ancient

It is wonderful to see Thomas Cahill's perspective on Jewish civilization. Too many popular images of the Jews today are political or sentimental, whether accounts of Middle Eastern politics or funny Jewish New Yorkers on TV. In _The Gifts of the Jews_, Cahill reminds us that Judaism has remained vibrant for so many years because it contains great fundamental ideas. He says that the major gift of Judaism is the concept of Progress. The worth of the individual is another gift, related and potentially even more valuable. Who can read the biblical stories of Abraham and not see their influence on the morality of today's world?
The book was also an understandable overview of ancient history and the bible, a feat that, given the varying nature of biblical narrative, few teachers or writers accomplish. While it's the trend to keep footnotes out of non-academic publications, the book would have been stronger with more direct attribution to its sources.

The book is not for those looking from proof of historical facts, it's for those who want to think logically about the ideas we have today. In this respect, the book succeeds. It shows that after 4,000 years, the gift of the Jews is a lasting, comprehensive, and influential outlook, making Judaism deserving of its place among the world's greatest religions.

Considering its name, The Gifts of the Jews is not a book I (as a Jew) think Jews would enjoy. The author, Thomas Cahill, spends over 250 pages using a tone that could generally be described as sardonic and sarcastic. Mr. Cahill repeatedly cites the King James Bible to back up arguments which are often disrespectful to Judaism and seemingly designed to put biblical heroes in the most negative light possible. Kings of Israel and Judah are mentioned to "seldom measure up to expectations, exhibiting ... Solomon's cruelties or undesirable qualities all their own..." (209) while God Himself is referred to many times as "cruel" or "inhumane" while the circumstances and accepted levels of biblical exaggeration are rarely mentioned in these contexts.

If the reader desires a narrative of Jewish history, he can attain a much less eccentric angle in Rabbi Wayne Dosick's Living Judaism, or Rabbi Benjamin Blech's Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture. Both of these contain large amounts of well organized information without the distortion evident in Mr. Cahill's book.

Your series is a novel idea Mr. Cahill, but I find this book to be very poorly done.

PERSPECTIVE: theologically interested reader, unfamiliar with Cahill's work

The Gifts of the Jews is a wonderfully written exploration of the pivotal role the Jewish people have played in the shaping of our modern perceptions and life, irregardless of faith. Cahill brings extensive theological and historical training to bear, and goes to great lengths, including travelling the world, to do research for his chosen topic. His thesis, as he calls it, is that the Jewish people were the first to break out of the "cyclic boredom" of ancient world views. Through their culture, beliefs, and history, they have given the entire modern world crucial "gifts" of individuality, prospective thinking, freedom, justice, and many more. To illustrate this, he uses a wide variety of historical documents, texts, and commentaries, including several translations of the Hebrew Bible, and weaves them together with a style that is remarkably eloquent, delightfully funny, and impressively accessible.

Whatever your religious or political beliefs, this thought- (and spirit-, if you are so inclined) provoking novel worth a read. Although it is, at its heart, an academic treatise, and as such is eminently open for debate, as exemplified by the many editorial discussions - with much heated agreement and dissention - it is important to note that it is easily enjoyable on a different level.

FINAL WORD: Read this book! Buy it, check it out from the library, or buy it and donate it to your local library.