* Preface * The Center of the Christian World * The Center of Jewish Jerusalem * The Center of Muslim Jerusalem * The Old City * The Oldest City * The Victorian City * The Modern City * Bibliography * Acknowledgments * Illustration Credits * Index
Simon Goldhill has written an elegant and evocative multi-religious history of Jerusalem. Rock by rock, myth by myth, the book guides the reader through an exhilarating visit to the city, exposing its magnetism and fragility, its light and darkness. -- Sari Nusseibeh, author of Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life A fascinating journey through Jerusalem's most memorable places-and among its most colorful personalities, and epoch-making events. Simon Goldhill is a master historian and expert guide who reveals much that is unexpected about this revered, fought-over, and often misunderstood city. Engaging in tone, superbly written, and admirably even-handed, this book offers a compelling new portrait of the many souls of Jerusalem. -- Neil Asher Silberman, co-author of The Bible Unearthed
Simon Goldhill is Professor of Greek Literature and Culture at the University of Cambridge.
Simon Goldhill has written an elegant and evocative multi-religious
history of Jerusalem. Rock by rock, myth by myth, the book guides
the reader through an exhilarating visit to the city, exposing its
magnetism and fragility, its light and darkness.
*Sari Nusseibeh, author of Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian
Life*
A fascinating journey through Jerusalem's most memorable places—and
among its most colorful personalities, and epoch-making events.
Simon Goldhill is a master historian and expert guide who reveals
much that is unexpected about this revered, fought-over, and often
misunderstood city. Engaging in tone, superbly written, and
admirably even-handed, this book offers a compelling new portrait
of the many souls of Jerusalem.
*Neil Asher Silberman, co-author of The Bible Unearthed*
Goldhill...provides an illuminating archeological, architectural
and historical guide to Jerusalem's most important holy and secular
sites from biblical times to the present...This is a highly
knowledgeable and beautifully written look at both the "heavenly"
and the "earthly" Jerusalem.
*Publishers Weekly*
Goldhill depicts a city that has transcended the often violent
claims and controversies of its historical figures, revealing the
many forgotten people who seek daily accommodation within its
walls. Indirectly, as "more than another history," this work helps
to explain how religious faith has brought layers of different
civilizations to a very special place.
*Library Journal*
Goldhill takes the reader on a tour of recent digs in Jerusalem,
visits important buildings, provides fresh readings of texts and
discusses competing theories with consummate learning and
expository skill...Jerusalem: City of Longing is chock-a-block with
entertaining anecdotes--many, alas, tall tales--about this most
solemn of cities...The chief merits of this book, which should
attract a broad readership, are the zestful vivacity with which
Goldhill explores Jerusalem's ancient ruins and texts and the
mixture of scholarship that he...injects into his discussion of the
unholy history of the holy city.
*Times Higher Education Supplement*
[A] pleasing archaeological history of Israel's capital city.
Jerusalem: City of Longing is a meticulously researched study of
how the city came to be built and rebuilt by successive faith
communities and conquerors...The maps are uncluttered, the
photographs breathtaking. Not the least virtue of Goldhill's volume
is its remarkably balanced account of the Mandate, and of how
Jerusalem came to be divided, and then reunited once more.
*Jewish Chronicle*
In Jerusalem: City of Longing, [Goldhill] serves up a playful
pastiche of a book, peppered with enchanting anecdotes, that places
Jerusalem at the world's centre...The history of a city is more
about interruptions, contests and heart-wrenching agonies. This is
the kind of history Goldhill presents, and it is the main reason
his book distinguishes itself among the many others on
Jerusalem...A valuable guide for visitors, current residents and
even for people who can only dream of ever visiting.
*Montreal Gazette*
Why a new book on Jerusalem? No one will raise that question after
reading this magnificent history and guide...[Goldhill‘s] extensive
knowledge about Jerusalem make[s] this book a joy to read and
re-read.
*Jerusalem Post*
Part history, part archaeology, part travel guide to Jerusalem's
holy sites and public buildings, this is an indispensable and
enjoyable book for anyone interested in understanding the crucial
role the city has played in the history of the three major
monotheistic religions...Writing with humor and an eye for detail,
Goldhill also exposes the myths behind claims made by the various
religious denominations who have staked out the different sections
of Jerusalem.
*Choice*
Simon Goldhill has written an elegant and evocative multi-religious
history of Jerusalem. Rock by rock, myth by myth, the book guides
the reader through an exhilarating visit to the city, exposing its
magnetism and fragility, its light and darkness. -- Sari Nusseibeh,
author of Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life
A fascinating journey through Jerusalem's most memorable places-and
among its most colorful personalities, and epoch-making events.
Simon Goldhill is a master historian and expert guide who reveals
much that is unexpected about this revered, fought-over, and often
misunderstood city. Engaging in tone, superbly written, and
admirably even-handed, this book offers a compelling new portrait
of the many souls of Jerusalem. -- Neil Asher Silberman, co-author
of The Bible Unearthed
Goldhill...provides an illuminating archeological, architectural
and historical guide to Jerusalem's most important holy and secular
sites from biblical times to the present...This is a highly
knowledgeable and beautifully written look at both the "heavenly"
and the "earthly" Jerusalem. * Publishers Weekly *
Goldhill depicts a city that has transcended the often violent
claims and controversies of its historical figures, revealing the
many forgotten people who seek daily accommodation within its
walls. Indirectly, as "more than another history," this work helps
to explain how religious faith has brought layers of different
civilizations to a very special place. -- Zachary T. Irwin *
Library Journal *
Goldhill takes the reader on a tour of recent digs in Jerusalem,
visits important buildings, provides fresh readings of texts and
discusses competing theories with consummate learning and
expository skill...Jerusalem: City of Longing is
chock-a-block with entertaining anecdotes--many, alas, tall
tales--about this most solemn of cities...The chief merits of this
book, which should attract a broad readership, are the zestful
vivacity with which Goldhill explores Jerusalem's ancient ruins and
texts and the mixture of scholarship that he...injects into his
discussion of the unholy history of the holy city. -- Bernard
Wasserstein * Times Higher Education Supplement *
[A] pleasing archaeological history of Israel's capital city.
Jerusalem: City of Longing is a meticulously researched
study of how the city came to be built and rebuilt by successive
faith communities and conquerors...The maps are uncluttered, the
photographs breathtaking. Not the least virtue of Goldhill's volume
is its remarkably balanced account of the Mandate, and of how
Jerusalem came to be divided, and then reunited once more. --
Geoffrey Alderman * Jewish Chronicle *
In Jerusalem: City of Longing, [Goldhill] serves up a
playful pastiche of a book, peppered with enchanting anecdotes,
that places Jerusalem at the world's centre...The history of a city
is more about interruptions, contests and heart-wrenching agonies.
This is the kind of history Goldhill presents, and it is the main
reason his book distinguishes itself among the many others on
Jerusalem...A valuable guide for visitors, current residents and
even for people who can only dream of ever visiting. -- Kornel
Zathureczky * Montreal Gazette *
Why a new book on Jerusalem? No one will raise that question after
reading this magnificent history and guide...[Goldhill's] extensive
knowledge about Jerusalem make[s] this book a joy to read and
re-read. -- Morton I. Teicher * Jerusalem Post *
Part history, part archaeology, part travel guide to Jerusalem's
holy sites and public buildings, this is an indispensable and
enjoyable book for anyone interested in understanding the crucial
role the city has played in the history of the three major
monotheistic religions...Writing with humor and an eye for detail,
Goldhill also exposes the myths behind claims made by the various
religious denominations who have staked out the different sections
of Jerusalem. -- J. Fischel * Choice *
Goldhill, professor of Greek at Cambridge (The Temple of Jerusalem), provides an illuminating archeological, architectural and historical guide to Jerusalem's most important holy and secular sites from biblical times to the present. He loves the city, but doesn't romanticize either its past or its present, and a theme throughout is that the "city of peace" has always been a place of contention. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all vie for supremacy in the city, but many claims to authenticity are false, says Goldhill. He debunks, for example, Israeli archeologist Eilat Mazar's claim to have discovered King David's palace. Ironies abound in a city where the Abrahamic faiths are not only embattled but also intermingled; the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has long been held by a Muslim family. As Goldhill explores Jerusalem during the Victorian period, which he claims laid the groundwork for much of the modern city, the impact of British mandatory rule, and the city today, he faces head-on the difficulty of telling the history of a place where every fact is contested by conflicting nationalist narratives. This is a highly knowledgeable and beautifully written look at both the "heavenly" and the "earthly" Jerusalem. (May) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
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