The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (Hinges of History) | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas Cahill
Publisher: Anchor Books/Nan A Talese
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  139 reviews
Sales Rank: 9012
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0385482493
Dewey Decimal Number: 909.04924
EAN: 9780385482493
ASIN: 0385482493
Publication Date: August 17, 1999
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Condition: hardcover copy in great condition with minor use and wear
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Thomas Cahill, author of the bestselling How the Irish Saved Civilization, continues his Hinges of History series with The Gifts of the Jews, a light-handed, popular account of ancient Jewish culture, the culture of the Bible. The book is written from a decidedly modern point of view. Cahill notes, for instance, that Abraham moved the Jews from Ur to the land of Canaan "to improve their prospects," and that the leering inhabitants of Sodom surrounded Lot's lodging "like the ghouls in Night of the Living Dead." The Gifts of the Jews nonetheless encourages us to see the Old Testament through ancient eyes--to see its characters not as our contemporaries but as those of Gilgamesh and Amenhotep. Cahill also lingers on often-overlooked books of the Bible, such as Ruth, to discuss changes in ancient sensibility. The result is a fine, speculative, eminently readable work of history.
Product Description
The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization has done it again. In The Gifts of the Jews Thomas Cahill takes us on another enchanting journey into history, once again recreating a time when the actions of a small band of people had repercussions that are still felt today.
The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
Full of compelling stories, insights and humor, The Gifts of the Jews is an irresistible exploration of history as fascinating and fun as How the Irish Saved Civilization.
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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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 134 more reviews...
 How God changed the world August 15, 2008
Look around his occasional skepticism and viewpoint of higher criticism. This is a classic account of how God changed the world, and how the Jews and their God helped create a civilization to save.
Cahill has a light and at the same time profound touch that hits at the heart.
EXCELLENT July 16, 2008
Excellent book detailing the beginning of the first monotheistic religion
The author tells the story in a wonderful proseful way and most important suggests the importance of the beliefs mentioned in the book to the world.
For Racists June 23, 2008
This is a great book if you are in fact a westerner with very low esteem. It will teach you that everything about you is good and everything about everyone else is bad. But seriously. There are so many untrue things in this book that I am not even going to bother (Nobody wrote linear History except the Jews. Ha! I say it again. Ha! ). If you are generally unreflective and have a need- that deep urge towards group/ social/ racial superioity- by all means purchase this book. If you are reflective, this is not the book for you.
Intriguing and Clever June 21, 2008
Biased? No.
Fabricated? No.
Exagerated? Not always.
But it is intriguing and clever.
Those who are fond of alternative history might not like the book. But those who follow the Bible to the letter will enjoy reading this book.
The author takes us back to the early days of Judaism, and the birth of monotheism. Abraham, Abaraham, Avraham, whatever, whoever becomes an intriguing and supernatural personality in the book.
His influence on his surrounding and people is predominant.
His relations with a powerful contemporary Sumerian civilizations shed light on several socio-religious conditions and factors that catapulted the creation of the Hebrew vision of the world.
The book is intriguing. Historical facts mixed with personal opinions in every single chapter. A sort of personal interpretation of the multiple phases of the Hebraic history. Nevertheless, this book is stimulating and well-written with fervor, lots of intellect, and above all creative historical visions. You should read it.
 Review for World Civilizations 1 June 4, 2008
The Gifts of the Jews, by Thomas Cahill is a very intriguing, yet complex and opinionated book. Thomas Cahill is am American scholar and writer, and is most well known for his series of books called the Hinges of History, which tell the story of Western Civilizations roots. The Gifts of the Jews is the second book in The Hinges of History collection. The Gifts of the Jews is about what the Jewish people did in the earliest of civilizations to begin to shape the civilization that we now have. The book begins by talking about the beginning of civilization, and Cahill uses it to break in his view about how the Jews changed ancient civilization by thinking outside of the world that everyone was stuck in. Chapter one goes on to talk about and tell stories of Sumer, the first civilization. It talks about Gilgamesh, who was supposedly half human half God, and King of Uruk (A city in Sumer). Cahill talks about ancient symbols, and what they mean, and then goes on to talk about how civilization in the time of Sumer was going in a never-ending circle, round and round. From there, he begins to talk about the bible's Abram (who became Abraham). His family was one of Semites, who had settled in the city of Ur. Cahill goes into stories about the Bible and of ancient Sumer, including stories about Isaac and Sarah. The next chapter goes into how Abraham had a different kind of thinking about God then everyone else at that time, and preached to his family and beyond. Then goes into how Joseph was brought to Egypt because he could allegedly read dreams, and brings the rest of his family to Egypt in his new power position. He then tells stories of Egypt that are from the Bible, and talks about Jewish people in Egypt sending their babies down the Nile River to save them, and one happens to be Moses, who is picked up by an Egyptian. Moses goes on to become an Egyptian prince, but kills an Egyptian guard who is striking one of his slave brothers, and has to leave Egypt. When he is traveling, he sees out of the corner of his eyes, a burning bush, and this is where he first talks to God. God leads him on a mission to free the Jewish people from being slaves in Egypt. When the Pharaoh does not listen to Moses, God gives Egypt the Ten Plagues. Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt, only to travel the desert for forty years before he allows them to settle in Canaan. Moses is dead by this time, and they need a new person to lead them into Canaan, so Joshua, Moses' young general, leads the Israelites across Jordan to the "promised land." The Israelites reach a conclusion that they need a king, so they ask God, and God elects a man named Saul. Saul becomes a great leader, winning wars on neighboring enemies, but is not anymore liked by God. Cahill then goes on to talk about the story of David and Goliath, Goliath, the supposedly nine foot tall soldier who challenged Israel in one on one combat for the enslavement of the loser's people. David, learning that he can become rich if he challenges and wins, decides to accept the challenge, but at first, Saul will not allow him because it is an unequal challenge, but David convinces him by telling him that God wants him to fight. David wins the battle, and after a long sequence of events, becomes the new King of the Israelites. The chapter concludes with Cahill saying how his interpretation of David is of being Gods "little finger." Just doing whatever God wants him to, and showing only a little amount of courage, which is when he stands up to and fights Goliath. David's throne goes to his son Solomon, who Cahill says runs things very poorly, so that when Solomon dies to pass on his throne, it is to late to save and the United Kingdom of Israel dies. In the last chapter, Cahill talks about his view of everything, how he interprets certain events, that I feel are through a very opinionated view and that he does not give sufficient evidence for. The Gifts of the Jews is a very complex book, and I do not feel that it is an easy book to read. It goes very in-depth to events that were written in the Bible or Torah and Cahill tends to say how he feels about each story. I recommend reading this book if you are interested in reading about ancient civilizations and the path that the Jews went on throughout it, but I recommend reading lighter books about the subject before, because there is not very much explanation about people or places.
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