Items related to Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492–1900
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE
Selected as a Book of the Year 2017 by the Daily Telegraph, Mail on Sunday and Observer
'A glittering gemstone of a book' The Times
The Jewish story is a history that is about, and for, all of us. And in our own time of anxious arrivals and enforced departures, the Jews’ search for a home is more startlingly resonant than ever.
Belonging is a magnificent cultural history abundantly alive with energy, character and colour. It spans centuries and continents, from the Jews’ expulsion from Spain in 1492 it navigates miracles and massacres, wandering, discrimination, harmony and tolerance; to the brink of the twentieth century and, it seems, a point of profound hope.
It tells the stories not just of rabbis and philosophers but of a poetess in the ghetto of Venice; a boxer in Georgian England; a general in Ming China; an opera composer in nineteenth-century Germany. The story unfolds in Kerala and Mantua, the starlit hills of Galilee, the rivers of Colombia, the kitchens of Istanbul, the taverns of Ukraine and the mining camps of California. It sails in caravels, rides the stage coaches and the railways; trudges the dawn streets of London, hobbles along with the remnant of Napoleon’s ruined army.
Through Schama’s passionate telling of this second chronicle in an epic tale, a history emerges of the Jewish people that feels it is the story of everyone, of humanity.
Selected as a Book of the Year 2017 by the Daily Telegraph, Mail on Sunday and Observer
'A glittering gemstone of a book' The Times
The Jewish story is a history that is about, and for, all of us. And in our own time of anxious arrivals and enforced departures, the Jews’ search for a home is more startlingly resonant than ever.
Belonging is a magnificent cultural history abundantly alive with energy, character and colour. It spans centuries and continents, from the Jews’ expulsion from Spain in 1492 it navigates miracles and massacres, wandering, discrimination, harmony and tolerance; to the brink of the twentieth century and, it seems, a point of profound hope.
It tells the stories not just of rabbis and philosophers but of a poetess in the ghetto of Venice; a boxer in Georgian England; a general in Ming China; an opera composer in nineteenth-century Germany. The story unfolds in Kerala and Mantua, the starlit hills of Galilee, the rivers of Colombia, the kitchens of Istanbul, the taverns of Ukraine and the mining camps of California. It sails in caravels, rides the stage coaches and the railways; trudges the dawn streets of London, hobbles along with the remnant of Napoleon’s ruined army.
Through Schama’s passionate telling of this second chronicle in an epic tale, a history emerges of the Jewish people that feels it is the story of everyone, of humanity.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
"A magnificent achievement... [a] parade of bustlingly vital characters from across the globe ... all painted in luminous colour... By offering such a throbbing cavalcade of characters, Schama is defying several key assumptions, even stereotypes, about Jewish history and Jews themselves... Above all, while much Jewish history can read like a sorrowful trudge through disaster, plague and pogrom, Schama’s book teems with life rather than death" (Jonathan Freedland Guardian)
"Magisterial ... the product of a world-class historian at the peak of his creative powers ... rich, ornate, intensely evocative and sensory. With astonishing range and extraordinary synthesising powers, Schama captures the drama of Jewish history." (Financial Times)
"A rich melody that soars above the ground bass of prejudice and persecution ... Schama has made himself the leading virtuoso of our time. This second volume of this trilogy is an affirmation of faith in the grand narrative ... Its familiar and familial tone proclaims the author’s unapologetic mission to play his part in the story of the Jews by bringing their history alive... [A] glittering gemstone of a book" (Daniel Johnson The Times)
"So beautifully written it regularly takes your breath away, it is a book far greater than the sum of its parts. Daunted by its colossal size, I started reading with some trepidation; I finished filled with wonder and delight." (Abigail Green Times Literary Supplement)
"An extraordinary cultural journey, filled with astonishingly colourful and outrageous characters ... Schama delivers a superb and thrilling ride, both inspirational and tragic." (Simon Sebag Montefiore Mail on Sunday)
"Magisterial... a wonderfully rich narrative ... The third and final volume won’t be easy reading. But at least in the company of Schama – one of the finest writers and thinkers of his generation – we’re guaranteed a guide both insightful and eloquent" (Saul David Daily Telegraph)
