A concise narrative history that brings the story of the Jewish people marvelously to life
This is a sweeping and powerful narrative history of the Jewish people from biblical times to today. Based on the latest scholarship and richly illustrated, it is the most authoritative and accessible chronicle of the Jewish experience available. Michael Brenner tells a dramatic story of change and migration deeply rooted in tradition, taking readers from the mythic wanderings of Moses to the unspeakable atrocities of the Holocaust; from the Babylonian exile to the founding of the modern state of Israel; and from the Sephardic communities under medieval Islam to the shtetls of eastern Europe and the Hasidic enclaves of modern-day Brooklyn. The book is full of fascinating personal stories of exodus and return, from that told about Abraham, who brought his newfound faith into Canaan, to that of Holocaust survivor Esther Barkai, who lived on a kibbutz established on a German estate seized from the Nazi Julius Streicher as she awaited resettlement in Israel. Describing the events and people that have shaped Jewish history, and highlighting the important contributions Jews have made to the arts, politics, religion, and science, A Short History of the Jews is a compelling blend of storytelling and scholarship that brings the Jewish past marvelously to life.
Michael Brenner is professor of Jewish history and culture at the University of Munich. His books include Zionism: A Brief History and After the Holocaust: Rebuilding Jewish Lives in Postwar Germany (Princeton).
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: From Ur to Canaan A Wandering People 1 Chapter 2: From Exile Back Home Priests and Prophets 19 Chapter 3: From Hebrew into Greek Disdain and Admiration 31 Chapter 4: From Modiin to Jerusalem A Jewish State Stands and Falls 39 Chapter 5: From Jerusalem to Yavneh The Diaspora Legitimates Itself 55
Chapter 6: From Medina to Baghdad Under Islamic Rule 69 Chapter 7: From Sura to Cordoba Sepharad—Jewish Culture on the Iberian Peninsula 83 Chapter 8: From Lucca to Mainz Ashkenaz—The Roots of Central European Jewry 95 Chapter 9: From Lisbon to Venice Expulsions and Their Aftermath 117 Chapter 10: From Khaybar to Rome Messianic and Mystical Movements 137
Chapter 11: From West to East A New Center in Poland 151 Chapter 12: From Dessau to Berlin Rural Jews, Court Jews, and Enlightenment Philosophers 167 Chapter 13: From the Ghetto to Civil Society Political Emancipation and Religious Reform 189 Chapter 14: From Posen to New Orleans Starting Over in America 209 Chapter 15: From the Shtetl to the Lower East Side East European Jewish Dreams and American Realities 223
Chapter 16: From Budapest to Tel Aviv An "Old New Land" in Zion 255 Chapter 17: From T touan to Teheran The Europeanization of Jews in the Islamic World 273 Chapter 18: From Czernowitz to Cernaut,i Political Crisis and Cultural Florescence between the Wars 287 Chapter 19: From Everywhere to Auschwitz Annihilation 319 Chapter 20: From Julius Streicher's Farm to the Kibbutz The Jewish World after the Holocaust 349
Appendix: Jewish History in Numbers 389 Further Reading 393 Picture Credits 401 Index of Names 405 Index of Place Names 415
With his characteristically deft touch, Michael Brenner has produced a sweeping and riveting account of Jewish history from Biblical times until the present day. This slender volume is lively, engaging, and a pleasure to read. — John M. Efron, University of California, Berkeley
From the Publisher
"Drawing on the best recent scholarship and wearing his formidable learning lightly, Michael Brenner has produced a remarkable synoptic survey of Jewish history. His book must be considered a standard against which all such efforts to master and make sense of the Jewish past should be measured."—Stephen J. Whitfield, Brandeis University
"With his characteristically deft touch, Michael Brenner has produced a sweeping and riveting account of Jewish history from Biblical times until the present day. This slender volume is lively, engaging, and a pleasure to read."—John M. Efron, University of California, Berkeley
"Brenner is a proven author with a broad competence in Jewish history, which makes him one of the few Jewish historians able to handle a volume of such large scope. His book has a novel approach that sets it apart from other one-volume histories. It is intended as a first book in Jewish history for readers with little knowledge of the subject. The style is extraordinarily readable."—Michael A. Meyer, author of Judaism within Modernity
Whitfield
Drawing on the best recent scholarship and wearing his formidable learning lightly, Michael Brenner has produced a remarkable synoptic survey of Jewish history. His book must be considered a standard against which all such efforts to master and make sense of the Jewish past should be measured. — Stephen J. Whitfield, Brandeis University
Meyer
Brenner is a proven author with a broad competence in Jewish history, which makes him one of the few Jewish historians able to handle a volume of such large scope. His book has a novel approach that sets it apart from other one-volume histories. It is intended as a first book in Jewish history for readers with little knowledge of the subject. The style is extraordinarily readable. — Michael A. Meyer, author of "Judaism within Modernity"
