A History of the Jews - Paul Johnson
A History of the Jews
A Magnum Opus Profiling 4,000 Years of Cultural Endurance, Intellectual Genius, and the Creation of the Modern World
A Magnum Opus Profiling 4,000 Years of Cultural Endurance, Intellectual Genius, and the Creation of the Modern World
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: A History of the Jews
- Author: Paul Johnson
- Publisher: Phoenix (An Imprint of Orion Books Ltd), London
- Publication Date: 1996 Edition / Impression
- ISBN-13: 9781857993806 (ISBN-10: 1857993802)
- Edition Details: Standard Trade Softcover Release.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium heavy-gauge illustrated card wrappers (perfect-bound softcover).
- Physical Format: Thick Medium-Format Octavo (8vo), 644 pages.
- Language: English [1, 2]
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good (VG) / Excellent Condition
- Exterior / Wraps: The original illustrated card covers are beautifully preserved, remaining flat, square, and structurally robust. Displays only very, very slight, microscopic signs of superficial storage wear along the edges, entirely consistent with flawless archival handling over the decades. The spine remains completely perfect, uncreased, straight, and undamaged.
- Interior: The thick 644-page text block is exceptionally white, tight, and fresh. Internal pages are clean, entirely intact, and completely free of reader annotations, underlinings, modern highlighters, dealer pencil marks, or dog-ears.
- Provenance: Pristine collector's state; entirely free of previous owner signatures, institutional stamps, or ex-libris library pockets. [1]
Synopsis & Historical Value
Originally published in 1987 and presented here in the celebrated 1996 Phoenix edition, A History of the Jews is widely recognized as a monumental achievement in global historical documentation. Renowned British historian Paul Johnson crafts a brilliant, sweeping 4,000-year chronological survey that charts the extraordinary journey of the Jewish people from the biblical covenant of Abraham to the establishment of the modern State of Israel. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Rather than serving as a passive listing of past events, the volume constructs a powerful, deep philosophical argument regarding the unique nature of Jewish genius, its inner contradictions, and its profound, foundational role in the creation of the modern world. Spanning seven comprehensive historical movements—including the ancient Israelites, the Babylonian diaspora, the era of rabbinic synthesis, the harsh isolations of the medieval ghetto, and the explosive impact of the Enlightenment—Johnson profiles iconic minds such as Moses, Spinoza, Marx, Freud, Einstein, and Golda Meir. Writing with an engaging prose pace, he famously views this history as an investigation into human purpose, demonstrating how a tenacious minority consistently transformed systemic misfortune into world-altering creative triumphs. This clean, beautifully preserved copy serves as an essential reference volume for serious collectors of world history, theology, and classic Africana collections of Western religious literature. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Author Profile: Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson (1928–2023) was an internationally acclaimed British historian, journalist, and prolific author whose expansive body of work redefined popular narrative history. Educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, his distinct career began in journalism before transitioning into the authorship of sweeping, best-selling monographs—including A History of Christianity, Modern Times, and Intellectuals. Famous for combining an intense narrative passion with scrupulous attention to historical detail, Johnson’s writing style is celebrated for its clarity, bold philosophical arguments, and capability to make complex historical archives deeply engaging for audiences worldwide. [1, 2, 3, 4]
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