A Reading List for Jewish History
Ken Spiro-Aish HaTorah Jerusalem 2010

Barnavi, Eli. (ed). A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People from the Time of Abraham to the Present. London: Kupercard, 1998. (user-friendly atlas with lots of maps, graphs and pics)

Ben Sasson, H. H., (ed.). A History of the Jewish People. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976. (The classic text book of Jewish history)

Collins, Larry & Lapierre, Dominique. O Jerusalem. New York: Pocket Books, 1972. (A great book about the War of Independence and the Battle for Jerusalem in 1948)

Cruise-O’Brian, Conner. The Siege-The Story of Israel and Zionism. London: Paladin Grafton Books, 1982. (Good overview of Modern History of Zionism and Israel)

Dawidowicz, Lucy. The War Against the Jews 1933-1945. New York: Bantam Books, 1975. (The classic explanation of the uniqueness of the Holocaust)

Eisen, Yosef. Miraculous Journey-A Complete History of the Jewish People from the Creation to the Present. Jerusalem: Targum Press, 2004. (Comprehensive frum overview of all Jewish History)

Elon, Amos. The Pity of it All-A Portrait of German-Jewish Epoch 1743-1933. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2002. (A must-read account of German-Jewish life from the Enlightenment till Nazism)

Fendel, Zechariah. Legacy of Sinai. New York: The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press, 1981. (Excellent overview of the chain of transmission of the Torah)

Gilbert, Martin. The Routledge Jewish History Atlas. New York: Routledge, 2003. (Excellent collection of maps related to Jewish history.)

Gilbert, Martin. The Holocaust-A History of the Jews of Europe during the Second World War. New York: Henry Holt & Co.. 1985 (Powerful narrative history of the Holocaust)

GoldBerg, M. Hirsh, The Jewish Connection. Lanham, Maryland: Scarborough House, 1993.
(Great collection of facts and trivia about the impact of Jews, Judaism and the Bible on civilization)

Gould, Alan (ed.) What Did They Think of the Jews? New York: Jason Aronson Inc., 1991. (Great collection of quotes about Jews from famous personalities)

Hazony, Yoram. The Jewish State-The Struggle for Israel’s Soul. New York: basic Books, 2000. (Background to the Zionism and Post-Zionism intellectual struggle in modern Israel)

Herzog, Chaim. The Arab Israeli Wars-War and Peace in the Middle East from the War of Independence through Lebanon. New York: Vintage Books, 1984. (excellent one volume overview)

Isaacs, Ronald & Olitzky, Kerry. (ed.) Critical Documents in Jewish History-A Sourcebook. New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1995. (Good collection of documents)

Johnson, Paul. A History of the Jewish People. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987. (easy- to-read overview of all of Jewish History. Non-frum perspective)

Josephus-The Complete Works. Several editions available: translation of William Whiston is most easily found (Christian slant). Also translation of Paul Maier: Josephus-The Essential Writings. (The classic account of both the Second Temple Period and the Great Revolt of 67-70 C.E.)

Katsh, Abraham. The Biblical Heritage of American Democracy. New York: Ktav Publishing House Inc., 1977. (Good source for Jewish and Biblical impact on America)

Mendes-Flour, Paul & Reinharz, Paul. (editors). The Jew in the Modern World-A Documentary History. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 1995. (The BEST collection of primary sources on modern Jewish history)

Oren, Michael, Six Days of War-June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. (Excellent background to ’67 war and its long-term impact)

Prager, Dennis & Telushkin, Joseph. Why the Jews-The Reason for Antisemitism. New York: Touchstone, 2003 (The must-read explanation of the REAL reason for antisemtism)

Rubin, Alexis P., (ed.). Scattered Among the Nations-Documents Affecting Jewish History 49 to 1975. New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1995. (Good collection of primary sources)

Schiffman, Lawrence H. (ed.). Text and Traditions-A Source Reader for the Study of the Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Hoboken, New Jersey: Ktav Publishing House, 1998.
(Excellent source book for the Second Temple Period)

Sivan, Gabriel. The Bible and Civilization. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1973. (Excellent collection of information on the impact of Judaism and the Bible on Civilization)

Spiro, Ken, Crash Course in Jewish History-From Abraham to Modern Israel. Jerusalem: Targum/aish.com, 2010. (The best one-volume overview of Jewish history. If you don't believe me, ask my mother ;-)

Spiro, Ken. WorldPerfect-the Jewish Impact on Civilization. Deerfield Beach, Florida: Health Communications Inc. 2002. (In my unbiased opinion-a must-read for your dose of Jewish pride)

Wein, Berel. (3 Volumes). Echoes of Glory; Herald of Destiny; Triumph of Survival: New York: Shaar Press. (3 volumes covering Jewish history from classical period to present-frum perspective)

**For a free, comprehensive overview of all of Jewish History visit: www.aish.com/jewishhistory A Crash Course in Jewish History (Also available as an audio download from the MP3 download site of aishaudio.com)