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: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Starting Point in the History of the Jews
Review: If you are wanting to expand your knowledge of the history of the Jews, this is a good book to begin with. It will give you a detailed overview (without getting bogged down in minutiae). The only drawback is that it was written in the 1960s, and while it says that it was updated in 1994, the updates did not (and could not due to space constraints) do justice to the upheaval and turmoil that has occurred in the decades since it was origninally written. A slightly newer history that might serve as well is Paul Johnson's A History of the Jews (1998). For an overview of Islamic history, you might check out Karen Armstrong's Islam.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: It matters not your faith or lack of it, this books explination of history alone is worth the proverbial price of admission. The lineage of the Jews and the influence it has had on civilization is simply incredible. This book is brimming with information. If you are interested in world history, culture, religion, or just want examples of why and how the world has changed (and why it really never will) then invest the time to read this book, you won't be disapppointed.
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.
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