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Simon Sebag Montefiore
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Audio Book
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Publisher | Orion | ||
ISBN | 9781409113782 | ||
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Audio Extract
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Reviewer
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Vicky
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Synopsis
Jerusalem lies at the centre of the world, the capital of three faiths, the prize of many conquerors, the jewel of many empires, and the eye of the storm of today's battle of civilisations. But the city lacks a biography. It lacks a secret history. Simon Sebag Montefiore's epic account is seen through kings, conquerors, emperors and soldiers; Muslims, Jews, Christians, Macedonians, Romans and Greeks; Palestinians and Israelis; from King David via Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Herod, Caesar, Cleopatra, Jesus and Saladin, to Churchill, King Hussein, Anwar Sadat and Ariel Sharon. Their individual stories combine to form the biography of a city - a gritty, dramatic, violent tale of power, empire, love, vanity, luxury and death, bringing three thousand years of history vividly to life.
Review
Normally when I listen to an audio book I like to multitask by either quilting, knitting or crocheting - but this time listening to Andrew Sach's rendition of Simon Sebag Montefiore's words, stopped me in my tracks as I got deeper into the unfolding story about Jerusalem.
To say it was enthralling was an understatement - I learnt so much about it's history, its culture and the three religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and I came away saying wow! and I didn't know that several times! I found that I recognised many names from all three religions, but with Simon's historical facts going back 3000 years with modern archives and current scholarship it was an illuminating journey into the City of Jerusalem and the effect it has had on society from ancient to modern.
I more than highly recommend this audio book.
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