Author Description

The Great Jewish Revolt Against Rome was a first-century tragedy whose effects still resonate today. Timeless themes that still plague the Middle East region and the world -- ethnic conflict, religious fanaticism, social upheaval, and the clash of civilizations -- made their baleful appearance in this bloody conflict fought from 66-73 CE. The Jews' struggle against the Rome of Nero Caesar was part of the age-old battle of human kind to establish a society of justice and freedom in the face of the tyranny and exploitation of a great empire. It is also a story of the deeply fractured and corrupted Jewish nation's bitter struggle with itself over issues of wealth and poverty, law and governance, collaboration or defiance, while seeking to order its society according to its unique laws and customs. An intense religious atmosphere infused the Jewish drive for freedom, and the deep religious ferment associated with their struggle had a profound influence on the subsequent development of both Judaism and Christianity. The trilogy The Lord Wept brings to life the swirling events of the Jewish nation's attempt to free itself from the Roman Empire. Its characters are largely drawn from actual personages of the time, and the action adheres closely to historic events. The Disinherited Nation, the first novel of the trilogy, is set amidst the chaotic events of the year 66 when the revolt erupted. The action centers on a pair of nationalist Jerusalem aristocrats named Ananus and Eleazar who attempt to seize on what at first was an uprising against a corrupt and oppressive governor named Gessius Florus in order to establish an independent but conservative Jewish regime. Their endeavor is overwhelmed, however, by a bloody social upheaval that goes beyond their control in which the revolutionary leaders Simon ben Giora, Menahem ben Judas, and Eleazar ben Ja'ir seek to create a radically new Jewish society. Amidst the turmoil the elderly scribal-scholar Jochanan ben Zacchai, who espo