Rating: 
Summary: Incredible summary of an incredible people
Review: A book that spans Abraham to Maimonides to Disraeli can't get every detail in, but I still found the book very informative. I found Dimont's interpretation of events enlightening -- for example, in the Middle Ages the ghettoization and ostracization of Jews, in a way, helped the Jews, because they were free from the ludicrous system of Feudalism. Could we consider the Jews the originators of the Free Market system (which is a good thing)? Dimont hints at this. I also didn't know that the Church was in many ways the *protector* of the Jews (Gregory the Great forbade the forced conversion of Jews), and that it was lay Christians who incited and joined the Anti-Semitic mobs. This makes "sense" in a social psychological way(not to give credence to Jew hatred). You have a bunch of serfs, illiterate, ignorant of their own religion, ignorant of the Tanach/Old Testament (Catholic Church liturgy really builds entirely from the NT), ostensibly owned by their lords, and then you have a bunch of educated, "free" Jews who were different religously from the oppressed Christians. Jealousy, envy, perception of a disruption in the "natural" order, thus Anti-Semitism. The Nazis would pick up on this later, quite literally emphasizing the "natural order", except the Nazis, as Dimont shows, aren't Christian but anti-Christian as well as anti-Jew. Their hatred of Jews had nothing to do w/ "deicide", rather motive that can only be described as Darwinian pagan "Blood and Soil". The Nazis had enough Zyklon-B gas to kill 20 million more, yet only 3 million Jews left in Europe after the evils of the Final Solution. The Nazis were going to go after everyone. I also liked the tidbits Dimont throws in: Germans during WWII had a higher suicide rate than Jews in the concentration camps. Amazing! What spirit pulses through the seed of Abraham! This book reaffirmed my faith in the Creator. This is an excellent book for Christians to read, so that all Christians may understand and appreciate the history of our Jewish brethren.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible summary of an incredible people
Review: A book that spans Abraham to Maimonides to Disraeli can't get every detail in, but I still found the book very informative. I found Dimont's interpretation of events enlightening -- for example, in the Middle Ages the ghettoization and ostracization of Jews, in a way, helped the Jews, because they were free from the ludicrous system of Feudalism. Could we consider the Jews the originators of the Free Market system (which is a good thing)? Dimont hints at this. I also didn't know that the Church was in many ways the *protector* of the Jews (Gregory the Great forbade the forced conversion of Jews), and that it was lay Christians who incited and joined the Anti-Semitic mobs. This makes "sense" in a social psychological way(not to give credence to Jew hatred). You have a bunch of serfs, illiterate, ignorant of their own religion, ignorant of the Tanach/Old Testament (Catholic Church liturgy really builds entirely from the NT), ostensibly owned by their lords, and then you have a bunch of educated, "free" Jews who were different religously from the oppressed Christians. Jealousy, envy, perception of a disruption in the "natural" order, thus Anti-Semitism. The Nazis would pick up on this later, quite literally emphasizing the "natural order", except the Nazis, as Dimont shows, aren't Christian but anti-Christian as well as anti-Jew. Their hatred of Jews had nothing to do w/ "deicide", rather motive that can only be described as Darwinian pagan "Blood and Soil". The Nazis had enough Zyklon-B gas to kill 20 million more, yet only 3 million Jews left in Europe after the evils of the Final Solution. The Nazis were going to go after everyone. I also liked the tidbits Dimont throws in: Germans during WWII had a higher suicide rate than Jews in the concentration camps. Amazing! What spirit pulses through the seed of Abraham! This book reaffirmed my faith in the Creator. This is an excellent book for Christians to read, so that all Christians may understand and appreciate the history of our Jewish brethren.
Rating:
Summary: 4,000 Years of History in One Book
Review: A great read for any student of Jewish or biblical history. Although, one might smile from time to time at some of the statements concerning the roots of many of our most cherished mythologies, the point of view expressed is clearly developed from a sound intellectual base. The analysis and dissection of the difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish is particularly intriguing. But the main achievement of this book is to cram more historical data into one book than any I have ever read before and at the same time, to keep it readable. It is also an excellent reference book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!........ few words better describe this book!
