EBOOK History of the Jews in Modern Times

Lloyd Gartner presents, in chronologically-arranged chapters, the story of the        changing fortunes of the Jewish communities of the Old World (in Europe and the        Middle East and beyond) and their gradual expansion into the New World of the        Americas.The book starts in 1650, when there were no more than one and a quarter        million Jews in the world (less than a sixth of the number at the start of the        Christian era). Gartner leads us through the traditions, religious laws, communities        and their interactions with their neighbours, through the Enlightenment, the French        Revolution, and into Emancipation, the dark shadows of anti-Semitism, the impact of        World War II, bringing us up to the twentieth century through Zionism, and the        foundation ofIsrael.Throughout, the story is powerful and engrossing - enlivened by        curious detail and vivid insights. Gartner, an expert guide and scholar on the        subject, writing from within the Jewish community, remains objective and effective        whilst being careful to introduce and explain Jewish terminology and Jewish        institutions as they appear in the text.This is a superb introductory account -        authoritative, in control, lively of the central threads in one of the greatest        historical tapestries of modern times.