Jesus of Nazareth, the book reminds the reader that Jesus was a Jew.
I appreciated the quotes that were shared at the beginning of chapter headings. Generally, they were Jewish leaders/thinkers who would come up in the book's discussion. Thanks also for the explanation of Kabbalah - a school of thought in Jewish mysticism. Giving a snippet of the theory/thought helped me to understand what was meant by 'Kabbalah.'
So much of this book helps explain other things I've read in world history. I was amazed to learn that the Soviets were the ones who entered Auschwitz first (in January 1945). Explaining how Israel was emptied of Jews and how they fought their way back is a story I'd never heard before. It also explains why the Arabs were underwhelmed with the opportunity to share their country. It was interesting to learn that the United Nations, not Britain, brokered the deal.
No wonder there was so much conflict over the creation of Israel. We will probably never get to the bottom of the promises that were made (from all sides) that set the people up for such hostility. It also explains clearly why it is so hard to come to a compromise. It must be incredibly hard for the Palestinians who are still stateless.
This book is profoundly interesting and thought-provoking. I learned so much by reading this overview of the Jewish people.
June 19, 2024
Excellent summary
This short book is an excellent summary of the struggle undergone by the Jewish people for many centuries. A good background to understanding the events of the recent past as well as today.
This short book is an excellent summary of the struggle undergone by the Jewish people for many centuries. A good background to understanding the events of the recent past as well as today.
January 10, 2021
Very interesting book, a must read book. Covers entire history in very short span of time
July 26, 2025
Not a comedy (I don't know how that got in here), but it followed the overarching history I was taught in Hebrew school (thank you Mr. Zellman). It's always a relief to hear or read it from time to time. I'm still mad at Sheri Appleman for printing the Aleph Bet faster than me. She beat me by ONE letter. To this day, I refuse to friend her on Facebook.
May 28, 2021
A Good book overall and short. I'm giving it 2 stars due to two glaring issues.
(1) The author himself is a zionist and approaches Palestine-Israel from a zionist perspective. He propagates the lie that Palestinians chose to leave rather than be exiled. His argument is, "Well, Israel said they left on their own while Palestinians say that they were ethnically cleansed, who's to say who was right." Yes, I'm sure over a million Palestinians just decided to leave their homes for no reason, Israel can't be lying.
The author also doesn't go into detail regarding the Jewish militias that terrorized the Palestinians or the fact that Israel is a modern-day apartheid state. No mention of any of this. Just zionist propaganda about the "Jewish homeland" while ignoring the millions of Palestinians who are still being ethnically cleansed.
(2) The author seems to have a strong bigotry against Muslims and Arabs. He portrays them much less favorably than he does any other group. When portraying Christianity, he discusses it from the perspective of Christians, but when discussing Islam, he adds his own opinion to it.
e.g. "Christians believe Jesus is the son of god." But for Muslims, he'll say something like, "Muslims took their religion from Judaism." Rather than taking about Islamic beliefs from an Islamic perspective.
Of course, as mentioned before, the author seems to be an avowed Zionists, and Zionism is usually coupled with racism.
(1) The author himself is a zionist and approaches Palestine-Israel from a zionist perspective. He propagates the lie that Palestinians chose to leave rather than be exiled. His argument is, "Well, Israel said they left on their own while Palestinians say that they were ethnically cleansed, who's to say who was right." Yes, I'm sure over a million Palestinians just decided to leave their homes for no reason, Israel can't be lying.
The author also doesn't go into detail regarding the Jewish militias that terrorized the Palestinians or the fact that Israel is a modern-day apartheid state. No mention of any of this. Just zionist propaganda about the "Jewish homeland" while ignoring the millions of Palestinians who are still being ethnically cleansed.
(2) The author seems to have a strong bigotry against Muslims and Arabs. He portrays them much less favorably than he does any other group. When portraying Christianity, he discusses it from the perspective of Christians, but when discussing Islam, he adds his own opinion to it.
e.g. "Christians believe Jesus is the son of god." But for Muslims, he'll say something like, "Muslims took their religion from Judaism." Rather than taking about Islamic beliefs from an Islamic perspective.
Of course, as mentioned before, the author seems to be an avowed Zionists, and Zionism is usually coupled with racism.
February 10, 2021
I had hoped this book would be a fact-based history of the Jews. There is history, but there are also multiple inaccurate accounts pulled from the Bible and not historical record.
1) The author says Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. Biblical scholars believe they were written during the Babylonian Captivity - centuries after Moses would have lived.
2) The author says the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. The Egyptians were meticulous record keepers and no such record exists.
3) The author says the “three wise men” visited Herod. Again, no historical record of this exists. There is also no record of Herod murdering baby boys (an account the Romans would have been sure to document).
The good news is that once the author gets past Biblical times, he starts sticking to actual history. My only major complaint is that he spends a lot of time explaining the beginnings of Christianity and Islam. Yes, both religions trace their roots to Judaism, but that isn't relevant in a book about the history of the Jews.
