Jerusalem: The Biography
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Review
If you want to understand the Middle East, read this. (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )
...astoundingly ambitious and triumphantly epic history of the city. (The Daily Telegraph )
Full of faith, power, slaughter and fanaticism; this is a unique chronicle, balanced and critical and wonderfully entertaining. (Chris Burgess The Examiner (Ireland) )
This is a city that has survived Hell, and Montefiore takes you to the heart of it. (James Cleary The Northern Echo )
Magnificent. (Stephen Lewis The York Press )
...never a dull moment (David Bradbury Daily Mail )
...as entertaining as it is elucidating. It's a history that is sharply paced as a novel and fairly brims over with sparkling writing. (Sunday Businesss Post )
...heterogenous, sprawling, erudite and touched by genius (Catholic Herald )
...astoundingly ambitious and triumphantly epic history of the city. (The Daily Telegraph )
Full of faith, power, slaughter and fanaticism; this is a unique chronicle, balanced and critical and wonderfully entertaining. (Chris Burgess The Examiner (Ireland) )
This is a city that has survived Hell, and Montefiore takes you to the heart of it. (James Cleary The Northern Echo )
Magnificent. (Stephen Lewis The York Press )
...never a dull moment (David Bradbury Daily Mail )
...as entertaining as it is elucidating. It's a history that is sharply paced as a novel and fairly brims over with sparkling writing. (Sunday Businesss Post )
...heterogenous, sprawling, erudite and touched by genius (Catholic Herald )
Review
If you want to understand the Middle East, read this. (GOOD BOOK GUIDE 20120512)
...astoundingly ambitious and triumphantly epic history of the city. (The Daily Telegraph )
Full of faith, power, slaughter and fanaticism; this is a unique chronicle, balanced and critical and wonderfully entertaining. (Chris Burgess The Examiner (Ireland) )
This is a city that has survived Hell, and Montefiore takes you to the heart of it. (James Cleary The Northern Echo )
Magnificent. (Stephen Lewis The York Press )
...never a dull moment (David Bradbury Daily Mail )
...as entertaining as it is elucidating. It's a history that is sharply paced as a novel and fairly brims over with sparkling writing. (Sunday Businesss Post )
...heterogenous, sprawling, erudite and touched by genius (Catholic Herald )
A fittingly vast and dazzling portrait of Jerusalem, utterly compelling from start to finish. (Christopher Hart THE SUNDAY TIMES )
Outstanding, superbly objective, elegantly written and highly entertaining (Saul David MAIL ON SUNDAY )
Simon Sebag Montefiore's history of Jerusalem is a labour of love and scholarship... a considerable achievement... he has a wonderful ear for the absurdities and adventurers of the past... totally gripping... vivid compelling, engaged, engrossing, knowledgeable (Barnaby Rogerson THE INDEPENDENT )
Compelling and thought-provoking...Working on an immense chronological and thematic canvas Sebag Montefiore does his subject more than justice. He narrates the terrible history of Jerusalem vividly and graphically... fascinating but ghastly. (Munro Price THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
Anyone with an interest in history should read this, if only to be reminded of just how much history has rolled back and forth over this pile of stones between 1458 and today. In fact, when compared with the carnage visited on it by the Romans, Crusaders, Albanians and, in the 12th century, the teenage King of Norway, the last 100 years there have been relatively peaceful. (David Hepworth THE WORD MAGAZINE )
It is a gripping read, told with verve and fluency, and explains why Jerusalem, like a living person, has touched the heart of so many cultures, East and West, for so long. (Michael Binyon THE TIMES SATURDAY REVIEW )
...astoundingly ambitious and triumphantly epic history of the city. (The Daily Telegraph )
Full of faith, power, slaughter and fanaticism; this is a unique chronicle, balanced and critical and wonderfully entertaining. (Chris Burgess The Examiner (Ireland) )
This is a city that has survived Hell, and Montefiore takes you to the heart of it. (James Cleary The Northern Echo )
Magnificent. (Stephen Lewis The York Press )
...never a dull moment (David Bradbury Daily Mail )
...as entertaining as it is elucidating. It's a history that is sharply paced as a novel and fairly brims over with sparkling writing. (Sunday Businesss Post )
...heterogenous, sprawling, erudite and touched by genius (Catholic Herald )
A fittingly vast and dazzling portrait of Jerusalem, utterly compelling from start to finish. (Christopher Hart THE SUNDAY TIMES )
Outstanding, superbly objective, elegantly written and highly entertaining (Saul David MAIL ON SUNDAY )
Simon Sebag Montefiore's history of Jerusalem is a labour of love and scholarship... a considerable achievement... he has a wonderful ear for the absurdities and adventurers of the past... totally gripping... vivid compelling, engaged, engrossing, knowledgeable (Barnaby Rogerson THE INDEPENDENT )
Compelling and thought-provoking...Working on an immense chronological and thematic canvas Sebag Montefiore does his subject more than justice. He narrates the terrible history of Jerusalem vividly and graphically... fascinating but ghastly. (Munro Price THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
Anyone with an interest in history should read this, if only to be reminded of just how much history has rolled back and forth over this pile of stones between 1458 and today. In fact, when compared with the carnage visited on it by the Romans, Crusaders, Albanians and, in the 12th century, the teenage King of Norway, the last 100 years there have been relatively peaceful. (David Hepworth THE WORD MAGAZINE )
It is a gripping read, told with verve and fluency, and explains why Jerusalem, like a living person, has touched the heart of so many cultures, East and West, for so long. (Michael Binyon THE TIMES SATURDAY REVIEW )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I came to this book as an Arab reader, growing up with songs, poems, and books written about beloved Jerusalem, but never have I come across a book offering such a luxurious detailed and honest view and at such a scale! Written with remarkable neutrality and taking us through the diverse and rich history of the most disputed and news making region in the world! This comprehensive, and unpatronising treatment of Jerusalem's past is neither overwhelmingly scholarly to gloss over the gory (and fascinating) details, nor too hurried as to miss out important facts. Simon Sebag Montefiore combines the rare talent of total political and cultural understanding with a great and most eloquent narrating skill!
"Jerusalem, the Biography" is a new sort of History, written as a biography, through the people who made Jerusalem, starting with King David and ending with Barrack Obama, over a span of 3000 years. Each section is about a person who, made, destroyed, believed in, or fought for Jerusalem, some are ordinary people, some are monsters and dictators. There is massacre, siege, blood, violence, but also beautiful poetry.
The story of Jerusalem, is truly (as the author expressed) the story of the world, as well, of the Middle East, of religion, of holiness, of empire! I was thrilled to read about one of the greatest philosophers, the Arab historiographer "Ibn Khaldoon", about Suleiman the Magnificent, Caliph Muawiya, Saladin Dynasty, Druze princess and angelic voiced Singer "Asmahan", the Hashemite (Sherifian) Dynasty, and most exciting to read was some poignant poetry by Nizar Qabbani.
One can read it as an adventure story, or as an explanation of why the Middle East is what it is today, I felt infused with great knowledge, one that I could never acquire if I read a thousand books. The book offers correct answers and honest background of many of the issues of the region today such as, Israel vs. Palestine, America vs. Iran, written without an agenda, and with remarkable impartiality. And I must not forget the most fascinating details over the Apocalypse-the End of Days.
To fit such a swathe of history into a 650-page-turner is a bit of an art form in itself. The book also offers wonderfully informative illustrations and photographs, family trees, and even maps.
I thoroughly enjoyed three of Simon Sebag Montefiore's previous books (or rather masterpieces), but this has to be my most enjoyable read of a history, I have no words to do the author nor the book justice, well-paced and absolutely gripping, this book is a treasure -trove, and I highly recommend it for all readers of different faiths, political, cultural backgrounds, well versed in the Middle East or not.
"Jerusalem, the Biography" is a new sort of History, written as a biography, through the people who made Jerusalem, starting with King David and ending with Barrack Obama, over a span of 3000 years. Each section is about a person who, made, destroyed, believed in, or fought for Jerusalem, some are ordinary people, some are monsters and dictators. There is massacre, siege, blood, violence, but also beautiful poetry.
The story of Jerusalem, is truly (as the author expressed) the story of the world, as well, of the Middle East, of religion, of holiness, of empire! I was thrilled to read about one of the greatest philosophers, the Arab historiographer "Ibn Khaldoon", about Suleiman the Magnificent, Caliph Muawiya, Saladin Dynasty, Druze princess and angelic voiced Singer "Asmahan", the Hashemite (Sherifian) Dynasty, and most exciting to read was some poignant poetry by Nizar Qabbani.
One can read it as an adventure story, or as an explanation of why the Middle East is what it is today, I felt infused with great knowledge, one that I could never acquire if I read a thousand books. The book offers correct answers and honest background of many of the issues of the region today such as, Israel vs. Palestine, America vs. Iran, written without an agenda, and with remarkable impartiality. And I must not forget the most fascinating details over the Apocalypse-the End of Days.
To fit such a swathe of history into a 650-page-turner is a bit of an art form in itself. The book also offers wonderfully informative illustrations and photographs, family trees, and even maps.
I thoroughly enjoyed three of Simon Sebag Montefiore's previous books (or rather masterpieces), but this has to be my most enjoyable read of a history, I have no words to do the author nor the book justice, well-paced and absolutely gripping, this book is a treasure -trove, and I highly recommend it for all readers of different faiths, political, cultural backgrounds, well versed in the Middle East or not.
