Synopses & Reviews
Far reaching, intellectually rich, and passionately written,
Unsettled takes the whole history of Western civilization as its canvas and places onto it the Jewish people and faith. With historical insight and vivid storytelling, renowned anthropologist Melvin Konner charts how the Jews endured largely hostile (but at times accepting) cultures to shape the world around them and make their mark throughout history?from the pastoral tribes of the Bronze Age to enslavement in the Roman Empire, from the darkness of the Holocaust to the creation of Israel and the flourishing of Jews in America. With fresh interpretations of the antecedents of today?s pressing conflicts,
Unsettled is a work whose modern-day reverberations could not be more relevant or timely.
Review
A poignant and highly accessible account of an ongoing story that transcends all telling. (Harold Bloom)
Remarkable . . . It is certainly the best one-volume overview of Jewish history and identity available today. (Sander L. Gilman, Director of the Program in Jewish Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago)
About the Author
Melvin Konner, Ph.D., M.D., the author of nine books, is a Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Anthropology at Emory University in Atlanta, where he teaches in the anthropology, human biology, and Jewish studies programs. He has written for The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, Science, and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Table of Contents
Unsettled Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Genesis: How the Jews Were Born in Israel
2. Kingdom Come: How the Israelites Became a Nation
3. Babylon: How the Kingdom Fell and the Culture Channged
4. Roman Ruin: How the Jews Lost Their Land
5. Diaspora: How the Jews Dispersed Among Their Enemies
6. Crossed Swords: How Christian Power Vanquished the Jews
7. Under the Minaret: How Islam (Partly) Tolerated the Jews
8. Spain and Beyond: How the Sephardic Jews Found Romance
9. Brightness: How Jewish Genius Changed and Grew
10. Ends of the Earth: How Jews Thrived in Exotic Places
11. Yidn: How the Jews helped Create Modern Europe
12. Mamesh-Loshn: How the Ashkenazic Jews Spoke and Thought
13. Smoke: How the Germans Gave the Jews Graves in the Air
14. Fire: How the Jews Fought Back
15. The Golden Land: How the Jews Helped Make America
16. Ha'aretz: How the Jews Came Home
17. Women of Valor: How Jewish Women Broke the Patriarchal Bonds
18. Conclusion: A Drop of Red Wine: How the Jews Will Face the Future
A Jewish Time Line
Notes
For Further Reading
Index