Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The point of this book, while very interesting, was made in the introduction. The rest is merely a well told synopsis of the Torah (although offensive at times - discussing Avraham's sexual prowess). It was interesting reading but there was a lot of unnecessary fluff which failed to hide the authors lack of in-depth knowledge of ancient religion. I recommend this book only for the non-academic. Scholars will be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: I wasted my time.
Review: A small number of ideas at start and finish of book, but mostly a rehashing of Scripture. (I like the Cliff Notes comment above). Go out and buy yourself a good translation of the Torah instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Been there..
Review: For much of this book, Cahill seems to have merely paraphrased most of the Hebrew scriptures. If a reader already has a working knowledge of this text, they may find this book boring and not very informative. Since I came to this book with a good understanding of the Hebrew Bible, I was very disappointed. Perhaps a reader who is not familiar with the Hebrew text would find the large middle section informative and interesting. As for me, it was merely annoying, because I keep waiting for new information or a new insight.However, his commentary of the development of the beginning of Western thought was interesting. It was an angle that I did not consider before. We are so used to Western Civilization being around, that we forget that the thought had to develop at some point. To trace that development was interesting... but I just wish that that tracing did not have to include the paraphrase of much of the Hebrew Bible.
Rating:
Summary: Biblical Studies Lite: Half the calories, Less filling
Review: It is very obvious upon reading that this is the work of a well-informed amateur and not the work of a professional scholar. For a much more respectable and intellectually stimulating take on the Western migration from pantheism to monotheism, read Karen Armstrong's "History of God". Unlike Armstrong, Cahill resorts to glittering generalities and obtuse simplicities. There is also a disturbing lack of footnotes in most sections. Furthermore, the central hypothesis of "Gift of the Jews", that the Jews invented individuality and historic time, is too over-arching to be taken at face value. What makes this worse is that Cahill's analysis of other, non-Western, cultures is incredibly cursory. Cahill sets up an underfed strawman in the form of the "cyclical worldview", only to lamely knock it down with the Western-centric feather of processivism. Finally, too much of "Gift of the Jews" is dedicated to a paraphrasing of the events of the Torah; there is very little analysis interspersed between the "Movie of the Week" plot summaries. This book feels rushed and half-done, as if the author were behind on a deadline and needed to put in lots of filler material. On the bright side, it is easy to read, simplistic, and approachable. It is also very sensitive to those of Faith. As such, I can really only recommend this work to those who have never read a tome of religious study before and need something that is inoffensive, easy to swallow, mildly informative, and full of lots spiritual good feelings. For a meatier, more challenging, and, ultimately, more satisfying read, see Armstrong's "History of God".
Rating:
Summary: For "The Gifts of the Jews", look elsewhere
Review: How disappointing this book was! Mr. Cahill promised an inside perspective on the history and contributions of these desert nomads, but one soon realizes that the author is really at odds with his subject matter. We will cast aside all presuppositions about early history, he says, and then picks up an old line about humans mutating. No matter how many hours it took to prepare and write this book, what mostly comes across is that the author either never really got to know, or didn't like, the people and their God who he promised to tell us about. As important a theme as "promises kept" is to the history of God and Abram, I was fooled by the promises made on the bookjacket that the book came nowhere close to fulfilling.
Rating:
Summary: Embarrassing and disappointingly low intellectual wattage.
Review: I could not enjoy this book because I could not escape the nagging suspicion that Cahill was just parroting the people he studied with when researching this book. I thought he was doing this because of the few really interesting insights he makes. I don't trust what he tells me is true since he seems so intellectually sloppy. He mentions briefly that, and the dust jacket announces, that this book is a celebration of the innovation of change and free will by Abraham. Yet Cahill lets that famous event (God's saying "Go forth" to Abe) pass dull-y. I was reading it and suddenly realized, "Wait, when did God make that famous announcement?" For all its supposed importance as the heart of the "gift of the Jews", Cahill has absolutely no buildup to it. The book then plunges into a rather insipid and schoolboy synopsis of the Bible. I found myself distrusting everything he writes because I don't trust Cahill's intellectual credentials for this topic; he seems to meander so (about some poorly strung-together ancient myths that have NOTHING to do with his thesis, but which pad the page length of this waste of paper) and never to offer references and footnotes. He seems to be blithely repeating his professors remarks in lecture, hoping their profundity and brilliance will come across in his writing. They don't. As far as a synopsis of the change from pantheism to monotheism, read the bestselling A History of God by Karen? Armstrong, from 1992, I think. This book really is disappointing--a senior editor at a major publishing house thinks this is good? There is very little worthwhile content here, which is almost immediately recognizable from the enormous type and margins. At most Cahill's thesis, if done well, would be 30-50 pages for anyone with more interest in publishing something of substance. Do not buy this book. Stick to real scholars for your intellectual reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Cahill Does It Again
Review: Thomas Cahill "wrote the book" for recording history. He obviously digs into the the past culture and times of his subject and doesn't stop until he falls in love. This love for the Jewish people and their past is infectious. Just as with his previous book," How the Irish Saved Civilization", Cahill is a master at finding the redeeming purpose of a nation and presenting it in its true light, (warts and all.) Without pushing religion, or even letting the reader know of his own beliefs, Cahill attempts to present God Himself and His pursuit of man in a historical context. Cahill is sucessful at not only getting inside of Abraham's head, but God's as well. Christians and Jews alike will be comfortable with his conclusions. But more than that, there is a spirit of encouragement on this work as well. I believe Thomas Cahill has found his redeeming purpose as well.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing fluff
Review: I haven't read Cahill's Irish book but bought this because of the high regard for his treatment of that subject and my own interest in biblical history. This is now the second of a promised five volume series on "The Hinges of History", examining critical cultural contributions to Western civilization. If so, this book is the equivalent of a hurried second album of a long struggling rock group trying to follow a platinum success of its debut. It starts with an informative discussion of the Sumerian roots of the Hebrews but then quickly deteriorates into a Cliff's Notes to the Old Testament. After the initial pre-Abraham discussion the approach is uncomfortably flippant and dissapointedly unsupported by sources external to the Bible. It is certaintly an accessible and highly entertaintable read and worth while for readers whose familiarity with biblical tales has diminished since youth. As any kind of serious discussion of cultural history of the ancient Hebrews or of the Jewish people it does not meet expectations. As history, it's the equivalent of a Grisham novel - rushed out to satisfy a four volume contract. History needs writers of Cahill's incisiveness and writing skill, but this reads as if it were written against a weekend deadline.
Rating: 
Summary: Good reading for non-Jews.
Review: Once the reader passes the initial suspicision that this book is based solely on sexuality and bodily exploitation, he wraps himself in a fascinating description of the evolution of the Hebrews. Both as a tribe and as initiating the concept of one G-d, the Hebrews constantly fought to maintain their identity. The accomplished this feat through self-serving methods of survival and by becoming separate from the rest of their then known world. This is, perhaps, the most interesting aspect of their accomplishments. Maintenance of Identity: The Gift of the Jews. This book should be on everyone's list to read whether he is Methodist, RLDS, Pentecostal, or Jew. It causes thought about the development of religion and the myraid influences that Judaism has on the rest of us.
Rating:
Summary: I very much enjoyed the book
Review: My attention was grabbed from yhe very beginning of the book. I found the author's approach to the biblical stories of Abraham and Moses very refreshing. He speaks of their relationships with God, and how their respective experiences were radical paradigm shifts from what existed at the time. I found the author's analysis of how the Jews contributed to a new and highly different shift in the perception of how one experiences time, and life, very interesting. I recommend the book highly.
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