Rating: 
Summary: The best one-volume Jewish history book, period!
Review: As an Orthodox Jew, an "insider", I was absolutely (and positively) amazed to see an "outsider", like Mr. Johnson, penetrate through the layers of confusion and misunderstandings and really "gets it". In the words of Rabbi Berel Wein (a contemporary Jewish historian), "Mr. Johnson did a much better job than many secular Jewish historians". There are many things I disagree with in this book but more often then not I found myself nodding in agreement and underlining key sentences. All this is my commentary on the CONTENTS of the book, when it comes to lucidity, choice of words and philosophical depth, well... Brilliant is putting it mildly. This book is a must-read for Jews and non-Jews alike!
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent introduction to Jewish history and thought--
Review: As a person considering conversion to Judaism my need for a introductory overview was well met by this book. Mr. Johnson writes both clearly and eloquently, yet is never dispassionate about his subject. I particularly found Mr. Johnson's discussion of the evolution of anti-semitism across time and its by- products (such as the Germanic "jewish" sounding surname) to be fascinating. Overall, this book was wonderful overview to Jewish history and I highly recommend it!
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Summary: A must for the non-Jew who wishes to know the Jewish people
Review: This book definitely opened my eyes as to the deep and full history of the Jewish people. For the non-Jew, it was a very moving and disturbing book. It traces the development of the Jewish nation, from Abraham to Menachim Begin. What struck me most was the immensity of the tragedies that have followed the Jews throughout history, from the Diaspora to Hitler. Johnson details their story with sympathy, but not without noting their failings as well. I found it superb and I highly recommend it. It changed my view on Jewish history and the Jewish people completely
Rating:
Summary: A page-turner
Review: Historical surveys are usually anything but fascinating; Paul Johnson's A History of the Jews breaks the mold. Using an active voice and an upbeat pacing that lets you linger without getting stuck, this 600-page tome is a must-read for most people. Indeed, all 1.2 billion Christians in the world and all 900 million Muslims owe their religious existence to Judaism, the first religion to pray to one god; the first religion to set up rules governing ethical and moral behavior; and the oldest organized and recorded religion in the world. Most important, the book reviews in detail the persistent persecution Jews have suffered throughout history, without becoming emotionally overwrought. There's no need to. Persecution of the Jews has typically been so boldly sinister--whether it's the massacres of 1648, the Russian pogroms of the 19th century, or "The Final Solution" of the Holocaust--that the descriptions of these acts need no embellishment to highlight their horror. If there's one message to take away from this book it is If such injustices can be perpetrated against the Jews, they can happen to any of us at any time. It rests in us--not laws, not government--to remain vigilant against hatred.
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Summary: A Dearth of Information in One Book!
Review: This is probably the most comprehensive history of the Jewish people out there contained in a single book. It contains an overview of the biblical record and covers the diaspora, medieval period, foundings of Zionism, the Holocaust as well as a decent description of the events leading up to problems in the Middle East that endure to this day. It is definitely not light reading, however, and events are not always described in chronological order. For these reasins I only gave it 4 stars, but it deserves a strong 4.5.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent work of scholarship that's also a great read
Review: Paul Johnson's books always offer vivid portraits of diverse peoples, places, and events. The breadth and variety is what makes his books such great reads. One of his best achievements is "A History of the Jews." Although Johnson is a practicing Christian, this has not prevented him from writing a very interesting, worthwhile, engaging and fair history of the Jewish people. The book covers very well the early history of the Jews, beginning with the Israelites of biblical times through developments in Jewish thought and migration in medieval times. He also covers well how the Jewish people and Jewish traditions evolved in the modern era, culminating in one of civilization's greatest evils, the Holocaust, followed by one of the greatest achievements of any people in our time: the creation of the modern state of Israel. Johnson's book is a very important survey that everyone should have the privilege of reading. But one area where Johnson writes far too little is about what happened to the Jewish people who remained in Poland following the Second World War only to become scapegoats of a desperate Communist government. An excellent book on this topic is Arthur Wolak's "Forced Out: The Fate of Polish Jewry in Communist Poland."
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Summary: One of the best history books on Jewish History
Review: I loved this book. One of the things i loved was the way the author connected everything together. Plus their was so many new things I learnt in this book.
On the other hand, this book had so much information to offer it made it a little bit hard to read for long periods of time. This book is a great reference book. But it was definitely one of the most interesting books on Jewish History. For any person who wants to know what to read for his first book on Jewish History I would advise him this book. After you will finish this book you will a broad knowledge on almost every aspect on Jewish History.
