Author Description

2 MP3-CDs, Unabridged, With Music and Sound Effects, Includes Volumes 1 and 2, Running Time: 20 hours Contents of Volume I: In A.D. 66, nationalist and religious revolutionaries in Palestine led a ferocious revolt of the Jewish people against the authority of mighty Rome, culminating in the greatest upheaval and savagery the world had known up to that time. By the end of the conflict seven years later, over one million Jews had perished and tens of thousands were sold into slavery. Until the Holocaust, it remained the greatest tragedy ever endured by a people. How had this once peaceful and prosperous region been struck down, and by what process did its fratricidal feuds take it down this slippery slope to utter annihilation? Fortunately for us, there was an eyewitness historian to the momentous events: Joseph ben Mattathias, known to posterity as Flavius Josephus. In beautifully written and clearly understood prose, Josephus sets out to explain the origin of the conflict. He describes how the fanatical zealots came to dominate the political life of Palestine, illustrates ho! w the Romans were drawn into the fight, and shows how the war was carried on by both sides, ending with the siege of the fortress of Masada. In volume 1, discover how Herod the Great came to be king of the Jews during the time of Julius Caesar, how he ruled and what he accomplished. You will hear the story of his larger-than-life personality and how family conflict poisoned his reign. Discover the means by which Herod eliminated his enemies, including members of his own family, and how his successors' corruption and ineptitude brought on growing anarchy and religious tension. Peer into the mind of nationalist fanatics bent on destroying themselves and their nation for the sake of their beliefs. Hear how famous persons like Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Pontius Pilate, Augustus, Nero, Vesapasian and Josephus himself played their parts in this fascinating history. Volume 1 begins with the origi