Jerusalem: The Biography

This isn't nearly as interesting as Montefiore's histories of Stalin or the Romanovs. He recites stories from the Old Testament as if they were literal truth, including swallowing Exodus whole, something for which most archaeologists agree there is absolutely NO historical basis. It's hard for me to read claptrap like this so I didn't even finish it. One problem about this area is the fact that so many people are so emotional and agitated about the place that objectivity becomes elusive. Montefiore is yet another so-called historian who fails that test.I don't recommend this book.

Loved this book ----6,000 years of Jerusalem 's history was/is perhaps the greatest influence on where we are today and how we got here --- watching every country in the world trying to conquer it , possess it and destroy it and,,, nations are STILL fighting over it . The cradle of God's chosen people in a land that produced the jewish Savior , Jesus Christ , 2,000 years ago, and He was the beginning for our Christian faith . Written in a secular fashion and citing proof of recorded facts , I found this to be one of my 10 favorite books in my " keep" library in the last 70 years . Love this unending biography of a city that has touched and influenced nearly everyone's life and still is today …….

First I like the fact that it is paperback because it is a very big book and I use it on travel either air or car. This is my 2nd copy because I left my 1st one on a flight and it was never returned to me ... - Love the way the author has written this, well thought out. It is not a novel and it takes thoughtful reading, but seems well researched and reflects good scholarship. - I'm still reading as I do not read it every day. So far pleased with the content.

If you are looking for a VERY detailed history of Jerusalem, this is your book. Very well written and fascinating, but you had better have some very serious time on your hands to get through it. I am retired, so am LOVING it.

One of the worst possible books of history. Anecdotes and commentary quickly culled from published sources. Packed with secondary information, difficult to read and not worth the effort.

This book condenses a library of material covering over 3,000 years into a bit over 500 pages. The acknowledgements pages show that the author had access to the finest academic scholars as sources and reviewers. His personal family history gave Montefiore unique access to members of centuries-long leading Arab families of the city as sources for many stories available nowhere else in English. That family background also gave him access to surviving early leaders of Israel, and royal families of England and Jordan with ancestors who are part of the story.The span of history is equivalent to 10 histories of the United States, in a place where lots happened. It appears Montefiore resolved this difficulty by briefly explaining the general flow of the history and then writing more detailed stories of spectacularly interesting personalities and events for each period -- kings, queens, or religious leaders. It works beautifully. It appears some reviewers didn't understand that pattern.Montefiore is English, and a member of a distinguished family of Italian and North African Jews who funded the 19th century settlement of impoverished Russian Jews settling Jerusalem. That was in the Ottoman period decades before the century-long fights between Arabs and Jews, which likely explains his access across those lines, and knowing who to interview.The first 100 pages are based mostly on historical sections of the Bible and Josephus, so those familiar with those sources will not learn much. The parts Montefiore uses in this book are accepted as probably accurate by most Western scholars. After the Biblical period, every page is chock full of fascinating history unfamiliar to nearly all Americans.He appears to understand all the historical factions who have controlled the city over the centuries. However, like most Europeans, he seems flummoxed by American Evangelical beliefs. Some other commentators mention errors in the book -- I believe those are rare and minor, and some of the Amazon.com comments are themselves simply wrong.The only points I found wrong were brief, rare references to U.S. history -- for example, he believes that Ben Franklin's suggestion of the crossing of the Red Sea as the seal of the U.S. was accepted. Or that Harry Truman was a back-bench mediocre Senator -- not true during WWII. Those rare errors are not a surprise after reading the Acknowledgements pages -- great scholars, historical players, and Jerusalem leading family members, but all European or Middle Eastern.

