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.

Two Reviews For the Price of One!

Two distinct ideas came to mind as I listened to this one. Since I could not weave them into one coherent treatise I thought I’d share them both.

Commentary #1
- If you like John Lee as a narrator, this book is possibly for you.
- If you like your history dense, this book is probably for you.
- If you wonder why this area continues to be so f*ed up, this book is likely for you.

Sadly, Jerusalem’s history has been determined by dynamite, sword, and blood. It’s violent past has earned it the moniker, “The maim, rape, and pillage capital of the world”.

SO,. . .

- If you like beheadings, heads on poles, heads on gates, or mutilated bodies left rotting on the ground for years and/or enjoy the putrid odor as a result this book is for you.

- If you like eviscerations, bisections, slow dismemberments starting with fingers and toes and working your way through the body joint-by-joint, or dismemberments of noses, ears, hands, etc., for punishment, this book is for you.

- If you like hangings, garroting, fingernail pulling, or heads crushed in vices, this book is for you.

- If you like eye gouging, hacking of bodies until they are no longer recognizable as human and then kabobed, this book is for you.

- If you enjoy torture such as being forced to drink molten gold, or suicide bombings this book is for you.

I don’t know if it was the author’s intent but I interpret the overriding theme to be the historic brutal violence of this place. I had known of the Crusades and assumed there were military battles but never imagined the sickening degree of violence. It reminds me a quote from William Wilberforce (an English social reformer and abolitionist) that I referenced in my review of The Slave Ship, that sums it all up for me, “So much misery condensed in so little room is more than the human imagination has ever before conceived.”

Commentary #2
(George Burns speaking as God) “What in my name have you done? Yeah, you! I’m talking to all of you. Christians. Muslims. Jews. Arabs. Europeans. Palestinians. You know who you are. You, who invoke my name. This disgusting, vile, abhorrent behavior has gone on for over 2,000 years and must stop. What’s wrong with you people? Did you lose or misunderstand the tablets I sent down regarding your expected behavior? I have granted you dominion over all my creations and in return I ask you to follow 10 simple rules. Is that really too much to ask?

As your Father, I try to be understanding and patient. And, like a father, I am sometimes forced to discipline. Remember, the 40 days/nights of rain? Sodom and Gomorrah? The plagues of Egypt? How soon children forget. But, be forewarned! Know that I’m watching. Learn to play nice with the other children and stop justifying your actions in my name. I am a God of peace and love. Don’t make me bring all of you up here for your personal judgment. If that happens, let’s just assume I won’t be in a good mood.”

As-salamu alaykum. Shalom Aleychem. Peace.

a must read to understand current conflict

An amazing detailed yet comprehensive history of Jerusalem. Should be a must read for anyone interested in middle East peace as well as human history. Human history is never simple and righteousness and atrocities are found are all sides. we have lost the notion that history is key to reaching current understanding - a true tradegy. though dense with facts and details - I have to relisten to parts many times - still approachable to the sweeping history that is Jerusalem.

Challenging to Follow, but very Thorough

Not being familiar with the history of this part of the world, I found this it a challenging listen, but I am glad that I stuck with it to the end.

Superb book....Superb narrator

The book is, quite simply, a revelation. The performance (by the same person who did epics by Hamilton and Reynolds) is breathtaking. it is far better on Audible than when read. It is like going through all three parts of Stoppard's "Coast of Utopia" in one day. It is a wonder.

Strained Secular History

The litany of characters seemed to promote a rational flow of history while attempting to downplay the Judeo-Christian heritage that underpins the spiritual & timeless reality that keeps Jerusalem in the middle of everything.