"Rich, complex and fascinating ... Schama maintains the attention with the vividness of his writing and his talent for unearthing gripping figures full of human contradictions. And through this dazzling immersion in the preoccupations of the period that the bigger picture slowly emerges ... Profoundly illuminating" (Andrew Anthony Observer)
"Simon Schama is an international treasure ... By painterly touches, he manages to convey colour, texture, shape, context, light and shadow, as well as to stimulate the senses ... He is imaginative, epigrammatic and fearless ... an effervescent cicerone who instructs and entertains in like measure." (Bernard Wasserstein Spectator)
"Immensely erudite and compulsively readable ... The importance of Schama’s book is that it forces the reader to think about how the long and shameful legacy of Christian hatred for Jews is reworked in “enlightened” society... Deeply engaging" (Rowan Williams New Statesman)
"Schama is a talented storyteller with a dramatist’s eye for character ... Schama leavens his tale with wit and charm, while also displaying remarkable breadth of research and erudition, ranging fluently from Sephardic merchant princes in the Mediterranean to fevered kabbalistic sects in Galilee" (Josh Glancy Sunday Times)
Book Description:
"Magisterial ... the product of a world-class historian at the peak of his creative powers ... rich, ornate, intensely evocative and sensory. With astonishing range and extraordinary synthesising powers, Schama captures the drama of Jewish history." (Financial Times)
"A rich melody that soars above the ground bass of prejudice and persecution ... Schama has made himself the leading virtuoso of our time. This second volume of this trilogy is an affirmation of faith in the grand narrative ... Its familiar and familial tone proclaims the author’s unapologetic mission to play his part in the story of the Jews by bringing their history alive... [A] glittering gemstone of a book" (Daniel Johnson The Times)
"So beautifully written it regularly takes your breath away, it is a book far greater than the sum of its parts. Daunted by its colossal size, I started reading with some trepidation; I finished filled with wonder and delight." (Abigail Green Times Literary Supplement)
"An extraordinary cultural journey, filled with astonishingly colourful and outrageous characters ... Schama delivers a superb and thrilling ride, both inspirational and tragic." (Simon Sebag Montefiore Mail on Sunday)
"Magisterial... a wonderfully rich narrative ... The third and final volume won’t be easy reading. But at least in the company of Schama – one of the finest writers and thinkers of his generation – we’re guaranteed a guide both insightful and eloquent" (Saul David Daily Telegraph)
"Rich, complex and fascinating ... Schama maintains the attention with the vividness of his writing and his talent for unearthing gripping figures full of human contradictions. And through this dazzling immersion in the preoccupations of the period that the bigger picture slowly emerges ... Profoundly illuminating" (Andrew Anthony Observer)
"Simon Schama is an international treasure ... By painterly touches, he manages to convey colour, texture, shape, context, light and shadow, as well as to stimulate the senses ... He is imaginative, epigrammatic and fearless ... an effervescent cicerone who instructs and entertains in like measure." (Bernard Wasserstein Spectator)
"Immensely erudite and compulsively readable ... The importance of Schama’s book is that it forces the reader to think about how the long and shameful legacy of Christian hatred for Jews is reworked in “enlightened” society... Deeply engaging" (Rowan Williams New Statesman)
"Schama is a talented storyteller with a dramatist’s eye for character ... Schama leavens his tale with wit and charm, while also displaying remarkable breadth of research and erudition, ranging fluently from Sephardic merchant princes in the Mediterranean to fevered kabbalistic sects in Galilee" (Josh Glancy Sunday Times)
A passionate history of a world unfolding across many continents and five centuries by one of our greatest and internationally bestselling historians.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherBodley Head
- Publication date2017
- ISBN 10 1847922805
- ISBN 13 9781847922809
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages800
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Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492 1900: MINT SIGNED & PUBLICAT5ION DAY DATED FIRST EDITION
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Bodley Head
(2017)
ISBN 10: 1847922805
ISBN 13: 9781847922809
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. A mint first printing in a likewise unclipped dust wrapper.Unread gift condition SIGNED and Publication Day DATED 5th October 2017 by Simon Schama to the title page. An outstanding copy, scarce to find with these superb attributes. BOXED DESPATCH. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # ABE-1530536809109
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