Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Popular History
Review: Most history textbooks hardly mention Jew except as isolated individuals. I remember my old World History text called Judaism the oldest ethical religion, but hardly had a word about Jews until World War Two. This book fills in the gap well. It is very readable. It does not pretend to be impartial. (For an impartial, rather dry history, an interested person should read Jones' History, no doubt out of print for many years, but a good university library should have a copy.)There is a good treatment of the schools of Hillel and Shammi.
On the other hand the origins of Jews in Russia are hardly mentioned. The reason why Jewish contributions to science or math do not begin until the 19th century is not addressed, which is to me a very large question, Judaism being in the thought process it induces so closely related to the processes of natural law. There are small bits which seem more like gossip than documented history. He mentions, for example, that during the Renaisance period half the brides were married pregnant. Now, how can he know that? Still, I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: The best history on the survival of the Jewish race.
Review: Of all the Jewish histories I have read, Jews, God & History best describes the survival of not only the Jewish race and religion, but the actual idea of being Jewish. To paraphrase Joseph Heller in God Knows -- If God chose to flood the world again, Jews would learn to breath under water. This is the idea behind Max Dimont's wonderful little history (although Mr. Heller wrote God Knows after Mr. Dimont's book -- but as they say, "great minds think alike"). Read, learn and enjoy this masterpiece of Jewish history.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read!
Review: Presents the turbulent life of the Jews throughout the centuries. Mr.Dimont is very passionate about his subject and it is a wonderful read. An absolute must for religious studies students, Jews and Christians.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, detailed, well researched, and inspiring
Review: This book truly reviews the glorious history of the Jews. I couldn't put it down. The facts and the fiction that have been discussed and written about over the centuries were touched on with great passion and research. This book makes me proud to be a part of the Jewish people.
Rating:
Summary: Jews, God and History
Review: This book was recommended to my by an internet friend. It is far outside of my usual area of reading. I did not think that I would understand the book, much less enjoy the read. Just how interesting would Jewish history be to a Christian? I was very wrong in my assumptions. This book turned out to be a real page- turner. I couldn't put it down. When I was in high school, many years ago, I could never figure out what made the Jewish kids so smart. They seemed to be the grade leaders in every school in the city. This great book answered that question and many others that I have always had about the Jewish people and religion. In my opinion, every adult, Muslim, Christian, Jew, or whatever religion, should read this book. The way you look at the world will be forever changed!
Rating: 
Summary: Good general survey but needs to be supplemented with detail
Review: This is a good, accurate book. For those with little knowledge of the subject, it is a good start; however, it oversimplifies and overgeneralizes in many areas. I would suggest that a reader of this book supplements his background with more detailed studies of the various topics.
Rating:
Summary: Good overview of Jewish history for the general reader
Review: This is an outstanding overview of Jewish history for the general reader. It is tremendously rich in information and written with an underlying warmth and sympathy that move the reader greatly. It is a good introduction but should not be the only book the reader reads on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Written by a Jew for Jews
Review: This is definitely a biased book. But however much one may wish, it is difficult to write a totally unbiased view of history, particularly when it is the history of your own people. If you ask a devout Muslim to write about Arabia's history, he will consider the period before the advent of Prophet Muhammed as dark ages. This is not a scholarly book but a popular paperback. So one should not expect too much from it. The author's pride in his Jewishness is evident in the book as he literally rewrites history and ascribes almost all great ideas to the Jewish civilization. He seems to be driven by the constant desire to prove to the readers that the Jews were also great fighters and not simply moneylenders or petty salesmen. But in his zeal to focus on the Christian and Muslim world, he seems to have forgotten completely about the Hindu and Chinese civilizations. Most of the practical inventions of the ancient world have come from the Chinese and many of the philosophical ideas ascribed to the Greeks have come from the Hindus. These are glaring deficiencies in the work, but if one wants to have a general idea of Jewish history and takes the "facts" presented in the book with a generous dosage of salt, it is a great introductory work. The Jews have had a very tough time in history until recently, yet they have survived and prospered. So there is definitely something great in their culture that has preserved them so far.
Rating:
Summary: Great secular overview for Jews and Gentiles
Review: This is the best book about Jewish history that I have ever read. It is writen mostly from a secular point of view. Very intresting is his in depth knowledge of the hellenistic period and how the Greeks heavily influenced Jewish thougt and visa versa. He goes into brutish period of the Roman domination and many of the rulers from titus, romulus and Herrod the Great. He tells how the Jews have survived when so many of the other civilizations faded. One important factor was the Talamud because it was a code for Jews living in Diaspora. He also covers the many splits in Judaism that have occured throughout time. He ends talking about the formation of the state of Israel. If you are a closed minded person then you may have trouble with Dimonts up front writing. Jew, G-d and History is a keeper for any book collection!
Rating:
Summary: Great secular overview for Jews and Gentiles
Review: This is the best book about Jewish history that I have ever read. It is writen mostly from a secular point of view. Very intresting is his in depth knowledge of the hellenistic period and how the Greeks heavily influenced Jewish thougt and visa versa. He goes into brutish period of the Roman domination and many of the rulers from titus, romulus and Herrod the Great. He tells how the Jews have survived when so many of the other civilizations faded. One important factor was the Talamud because it was a code for Jews living in Diaspora. He also covers the many splits in Judaism that have occured throughout time. He ends talking about the formation of the state of Israel. If you are a closed minded person then you may have trouble with Dimonts up front writing. Jew, G-d and History is a keeper for any book collection!
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