Jerusalem: The Biography – A History of the Middle East by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today's clash of civilizations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of 3,000 years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence.

How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the 'centre of the world' and now the key to peace in the Middle East? In a gripping narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city in its many incarnations, bringing every epoch and character blazingly to life. Jerusalem's biography is told through the wars, love affairs and revelations of the men and women - kings, empresses, prophets, poets, saints, conquerors and whores - who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem.

Drawing on new archives, current scholarship, his own family papers and a lifetime's study, Montefiore illuminates the essence of sanctity and mysticism, identity and empire in a unique chronicle of the city that many believe will be the setting for the Apocalypse. This is how Jerusalem became Jerusalem, and the only city that exists twice - in heaven and on earth.

Review

A fittingly vast and dazzling portrait of Jerusalem, utterly compelling from start to finish (Christopher Hart THE SUNDAY TIMES )

...astoundingly ambitious and triumphantly epic history of the city (THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 20120303)

Outstanding, superbly objective, elegantly written and highly entertaining (Saul David MAIL ON SUNDAY )

Simon Sebag Montefiore's history of Jerusalem is a labour of love and scholarship... a considerable achievement... he has a wonderful ear for the absurdities and adventurers of the past... totally gripping... vivid compelling, engaged, engrossing, knowledgeable (Barnaby Rogerson THE INDEPENDENT )

Compelling and thought-provoking...Working on an immense chronological and thematic canvas Sebag Montefiore does his subject more than justice. He narrates the terrible history of Jerusalem vividly and graphically... fascinating but ghastly. (Munro Price THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

It is a gripping read, told with verve and fluency, and explains why Jerusalem, like a living person, has touched the heart of so many cultures, East and West, for so long (Michael Binyon THE TIMES 20120512)

...never a dull moment (David Bradbury DAILY MAIL 20120323)

Full of faith, power, slaughter and fanaticism; this is a unique chronicle, balanced and critical and wonderfully entertaining. (Chris Burgess The Examiner (Ireland) 20120303)

This is a city that has survived Hell, and Montefiore takes you to the heart of it. (James Cleary The Northern Echo 20120305)

Magnificent. (Stephen Lewis The York Press 20120310)

About the Author

Simon Sebag Montefiore was born in 1965 and read history at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge University. He lives in London with his wife, the novelist Santa Montefiore, and their two children.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (18 September 2012)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 784 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307280500

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307280503

Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 953 g

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 4.17 x 23.37 cm

Customer Reviews: 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars    2,521 ratings