1) The author says Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. Biblical scholars believe they were written during the Babylonian Captivity - centuries after Moses would have lived.
2) The author says the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. The Egyptians were meticulous record keepers and no such record exists.
3) The author says the “three wise men” visited Herod. Again, no historical record of this exists. There is also no record of Herod murdering baby boys (an account the Romans would have been sure to document).
The good news is that once the author gets past Biblical times, he starts sticking to actual history. My only major complaint is that he spends a lot of time explaining the beginnings of Christianity and Islam. Yes, both religions trace their roots to Judaism, but that isn't relevant in a book about the history of the Jews.
January 13, 2021
Oh wonderful read!
In the history of the Jews were taken back to Moses being set up on the canal and found by the pharaohs daughter. All the way to the Jews being legit a fine and Jewish independence. It is told through a series of happenings in Jewish yesterday. I absolutely love this book and as always have learned much from the captivating history book. I highly recommend this if you love to know the history of people in general or you just loved you with your street this is a great book for your collection.
In the history of the Jews were taken back to Moses being set up on the canal and found by the pharaohs daughter. All the way to the Jews being legit a fine and Jewish independence. It is told through a series of happenings in Jewish yesterday. I absolutely love this book and as always have learned much from the captivating history book. I highly recommend this if you love to know the history of people in general or you just loved you with your street this is a great book for your collection.
February 16, 2021
I read this book because I wanted to learn more about the middle east and the history of religious conflict between different societies. This book gave me a comprehensive look at the middle east, but also the rest of the world where Jews influenced society. Maybe because I am not as familiar with the ancient world as more modern times, I usually lose interest fairly quickly when reading about times before the 1800s. However, I enjoyed reading about Jews in the middle ages and prior times in this book.
March 5, 2024
A good overview to understand the Zionist perspective and overall history of Jews but very obviously biased. So facts stated should be taken with a large pinch of salt.
December 7, 2021
Truly remarkable the way in which centuries old history of the Jews gets narrated in the book. To the uninitiated there are some revelations as well regarding the exodus a few millenniums ago and resettlement of the Jews during the last century.
June 22, 2024
Short, a Little Off at Times, But Still Interesting
Of course the Captivating History series tends to give a condensed version of the stories they share, often missing key points that although not crucial, they may still give some interesting insights. That doesn't make them horrible of course, it's just a point to be aware of. In the case of the story of the Jews however, I think their tendency to downplay faith seriously hampered the story and led to a poorer than usual quality to be present, especially in the first half. In an attempt to please all sides (leading to neither side appreciating the effort), Captivating History tried to make the religious look unimportant while still covering it. Worse, when covering some early leaders they either highlighted their weakest points or only covered those who were weakest in faith. In typical Hollywood fashion, they talked as much as they could about Samson (who only remembered his covenants with God when convenient for him), but only mentioned Gideon (who led the most dramatic campaign against the Philistines ever) by name. Still, they really pulled the quality up near the end when writing about the struggles of starting up the state of Israel!
Of course the Captivating History series tends to give a condensed version of the stories they share, often missing key points that although not crucial, they may still give some interesting insights. That doesn't make them horrible of course, it's just a point to be aware of. In the case of the story of the Jews however, I think their tendency to downplay faith seriously hampered the story and led to a poorer than usual quality to be present, especially in the first half. In an attempt to please all sides (leading to neither side appreciating the effort), Captivating History tried to make the religious look unimportant while still covering it. Worse, when covering some early leaders they either highlighted their weakest points or only covered those who were weakest in faith. In typical Hollywood fashion, they talked as much as they could about Samson (who only remembered his covenants with God when convenient for him), but only mentioned Gideon (who led the most dramatic campaign against the Philistines ever) by name. Still, they really pulled the quality up near the end when writing about the struggles of starting up the state of Israel!
December 31, 2023
Snuck in a quickie on the last day of 2023 - History Of The Jews - which is a part of the Captivating History series.
I don't know enough to know how true the content is, but I have no reason to doubt it.
Whatever your views may be on the current situation, one can't help but feel bad for the Jewish people who, until 1948, didn't have a home of their own and were constantly persecuted. Whether the 1947/48 creation of Israel itself was ethical or not is a debate for another day.
The only complaint I have against this short non-fiction is that it didn't even touch upon the history of the Bene Israelis, India's indigenous Jewish population, who, from what we hear, are severely discriminated against in Israel. I wonder if there are other such communities the collators of this account left out.
I don't know enough to know how true the content is, but I have no reason to doubt it.
Whatever your views may be on the current situation, one can't help but feel bad for the Jewish people who, until 1948, didn't have a home of their own and were constantly persecuted. Whether the 1947/48 creation of Israel itself was ethical or not is a debate for another day.
The only complaint I have against this short non-fiction is that it didn't even touch upon the history of the Bene Israelis, India's indigenous Jewish population, who, from what we hear, are severely discriminated against in Israel. I wonder if there are other such communities the collators of this account left out.
