A History of the Jews

By: Paul Johnson

Narrated by: Nadia May

Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world - their genius, imagination, and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.

©1987 Paul Johnson (P)1989 Blackstone Audio, inc.

Critic reviews

"It's no mean feat to successfully compress 4,000 years of history into 645 pages, but Johnson has more than met the challenge....an excellent, nonscholarly history for general readers." ( Library Journal)
"A tour de force....A remarkable achievement." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"A marvelous book....This is history: richly textured, provocative and wise." ( The Plain Dealer)

Great book, poor recording

Would you listen to A History of the Jews again? Why?

The information in the book was excellent. Well organized and intelligent.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nadia May?

Nadia May was a fine reader, but the recording was poor. I could hear other people in the background and the levels made her voice very high pitched at times.

Great Book. Terrible Narration.

Would you consider the audio edition of A History of the Jews to be better than the print version?

The book was great. Typical of Paul Johnson, it was thoroughly researched, interesting to read and listen to, and comprehensive. The problem was the narration. I don't think it was Nadia May's English accent. It was incredibly bad sound engineering. I often had to listen to passages two to five times. More than less, I figured out the gist of what was being read and accepted that is good enough. This is such a great book that I hope they produce another audio version for future listeners. It was still worth the listen.

Wonderful fascinating history!

The story of the Jews from Biblical times to the present. Fascinating history, wonderfully researched, beautifully written, superbly narrated.

Facts facts facts

Some opinion. So much to learn. I am on my third audible reading. Easier than real reading

Comprehensive History of the Jews

Wow, the is some work!! Covering the incredible history of the most interesting peoples of the last 4,000 years. Their contributions to humanity are astounding and the prejudice against them absolutely heart breaking. The audio book is long but well researched and documented. I wish everyone could read this book.

what a journey

The narrative of this book started thousands of years ago and ends in the 1980s. I learned a lot and it's an interesting listen in 2018 in light of developments over the past thirty years such as the collapse of the USSR (and Eastern Central Europe's economic and political transitions), dramatic escalations is violence between Israel and Palestine, Muslim-phobia, 'terrorism', etc. Listened at bed time. Nadia May is such a nice reader for a bedtime story.

The shear amount of information organized for easy understanding is remarkable

Initially I thought a man reader would have been better, but toward the end, I wasn't sure.
Well done! Paul Johnson did a tremendous job!

Enjoyable

I have enjoyed this book quite a bit, the narrative is clear and lucid, and so the reader or the listener can understand the situation and the social and political dynamics of the Jewish people. I basically give up on remember the Jewish names, I'll have look look up on wiki a bit later, but otherwise, the history is good and fluent.

favorite book of all time

even better on the second read, or to be more precise, listen. highly recommend this book. the audio version is particularly enjoyable due in part to the great performance of the reader

grear book middlubg reading

the reader has wonderful diction and an expressive voice but reading marred by nbelievable mispronnunciations