Jerusalem

The Biography

By: Simon Sebag Montefiore

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 25 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2011 Simon Sebag Montefiore (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Magnificent . . . The city’s first ‘biography’ - a panoptic narrative of its rulers and citizens, heroes and villains, harlots and saints . . . Montefiore barely misses a trick or a character in taking us through the city’s story with compelling, breathless tension.” (Norman Lebrecht, Wall Street Journal)

“Impossible to put down . . . A vastly enjoyable chronicle [with] many fascinating asides . . . Montefiore has a fine eye for the telling detail, and also a powerful feel for a good story.” (Jonathan Rosen, New York Times Book Review)

“Magisterial . . . As a writer, Montefiore has an elegant turn of phrase and an unerring ear for the anecdote that will cut to the heart of a story . . . It is this kind of detail that makes Jerusalem a particular joy to read.” (The Economist)

Amazing story!

While the story is fascinating and the narrator did an incredible job pronouncing the myriad of Middle Eastern names, the delivery was difficult to listen to at times.

Mind boggling history

It's unbelievable the amount of people that have suffered, die for Jerusalem also credibly fast every culture in the world somehow try to have a foothold in Jerusalem this book does an excellent job on teaching history and footnote facts anyone who has an interest in Jerusalem or the Middle East this book is a must read!

yes it is long, but not boring to me

I see complaints that this book is long. If readers checked the number of pages, or, in my case, checked the time to listen on Audible, the length should not be a surprise. John Lee does the narration here, and is, in my opinion, as good a narrator as I have heard. The disturbing thing to me is that there seems to be as much religious/sectarian violence now as there was in any time in the 'barbaric' past. This book could be subtitled 'people behaving badly.'
I found Montefiore's prose a delight to hear (I fiercely liked his two volume biography of Stalin, though I was ambivalent about his Romanov book.) I( liked his following different families as a way to present he book. (Listening to Neil Oliver's "love Letter to the British Isles," I was struck that what we call the 'stone age,' could be mainly because stone survives while plants and animals decompose. That makes social history conjectural.) I thought that Montefiore did a good job using the sources that he had. Some things are left out or not fully explored, but this book is over 25 hours long as it is.
So credit to Simon Sebag Montefiore and John Lee for creating a listening experience that I had a hard time putting down.

I really really wanted to love this book

I love the history, I love his approach, I love how easy it is to listen to, however I just got weary of having him say that the Bible is wrong, or written by someone else, or at a different time...a very "liberal" approach.

History of Jerusalem at its best

This is the best history of Jerusalem as a whole, including all major religions with great objectivity.

An Uncertain History

While this book increased my knowledge, and I am glad that I listened to it, I'm quite uncertain about the quality of the knowledge gained. When the author announced that his only historical basis for a section of his book was the Bible, I was alarmed by how badly he managed to misstate the facts. It made me wonder about the rest of his "facts" when drawn from sources where I was not an expert.

Another cause for concern about his credibility arises from how he treats his relatives in the book. For example, he describes one elderly ancestor who (as I recall) raped a household servant. (I say "raped" because I understood the servant to be a 14 year-old.) Instead of treating this as a character flaw (to put it mildly), the author claims this event shows the vigor of his ancestor. It made me wonder about the accuracy of his conclusions where he did not recount the underlying facts.

The narrator has a most unusual way of pronouncing names. Historical names familiar to most people are pronounced in such a bizaarre way that it takes a few moments to realize which historical figure is being discussed. Time yourself to see how long it takes you to realize that the person under discussion is, for example, Hercules or Nebuchadnezzar.

A vivid drama!

Where does Jerusalem rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

You start into this book looking at the historical context of this time in middle eastern history and you become wrapped up in a drama meant for television. John Lee captures the personalities and background politics of an incredibly influential period of time in Israeli Arab relations leading to this war. You understand the pretext of the political events leading to this war but more important, you feel the intricacies involved among all sides involved as well as the intelligence and political motivations both short and long term. The material is read with depth and intention bringing the listener into the events as they fold so that the listener understands what was generally believed by the people of the nations drawn by nationalism and one countries plight to remain on the map. This is a political journeyman's flight through prewar, understanding the politics of war and the long term affects considered long before the end of a conflict.

Comprehensive, unbiased and beautifully written.

Would you consider the audio edition of Jerusalem to be better than the print version?

As much as I enjoyed the audio edition, I need the print version as I see this becoming a well worn reference book.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

As always, John Lee makes hard history an enjoyable listen.

Any additional comments?

For all searchers, looking for answers to unanswerable questions about the human condition, "Jerusalem" is an apt place to start.

An Investment in An Historical Perspective

Montefiore takes the reader through history from the time of King David to modern day with Jerusalem at the epicenter. If the reader can regularly recall this skewed perspective, he'll find the book engaging and enlightening.

Disappointingly, the author begins with the Bible as his only source for the days of King David, then argues against its historicity using inductive reasoning. Not excellent logic.

The period of Herodian Jerusalem was most interesting, with many insights to Herod's ties to Rome & Rome's connection to this crossroads of the world. From Herod to modern history, the narrative thins into a brief recount of each ruling power. The author's retelling of the struggle for modern Jerusalem is captivating because the moral high ground belongs to the city, not the victors of The Great War or WWII, as so much of history tells it.

Overall, consider this book an investment, as it is quite long. However, the vast scale will offer insight dissimilar to that found in studying smaller niches of history.

Mesmerizing. Masterfully compiled.

Mesmerizing. Masterfully compiled, tastefully auditioned. The story is gripping and full of important history facts and interesting trivia nuggets along the way. Last sections show a clear bias as was expected from any human author of a certain background. Overall, amazing experience. Highly recommended for those interested in current Middle East political mess.