Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today's clash of civilizations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence. How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the "center of the world" and now the key to peace in the Middle East? In a gripping narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city in its many incarnations, bringing every epoch and character blazingly to life. Jerusalem's biography is told through the wars, love affairs and revelations of the men and women -- kings, empresses, prophets, poets, saints, conquerors and whores -- who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem. As well as the many ordinary Jerusalemites who have left their mark on the city, its cast varies from Solomon, Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent to Cleopatra, Caligula and Churchill; from Abraham to Jesus and Muhammad; from the ancient world of Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and Nero to the modern times of the Kaiser, Disraeli, Mark Twain, Lincoln, Rasputin, Lawrence of Arabia and Moshe Dayan.
Stats for nerds
3recommend
6mentions
3people
2013–2025years
100% recommend
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Curious, what events are documented in the bible that correspond to actual historical events? Does it have good historical accuracy for the time it was written? (forgive my ignorance, I have never read the bible)
Have you read Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montefiore? I admit I didn't finish it, but what I did read was very interesting. Although I admittedly didn't fact check it.
- He was an incredible man. A megalomaniac, pathologically violent tyrant, and it's one hell of a life he led. The accounts of his behaviour are just horrifying. I can't recommend the various books on him by Simon Sebag Montefiore enough (and also his book on Jerusalem, and the one on the Romanovs, but that's off topic).
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/826564.Young_Stalin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/282108.Stalin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9477628-jerusalem https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/21094391-the-romanovs
- Thanks. I really enjoyed Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Jerusalem, the Biography.
- If anyone is after anything on the topic, please try The Court of the Red Czar or The Young Stalin. Both by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Ironically a Jew with interesting views on Zionism and an excellent history of Jerusalem. The Radio New Zealand interview with him below covers his views on Zionism briefly.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/...
- The deep and continual paranoid suspicion of difference and of everything is well covered in a great book by Simon Sebag Montefiore called "Stalin: Court of the Red Czar". Actually, anything by Montefiore is great - His book on Jerusalem is particularly excellent.
- My favourite history book that I've recently read:
Simon Sebag Montefiore's Jerusalem: The Biography - amazing work of scope, depth and human understanding.
I also studied philosophy as a degree and agree there are no really great introductions. I finished my degree somewhat disengaged with the subject and haven't pursued it seriously since. My favourite book though was John Rawls' A Theory of Justice.
