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Jerusalem the biography

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-...

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Main Author: Sebag Montefiore, Simon, 1965-
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.
Edition: 1st U.S. ed.
Subjects:
Jerusalem > History.
Online Access: Go to Downloadable eBook Here.
Summary: 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 three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence. How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the "center 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. As well as the many ordinary Jerusalemites who have left their mark on the city, its cast varies from Solomon, Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent to Cleopatra, Caligula and Churchill; from Abraham to Jesus and Muhammad; from the ancient world of Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and Nero to the modern times of the Kaiser, Disraeli, Mark Twain, Lincoln, Rasputin, Lawrence of Arabia and Moshe Dayan. 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. - Publisher.
Item Description: "This Is a Borzoi Book"--T.p. verso.
Physical Description: 650 p. 25 cm.
Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 9780307266514 (alk. paper)
0307266516 (alk. paper)
Author Notes: Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore was born on June 27, 1965 in London. He is a British historian, award winning author of history books and novels and television presenter. He was educated at Ludgrove School and Harrow School. He read history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where he received his Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD). He won an Exhibition to Caius College. He went on to work as a banker, a foreign affairs journalist, and a war correspondent.

Montefiore's first book Catherine the Great & Potemkin. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar won History Book of the Year at the 2004 British Book Awards. Young Stalin won the LA Times Book Prize for Best Biography, the Costa Book Award, the Bruno Kreisky Award for Political Literature, and Le Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique. Jerusalem: The Biography was a global bestseller and won The Book of the Year Prize from the Jewish Book Council. His latest history is The Romanovs: 1613-1918. He is also the author of the acclaimed novels Sashenka and One Night in Winter. One Night in Winter won the Political Novel of the Year Prize.

(Bowker Author Biography)

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