December 19, 2025
This book had some interesting information, but honestly it spent too much time on other religions. There were 2-3 whole chapters about Jesus and early Christianity that seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with Judaism or Jewish history other than "hey Jesus was a Jew, that gives us an excuse to write about him," which just read like prosylitization. And then another chapter or two on Islam that read less like prostylization, but still had nothing to do with the Jews. Then WWII and the Holocaust were completely skippd. Like, who writes a history of the Jews and doesn't write more than a sentence about the Holocaust. The author didn't even write the one sentence there was - he copied it from Elle Weisel. Which, sure there are better books about the Holocaust if you want that, but I still don't think you should write a history of the Jews without giving it at least a chapter.
January 30, 2021
Jewish history
This book covers do you watch history from the beginning in the garden of Eden to the year of 2000. The book uses many references to the Bible and references to other authors. This is not an in-depth look at Jewish history but rather an abbreviated story of the Jewish people and their history. The book was interesting but I wish it felt more in depth. I recommend this book for those who are interested in Jewish history
This book covers do you watch history from the beginning in the garden of Eden to the year of 2000. The book uses many references to the Bible and references to other authors. This is not an in-depth look at Jewish history but rather an abbreviated story of the Jewish people and their history. The book was interesting but I wish it felt more in depth. I recommend this book for those who are interested in Jewish history
December 16, 2025
A very good history for a comparative religions class. Key figures are mentioned and their respective roles in forming Jewish history. The only downside comes if one is wanting depth in discussion and less leap-frogging over centuries. The upside is that the author does address the roots and development of antisemitism through history. One wonders what s/he would make of the antisemitism that has simmered since WWII and is now boiling over.
April 13, 2022
Estímulante encontrar algún dato histórico inesperado o algún comentario significativo en un libro de divulgación general. En este sentido, resulta fascinante descubrir que las dos ramas dominantes de la religión judía tuvieron momentos estelares en la península ibérica bajo el dominio árabe: el racionalismo de Maimónides y el misticismo esotérico del Zohar.
February 27, 2023
The Jews endurance.
It is very touchy
and hearth breaking story about the Jews. I like reading it because it unlocks my perception and understanding about the beginning of the story of the world. Jews have had suffered and endure so much pain mentally, physically and spiritually.
It is very touchy
and hearth breaking story about the Jews. I like reading it because it unlocks my perception and understanding about the beginning of the story of the world. Jews have had suffered and endure so much pain mentally, physically and spiritually.
May 6, 2023
Great History of a Great Nation
This is a very interesting and detailed history of Israel. I have really enjoyed it. I may not agree with the author regarding Muslim actions during the Second World War, but everyone has an opinion. Otherwise, I did learn quite a bit about this historical nation of God!
This is a very interesting and detailed history of Israel. I have really enjoyed it. I may not agree with the author regarding Muslim actions during the Second World War, but everyone has an opinion. Otherwise, I did learn quite a bit about this historical nation of God!
May 20, 2023
Sorry, this history was so minimal to almost be laughable. Three chapters on Christ, Peter, and Paul? Barely one on Moses? Two pages on the Holocaust? Nothing about the Warsaw Ghetto? Nothing about critical Jews across history? I know history books require a lot of research, maybe a book like this need to be authored by someone with more knowledge on the subject.
April 26, 2023
Thoroughly interesting and intriguing
The History
of the Jews, as presented in this book is both interesting and intriguing. I now have a better understanding of Israel at the various stages, from ancient to modern times.
The History
of the Jews, as presented in this book is both interesting and intriguing. I now have a better understanding of Israel at the various stages, from ancient to modern times.
October 12, 2023
Given everything that is going on in the world, books like these must be read for everyone to have cultural awareness. This is essential history that everyone should know the basics of.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 20, 2024
I gave it one star. This is a propaganda book, not a history book. The hidden agenda of the author shows especially in the last chapters. Also it suffers from blatant historical inaccuracies. Many know that Ourshalim means the dwell of Shalim, the God of dusk in Canaan and not city of peace.
August 26, 2024
History of the Jews
Excellent reference book regarding all of the biblical stories known to man. I would recommend this book to all regarding who we are and who's we are. praises go up, blessings come down....
Excellent reference book regarding all of the biblical stories known to man. I would recommend this book to all regarding who we are and who's we are. praises go up, blessings come down....
Read
February 27, 2021A read
This is a simple, short, and condensed read. The flow is good and not so heavy. Thumbs up for sure.
This is a simple, short, and condensed read. The flow is good and not so heavy. Thumbs up for sure.
Read
March 4, 2021This is a short history of the Jews. Very good for an overview. for those that have not followed history this is a good starting point.
May 23, 2021
This book helped put all the pieces together
June 9, 2021
Insightful read on Jewish history and how many of its tenets laid the foundation for Islam and Christianity.
January 15, 2022
What a book ! It is the finest book to me about Jewish history . Worthy reading .
September 1, 2022
Easy to read. Mostly accurate. Little substance. Learned nothing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews