Rating: 
Summary: An easy read, but unfortunately limited to ancient times.
Review: Certainly a readable overview of bible stories and their impact on the worldview (monotheism, the idea of progress etc.). However, it seems the Jews didn't do anything worthwhile after about 500 BC. And even then they were seriously backsliding. Just waiting for a saviour I guess. I would have liked to see at least a brief section on how Jews have continued to influence civilization in the past 2000 years . . . eg. providing some of the leading thinkers of Modern times and playing an important role in defining American (thus world) popular culture.
Rating: 
Summary: Good introduction with interesting ideas
Review: This book is by no means a highly detailed, scholarly history. However, it is a great introduction to many aspects of history and religion -- ancient Mideast history, Jewish history, the Old Testament, Judeo/Christian philosophy. The book focuses on the author's interpretation of historical events, an analysis of the bible from both a sociological and literary perspective, and presents some thought-provoking ideas.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Very good book for someone interested in ancient civilizatioins. However, this is not a book you just browse through - you have to want to read it, at times it becomes very text book, but if you stay with it, you'll know its worth it
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but Largely Fluff
Review: This book was an entertaining summary of Judaism from Abraham to Babylon, but intellectually it was mostly fluff. I found myself reading on and on through the summaries of the scriptures to get to his new insights and theses, but nothing really substantial developed. A bit disappointing, but I did enjoy the topic.
Rating:
Summary: A simple easy-to-read history of the bible.
Review: This book gave me a better understanding of the bible because it gave tangible evidence for events throughout the bible. It basically gave the reason behind why people did what they did without the biblical wording that can sometimes be very confusing and dry. I found "The Gifts of the Jews" very easy to read. The quotes were helpful and the footnotes were helpful in understanding the people in the qoutes. I recommend this book to anyone who has a hard time reading or understanding the bible. This will open your eyes as to what happened and make the bible easier to read.
Rating: 
Summary: good book - good ideas but not enough
Review: my main complaint about the book was that much of it was storytelling from the BIBLE - stories most people know already. I would have prefered longer discusssions on the "GIFTs" and why and how they are gifts.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting read, but lacking a more cosmopolitan view
Review: This is an interesting thesis. As a Muslim I found it fascinating. Islam is extremely monotheistic and considers the concept of "One God" as originating from Adam and passed down through Noah and to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, etc (peace be upon them all). Muslim simply means "one who submits his will to God." As Mr. Cahill points out, none of the major characters were known as Jews until after the Northern Kingdom was lost. They were simply known as Hebrews. Our tradition includes them as Muslims (they submitted their wills to God). It is unfortunate that Mr.Cahill omits the other line of Avraham ... Ishmael (peace be upon them). It is through this line that our Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him) appears. He was the final bringer of the gift of individual accountability through a personal relationship with a God of hope and justice. This would have been totally in keeping with the major theme of his book. I think it would have strenghthened his argument about the "gifts" that these nomadic people gave as Muslims find common heritage with Christians and Jews through Ibrahim (or Abraham or Avraham). Mr.Cahill states that "all religions are cyclical, mythical, and without reference to history ..( ).. all religions except the Judeo-Christian stream." He clearly is unfamiliar with Islam, the only other great monotheistic faith on earth, and that undermines his work when he eliminates the thought processes of nearly one billion people.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining & Exaggerating
Review: I have read this 2nd book by Thomas Cahill and like his first book, it's aim is solely to sell books, it cannot in any sense of the word be called scholarly. It's simplicity makes it very entertaining reading, however when he makes bold claims about the contribution (not influence) it is wholeheartedly exaggerated in order to appeal and sell more books. No doubt that his next books on the Greeks & Egyptians etc... will follow the same entertaining and exaggerating style in order to continue to be best sellers. The one star rating given is due to the simple fact that he tries to pass off what is clearly meant to entertain for enlightment.
Rating:
Summary: drop this in a deep ditch
Review: Lionizing a nomadic culture that began the world's macho ways is just plain wrong. No nomadic culture has ever had respect for the land or the earth, and they stamped out matriarchal civilizations in the process. This book should really be titled 'The Beginning of the End.'
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read, brings the history of the Jews to life
Review: This book is difficult to put down. It is not drab or boring. Makes you want to go back to the Bible and read it again with care.
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