Jerusalem: The Biography

“This is an essential book for those who wish to understand a city that remains a nexus of world affairs.” —Booklist (starred) Jerusalem is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, fanaticism,  bloodshed, and coexistence, from King David to the 21st century, from  the birth of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to the Israel-Palestine  conflict. 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 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. In this masterful narrative, Simon  Sebag Montefiore brings the holy city to life and draws on the latest  scholarship, his own family history, and a lifetime of study to show  that the story of Jerusalem is truly the story of the world.