I read the book, and came out at the end, with considerable admiration for the Jews, as a people. In that sense, it is as much of a history of human bigotry and cruelty. That he wrote the book in a balanced and somewhat detached manner is remarkable.It is also sad to understand how, in the name of God, we persecute people, and initiate pogroms against them due to our own ignorance and blind faith.

It would have been easy to adopt a somewhat biased and hysterical stance, especially considering what the Jews have endured. The approach is balanced, and this is something that I like. Having said this, the one gripe that I do have about the book, is that he could have divided the chapters into sections, which would have made it easier to understand the flow of the story from continent to continent. It is also the history of a people, and not the history of a nation: it is not the history of Jerusalem and Israel, as I soon realized. This, I write from the perspective of an Asian who has read about the persecution of the Jews, but who's knowledge is sketchy.The manner in which I approached the book also made it a bit confusing at first, with references to Biblical characters, as I had not realized that the Old Testament is more historical than I had realized. Having said that, it is a heavy read, and may require one or two re-readings after a space of time, to fully understand the book. Paul Johnson has covered the saga of the Jews in an admirable way. This is an excellent book, and for anyone interested in learning about the Jews, this is an excellent book.

Modern Times by Paul Johnson