Rating:
Summary: Balanced, sympathetic, and thorough
Review: I probably would not have become aware of this excellent book, had not some Jewish friends recommended the AISH.com website to me, thinking no doubt that I needed a more balanced view about Jewish history. I am grateful to them for so doing! One of the most interesting items on that website was ?Crash Course in Jewish History? by Rabbi Ken Spiro in which he recommended many books including this one. I ended up buying not only his book, ?World Perfect ? The Jewish Impact on Civilization? - (ISBN 0-7573-0056-1), but several others including this book. Up to this point in time, my knowledge of Jewish History ended with the first Jewish revolt against the Romans, and I was almost completely ignorant about their history after that. I read Rabbi Spiro?s book first, mainly because it was shorter, and I am glad I did, because it prepared me very well for reading this very detailed book on Jewish history. I particularly like the structure of the book which is in seven nicely delineated parts ? Israelites, Judaism, Cathedocracy, Ghetto, Emancipation, Holocaust, and Zion. It was not until midway through the section on Judaism, that I realised that I would have to be a little more rigorous in my reading of the book, because not only was there a wealth of detail about Jewish scholars and notables, but there was also considerable explanation of their basic philosophy which I needed to properly understand in order to avoid being overwhelmed. So I set up my own dictionary of people in a PC workfiles, as well as looking up what websites there were about them. This was an interesting exercise, and I found a lot of useful supplementary information to fill in some details about the lives of these individuals. The task became even greater when I reached the middle of the Emancipation on because the number of names seemed to be increasing on every page! This is not a criticism of the book, because it quite convincingly demonstrated the enormous contribution that the Jewish people have made to our civilisation, particularly since the beginning of the 18th century. I found this book to be balanced, sympathetic, and thorough. Johnson describes in detail the sorry catalog of horrors that the Jews have suffered over the last 2500 years in Europe and Asia, as well as the beliefs and philosophy of their leading scholars from the time of the first Jewish revolt against the Romans to the modern era. How the various Jewish communities responded to the many difficult predicaments they faced firstly with the Roman Empire, then with the Christian Church, then with Islam, and finally with the Christian States of Europe which have emerged during the last 800 years or so, is told with great sympathy and understanding. Johnson provides ample detail on the contribution of the Jew and Judaism to the philosophy, the culture, and the development of democratic ideals of the modern democracies (which is also the main theme of Rabbi Spiro?s book). His theme is that time and time again, Jewish communities, even though there were usually major restrictions on their activities, would find ways to make a living and to be useful to the monarchy and the nobility, who then would use them as scapegoats when major economic and social disasters struck. In particular, he shows how the basic arguments and slanders used by the Medieval Church were used and embellished by later anti-Semites. While anti-Semitism is not the major theme of this book, it does, in my view, deal with the problem fairly and squarely, and particularly well for the past 200 years or so, when eastern Jews began to emerge from their ghettos in increasing numbers. His description and explanation of the rising anti-Semitism during the 19th century, and its sudden emergence in Germany culminating in the Holocaust was particularly careful and thoughtful. His account of the roots of the seemingly never ending Middle East crisis and the creation of the State of Israel was even handed and sensitive, and I think it extremely important to be as well informed as possible about the root causes of this struggle in order to determine what should be done about it today. He makes the point that the rise of Arab nationalism after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire took place a little later than that of Jewish nationalism, but that it was nevertheless latent during the early 20th century when Theodor Herzl and his successors were making great efforts to push for the creation of a Jewish state in ?Eretz Israel?. I was not aware of many of the events of the 30 years leading up to the creation of the state of Israel, and while I was generally familiar with the first 25 years of its existence, I was certainly not well informed of all the details. I found Johnson?s description of the wars of survival, the religious parties, and population growth, a useful reminder of the internal as well as external issues which Israel currently faces. I very much enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting, it provided the depth of detail I was looking for, and it met my expectations completely. I am sure there are many other books on Jewish history which I would find equally absorbing, but this is the one I happened to choose first. I am happy to have read it and would thoroughly recommend it to all potential readers, whatever their religious beliefs or upbringing.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent one- volume history
Review: To relate in one coherent volume a subject as complex as the history of the Jews is no mean achievement. To do this with sympathy and understanding is a moral triumph. Paul Johnson one of the best intellectuals we have, a deeply believing Christian writes a work which shows how the Jews have through their long history of persecution nonetheless managed to provide great gifts for mankind as a whole. He moreover understands how strong the whole theme of return to Zion, the Biblical promise to return to the land of Israel has been through the Jewish generations. And he writes informatively about the struggle of the modern state of Israel to come into being.
As a citizen of Israel and as a believing Jew I cannot help but feel a depth of gratitude to a non- Jew who has given so much effort, and has worked with such dedication and brilliance to present this positive and uplifting view of Jewish history.
Rating:
Summary: A genuine achievement
Review: This is the finest single volume history of the Jews that I've ever read, and I've read a few. Johnson wrote this book after completing his History of Christianity, during which he realized how these two great religions are irretrievably intertwined, and how much of a theological debt Christianity owes the older faith. Once he got into the subject he also realized that Jewish history is really a world history. Refining it to a single volume -- without unfortunate deletions or superficiality -- is supremely hard, but Johnson does it. Johnson makes plain at the beginning what fascinates him about the Jews: the fact that numerous peoples have come and gone over the millenia but the Jews, arguably the most persecuted people in history, are still here. Why? (And how?) From these initial query Johnson leads you on a tour of Jewish history from the Bible through the 1980s, and his excitement is infectious. Johnson's position as an apparently religious, but not Jewish, commentator serves him well. It enables him to be an insightful, sympathetic observer, but also an objective one. This book is well worth your time, and the best thing Johnson's written so far.
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