Review: As an anti-religionist wanting to learn more about the world's religions, I came away from this book with awe, respect and wonder at the extraordinary history of an historic people. This little book is stunning in its breadth and depth. This book is always in front of me, tattered and abused, but thoroughly used!
Rating: 
Summary: Jews aren't so mysterious anymore!
Review: Dimont brushes aside the false mystique that has tinted the perceptions of Jews by Gentiles and even other Jews. With an easy-to-read but intelligent style and wit, Dimont dispels many religious and cultural fabrications about the Jews and their relations with the world-at-large, avoids religious argument, and makes an impressive attempt to minimize his biases (he succeeds more often than not). This should not be the last word on the history of the Jews, but it should definitely be the first book you read about them.
Rating:
Summary: Jews aren't so mysterious anymore!
Review: Dimont brushes aside the false mystique that has tinted the perceptions of Jews by Gentiles and even other Jews. With an easy-to-read but intelligent style and wit, Dimont dispels many religious and cultural fabrications about the Jews and their relations with the world-at-large, avoids religious argument, and makes an impressive attempt to minimize his biases (he succeeds more often than not). This should not be the last word on the history of the Jews, but it should definitely be the first book you read about them.
Rating:
Summary: THE Best Concise Jewish History!!
Review: Dimont is a master of condensing vast amounts of historical account into a concise, readable, and engrossing volume! Dimont has a writing style that places him in the league of Will Durant and Barbara Tuchman. Jews, God and History covers the fabric of Jewish history from its beginnings to the present and does so while placing the Jewish experience into the matrix of world civilization. Dimont presents the reader with various theories of history and offers an interpretation of the Jewish saga which rings true. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: THE Best Concise Jewish History!!
Review: Dimont is a master of condensing vast amounts of historical account into a concise, readable, and engrossing volume! Dimont has a writing style that places him in the league of Will Durant and Barbara Tuchman. Jews, God and History covers the fabric of Jewish history from its beginnings to the present and does so while placing the Jewish experience into the matrix of world civilization. Dimont presents the reader with various theories of history and offers an interpretation of the Jewish saga which rings true. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Does it really exist the jewish God?
Review: Does it really exist the jewish God? While you read this book you will see that whenever the jewish people had a strong problem, almost from magic appear a man who made whatever it has to be done, spoke to everybody who has to be spoken and the jewish people save their problem. Who sent these persons exactly the time the jews needed? Why nobody can destroy the jews in 4,000 years and are the only people that survive that long?
I think the answer is yes. While you read this book you will understand the history of the jews, why they think their way, and why they survived to all the history problems they had or even they have now, at the end of the book are to many biographies that make the finish of the book long and boring, but the main story of the book is amazing, but you have to have in mind that is a very hard book to read, you will have to be concentrated in the book, you won't be able to read it while hearing music or something else, you will have to be 100% in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I had not much luck with finding a really good history of Judaism until I stumbled across this book and bought it on a whim. What I got was what I really wanted: a well-written history of the Jews from ancient times to today. Two things make this book great. First, Dimont is a good writer, both insightful and entertaining, with occasional flashes of ironic humor. Second, Dimont puts the history of the Jews in the larger context of World History and keeps from a narrower Jewish perspective. On the one hand, Dimont does not hide his general admiration for the Jews, both for their endurance and their contributions to society that are far out of proportion to their percentage of the populace. On the other hand, for those who believe that Jews have suffered nothing but persecution for thousands of years, Dimont presents a different viewpoint which shows Jews often prospering. No one will find Dimont fully objective in his history, but they should find that he presents an overall balanced work. Written with both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences in mind, Dimont has put together a wonderful book that is good for both those interested in Jewish history or those interested in Western history in general.
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