"To compensate a little for the treachery and weakness of my memory, so extreme that it has happened to me more than once to pick up again, as recent and unknown to me, books which I had read carefully a few years before . . . I have adopted the habit for some time now of adding at the end of each book . . . the time I finished reading it and the judgment I have derived of it as a whole, so that this may represent to me at least the sense and general idea I had conceived of the author in reading it." (Montaigne, Book II, Essay 10 (publ. 1580))

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

The Story of the Jews - Finding the Words - 1000 BC - 1492 AD (Simon Schama, 2013)

I need to know more on this topic, but was a bit reluctant to pick up this book as it is linked to a PBS TV series.  But not to worry - very readable, full of useful information, changed my understanding on a number of topics.  So I hope the author is credible.

Worth paging through multiple times.  A key takeaway - like other religions, this one is continually writing and rewriting its own history based on needs or objectives of leaders in various situations and geographies.  Meaning:  don't assume anyone's pronouncements are dispositive.

Author goes through biblical times, then into New Testament; the strange, and sad, manner in which persecutions flowered.

1492 is a logical breaking point given events in Spain, I will look forward to the next volume.
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