La historia de los judíos

Escrito por Paul Johnson

Narrado por Álvaro Blázquez

Edición especial de La historia de los judíos de Paul Johnson.

Una historia de cuatro mil años -de Abraham a la consolidación del Estado de Israel- en la que se ha forjado una cultura que ha ejercido una influencia innegable en la formación del mundo moderno.

«Ningún pueblo ha insistido más firmemente en que la humanidad tiene un destino y la historia un propósito.»

Desde el descubrimiento del monoteísmo por los israelitas hasta sus aportaciones en la creación y el desarrollo del capitalismo, el socialismo y el psicoanálisis, el genio judío se percibe en todas las manifestaciones artísticas, científicas y del pensamiento.

El historiador Paul Johnson señala algunas de las contradicciones inherentes al hecho de ser judío -como, por ejemplo, la racionalidad frente al misticismo- y observa un peculiar nacionalismo, expresado ya en el Libro de los Macabeos, que desembocó en el sionismo.

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: Penguin Random House Audio
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 18 nov 2021
• ISBN: 9788417664992

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson (1928) es un escritor, historiador y periodista británico. Autor de más de una treintena de obras, la mayoría sobre la actualidad y la historia en general, La historia de los judíos y La historia del cristianismo son sus títulos más reconocidos.

Comentarios para La historia de los judíos

[rajivc_18 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This is an excellent book, and for anyone interested in learning about the Jews, this is an excellent book. Paul Johnson has covered the saga of the Jews in an admirable way. 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. 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. 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. 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.

The approach is balanced, and this is something that I like. It would have been easy to adopt a somewhat biased and hysterical stance, especially considering what the Jews have endured. 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. In that sense, it is as much of a history of human bigotry and cruelty.

I read the book, and came out at the end, with considerable admiration for the Jews, as a people.

This is a book that I highly recommend.

[ffortsa · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This was a very personal book for me to read, and my feelings about it vary from great interest to embarrassment. Great interest because his recounting of early history is fascinating and new to me. His investigation of archaeological and other evidence of the pre-biblical and biblical eras is detailed, direct and unbiased. But he seems to lean some of the more recent history, that of Jews in America, for instance, seems toward a Jewish exceptionalism that is made explicit in his short epilogue. Toynbee said Jews were fossils, inexplicably present well after their rightful time. Johnson sees Jews as leading the moral development of the world, infinitely adaptable and valuable to the continuity of civilization. I don't care for either description.

Nevertheless, the book is a valuable addition to the historical canvas. Some of it, such as the details of Jewish life during the Middle Ages, is so painful I had to put the book aside. The chapter on Israel is detailed, if perhaps more laudatory than it should be, especially in light of recent current events. I'm glad I read it. But I don't think I would read it again.

[lizka_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

An incredible summary of the Jewish experience beginning with Abraham and ending with modern-day Israel.