Author Description

How could the Jews comprise less than 1 percent of the world's population yet make up 22 percent of Nobel laureates? Despite passing through innumerable challenges, the Jews have produced stunningly gifted people in the sciences, humanities, and economics. Through the millennia and around the world, Jewish history is an astounding story of survival against all odds, yet a touching narrative of faith, covenant, and tradition. This concise yet sweeping history of the Jewish people introduces Judaism, the Torah, and Biblical history, followed by an engaging journey of the Jews through the Greek, Roman, and Muslim empires. It travels through waves of persecution, beginning with the Crusades and coming to a violent head under the Nazi regime. This book dives into the new State of Israel, its struggles to survive, and how it has thrived in recent years. It unpacks the riveting and sometimes tragic stories of Jews who left their mark on history and a people who continue to play an illustrious role on the world stage. Here's a glimpse of some of the questions this overview covers: What spectacular events are celebrated at Pesach (Passover)? How did the Jews escape the Babylonian exile? Who sacrificed a pig to the god Saturn in Jerusalem's Second Temple? How did Muslim rule mostly improve life for Jews in Spain and North Africa? What underlying philosophies led to the Nazis' attempt to annihilate the Jewish race? How did Israel defeat eight Arab nations in the Six-Day War? What led to a lasting peace between Israel and Egypt?