The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels
by:
Thomas Cahill (author)
The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization has done it again. In The Gifts of the Jews Thomas Cahill takes us on another enchanting journey into history, once again recreating a time when the actions of a small band of people had repercussions that are still felt...
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The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization has done it again. In The Gifts of the Jews Thomas Cahill takes us on another enchanting journey into history, once again recreating a time when the actions of a small band of people had repercussions that are still felt today.The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.Full of compelling stories, insights and humor, The Gifts of the Jews is an irresistible exploration of history as fascinating and fun as How the Irish Saved Civilization.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780385482493 (0385482493)
ASIN: 385482493
Publish date: August 17th 1999
Publisher: Anchor
Pages no: 304
Edition language: English
Category:
Non Fiction,
History,
Literature,
Cultural,
Jewish,
Religion,
Philosophy,
Christian,
Theology,
Israel,
Judaism,
Judaica
Series: The Hinges of History (#2)
The moment, or hinge, in history that a changed occurred to allow Western civilization possible is the primary focus of Thomas Cahill’s The Gifts of the Jews. Over the course of less than 304 pages and the scope of two millennia of Jewish history from its birth with Abraham to their return from exi...
The Gifts of the Jews : How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (Hinges of History) by Thomas Cahill (?)
This was one of the books I read in the summer of 1998. Cahill's books are excellent works of history, and I have enjoyed reading them over time.