Jerusalem is a compelling read, a sweeping historical survey of the most famous city in the world. Alas, Simon Sebag Montefiore writes with such woeful Biblical illiteracy and misunderstanding of the Christian faith and church history that it rather makes one doubt the reliability of the whole.For example, early in Jerusalem, readers are simply told that Genesis 1 and 2 are two conflicting creation accounts as if this would be a devastating revelation to anyone who believes in the truth of the Bible. Virtually no Biblical account is viewed as reliable unless there is a tangential reference found in either archaeology or the records of a conquering army. Biblical accounts are repeatedly viewed as suspect, but those of the oppressors are somehow reliable. Events in Jesus' life are cherry-picked, with those fitting a liberal consensus viewed as historical, and everything else a later addition."Fair enough," I thought, "He just doesn't really know the Bible. A bit of an oversight in a history of Jerusalem, but not unexpected in a historian and following the status quo of today's secular scholarship." But the errors just kept coming! When discussing the Reformation, we're treated to the revelation that Martin Luther, "insisted that God only existed in the Bible". We're also told that during the early Reformation there are many Protestant sects including: "the Reform Church, Presbyterians, Calvinists", which is such a bizarre, anachronistic, reading of Protestantism that it leaves one's head spinning like a dervish.I really enjoyed the reading the book. I loved the sweeping panorama of the history of the city and the people who lived there, but it was let down by stunning levels of Biblical ignorance. This is not a work that deserves to sit by Montefiore's spectacular biographies of Joseph Stalin.

Very interesting and informative, tracing the story of Jerusalem from David's conquest of it before 1000 BC right up to the present time. There are a few bits of misinformation: e.g., when the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines it was not recaptured in battle but sent back. Also, the first half of the word 'holocaust' derives not from the Hebrew word for raising up but from the Greek word for 'whole'. Montefiore seems to accept the biblical account of Jerusalem in the time of David and Solomon at face value, which many scholars today do not. I was also rather irritated by the way he describes events in the biblical period in the words of the King James Version, while events at other times are described in modern language. It gives the anachronistic impression that the ancient Hebrews talked in Tudor English!The story as a whole is well told, but I found it immensely depressing. The whole history of Jerusalem seems to be one of power struggles, war and massacres, mostly committed by Christians, Muslims and Jews against each other and within their own faith communities. I cannot understand why Montefiore and many others love the city so much, but then, I have never been there and, though I am a Christian, have no particular desire to go there. I think the world would be a better place if we dropped the whole concept of a 'Holy City' or a 'Holy Land'.

A very interesting book that I made the mistake of buying in Kindle. The Kindle version wouldn't load the images, maps or family trees easily (or at all, at times), so I still haven't been able to access these on the Kindle. It was only when I found a print version I realised that the extensive and very helpful foot notes were printed below the relevant pages- rather than waiting for Kindle to load the notes and then recover from the following (all too frequent) crash. I was using Kindle in Windows 10, other devices/app may be better.Unusually for a history book, it's a bit short on dates at times; some of the chapters cover quite long time periods and I got a bit lost at times.Otherwise, a fascinating book, well written and worth buying for the beautifully written & evocative preface and epilogue alone. I'm off to buy a proper book and read it again - I think that will get 5 stars!

I knew that Jerusalem had a very long and checkered history, but this is amazing. It answers many questions and raises as many as it answers. At various stages in its history, Muslims, Christians and Jews all lived together in peace and shared the holy sites. Why can we not do that now? So much for earlier societies being primitive. It is time that Jerusalem, and the whole Middle East rediscovered that peaceful co-existence, and not the conflict loved by fanatics.However, this is a book to read a few pages a day and not one to sit down and plough through chapter after chapter.

I came to this book after reading and enjoying Simon Sebag Montefiore's recent wonderful history of The Romanovs. If anything,I thought that Jerusalem was even better. This epic masterpiece tells the story of this remarkable city that is sacred to three faiths, from its foundation by King David right up to the present day. The wealth of detail in it's pages is amazing and the narrative is compelling and vivid. The author has a great talent for bringing history to life and making it interesting and the book is full of fascinating detail and commentary on the private lives of historical figures, which brings additional colour to its pages. The author's analysis of war and politics throughout the great sweep of the Jerusalem story is excellent and insightful . Reading the book helped to put modern day Middle Eastern politics into perspective and I marvelled at the erudition of Montefiore and his great story telling ability; a man who is not only a fantastic non fiction writer,but who is also a superb novelist and a captivating TV presenter.