The premise of The Gifts of the Jews is simple but bold: to show how the religious, moral, philosophical, and political systems developed by the Jews -- descendants and followers of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Saul, and David -- profoundly shaped the world we know today. Concepts as basic as personal freedom and charity derive from their adaptations to and interpretations of their experiences. To anyone with even a basic knowledge of Western history it is clear that Judaism influenced Christianity and Islam. And it is equally clear that these three great religions (or, if you prefer, societies) formed, over centuries, the central tenets of European thought. But to have a historian as skilled at narrative and thematic synthesis as Thomas Cahill take a reader back to the beginning of these thoughts and walk through the very first expressions of free will, or a relationship with a singular god greater than the sum of the earth, or an innate responsibility to care for the weak and poor, provides a depth of understanding of the Western tradition more accessible than most scholarship or philosophy permits.
RosettaBooks is proud to publish the first three titles in Thomas Cahill's planned seven volume Hinges of History collection: How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995), The Gftst of the Jews (1997) and Desire of the Everlasting Hills (1999). All three of these titles continue as bestsellers as each title in the series builds on those which precede it.
The sub-title tells it all: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels. The Gifts of the Jews is the second volume in the Hinges of History series.
Thomas Cahill is a life long scholar and a student of ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew and has studied with some of America's most distinguished literary and Biblical scholars. Thomas Cahill set out to create a seven set of popular non-fiction which would convey the roots of our collective history. His achievement has been to bring these titles alive for a modern reader while basing his work on prodigious research with original sources.
RosettaBooks is proud to publish the first three titles in Thomas Cahill's planned seven volume Hinges of History collection: How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995), The Gftst of the Jews (1997) and Desire of the Everlasting Hills (1999). All three of these titles continue as bestsellers as each title in the series builds on those which precede it.