156 of 164 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Right from the off, with a blistering opening set in 70AD as the Roman general Titus lays siege to Jerusalem, this is a well-paced and absolutely gripping read.
Early on Simon Sebag Montefiore tells us that a story of Jerusalem is, really, `the story of the world'. If at the beginning I was sceptical, by the end I was not. What stops Jerusalem from being a Wikipedian succession of kings, rabbis, muftis and patriarchs is the author's elegant and consistent ability to supply fascinating characters - the kind of characters you might not expect to find in a book like this. For every despot - and there are plenty - Sebag Montefiore gives us a rake, a bungler or an eccentric. Just as Jerusalem emerges as a place of religious intensity, it is also a city addicted to vice.
An important and beautifully produced book. Highly recommended.
Early on Simon Sebag Montefiore tells us that a story of Jerusalem is, really, `the story of the world'. If at the beginning I was sceptical, by the end I was not. What stops Jerusalem from being a Wikipedian succession of kings, rabbis, muftis and patriarchs is the author's elegant and consistent ability to supply fascinating characters - the kind of characters you might not expect to find in a book like this. For every despot - and there are plenty - Sebag Montefiore gives us a rake, a bungler or an eccentric. Just as Jerusalem emerges as a place of religious intensity, it is also a city addicted to vice.
An important and beautifully produced book. Highly recommended.
127 of 134 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If Jerusalem is a City of World History then it is the capital of blood and holiness. Simon Sebag Montefiore's superb new book is rich with salacious detail, scholarship and narrative drive. Such has been Jerusalem's centrality to history that the author is able to use the city as a prism to shine light upon a number of diverse periods and movements - Roman, Jewish, Christian and Islamic.
The structure of the book is chronological and finely weighted. Jerusalem has witnessed blood upon the hands of Jews, Christians and Muslims alike - yet the author is balanced and insightful enough to praise those rulers and characters of all religions who infused Jerusalem with a sense of tolerance, prosperity and architectural beauty.
Jerusalem may be a long book, but it is never laboured. One can read this book cover to cover, or dip into it to mine facts or comment on your favourite chapters, such as the Crusades or the middle east during WWI or WWII.
Am pleased to say that Jerusalem: The Biography lives up to the anticipation and hype.
The structure of the book is chronological and finely weighted. Jerusalem has witnessed blood upon the hands of Jews, Christians and Muslims alike - yet the author is balanced and insightful enough to praise those rulers and characters of all religions who infused Jerusalem with a sense of tolerance, prosperity and architectural beauty.
Jerusalem may be a long book, but it is never laboured. One can read this book cover to cover, or dip into it to mine facts or comment on your favourite chapters, such as the Crusades or the middle east during WWI or WWII.
Am pleased to say that Jerusalem: The Biography lives up to the anticipation and hype.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of the best
Superbly written a must have. Very, very interesting and an absolute joy to read about Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Brilliant.
Published 6 days ago by add19
History of Jerusalem
A most interesting and informative book on the history of the amazing city of Jerusalem. For 3000 years the capital city of the Jewish people and today the capital city of Israel... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Cecily
I just could not put the book down.
This is a superb book, with so many fascinating anecdotes, that make history come alive. But so sad to read of all the occasions that arose and which could have - maybe / probably... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Marie Lippens
Entertaining but with disappointments
I imagine many readers, like me, have come to this book already very familiar with Jerusalem. I read avidly about modern Jewish history, and this added a fair amount to my overall... Read more
Published 13 days ago by ukreader
Jerusalem
Fantastic a really great factual and well researched book on the history of Jerusalem very difficult to put the book down you really feel as if you have actually lived through the... Read more
Published 28 days ago by Bertie
Jerusalem: The Biography. Kindle.
I was going to buy the paperback but it's a big fat book and I find there are problems in that it is necessary from time to time to break the back to get at the typescript so I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Frank
Excellent book
A great idea having a biography of a city rather than a person.
Very interesting read. Well written and engaging.
Very interesting read. Well written and engaging.
Published 1 month ago by M Nash
Excellent
I have found Jerusalem the biography really interesting, seemingly unbiased toward any one side and very entertaining to read. Read more
Published 1 month ago by GC
A biography that does pretty fair justice to the world's most...
If ever there was a city that deserved its own biography, it's Jerusalem. Of central importance to three world religions, all of which have both fought over it and left their mark... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jeremy Bevan
Jerusalem the Biography
The book is excellent, and as a bonus to me it was £4 cheaper than in the bookshop. It is beautifully and authoritatively written, monumental and impossible to put down- I had... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ken Parsons
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