Jerusalem: the Biography
By Simon Sebag Montefiore
I was not sure what to expect
from a book written as a biography of a place.
In some ways, Jerusalem: the Biography is a typical history of a city
written for a mass audience. In other ways, it really is a biography; it is the
story of the life of Jerusalem.
Montefiore traces the story of
Jerusalem from the earliest recorded periods in its history. Unlike many books about the city, he goes
beyond the struggle between the three Abrahamic faiths to look at how the many
civilizations and uncivil rulers who have held Jerusalem over the last several millennia
have shaped the personality of the city.
The book gives a sense of the layers and layers of complexity that make
Jerusalem unique among all world cities.
Much of what he includes in the
book is standard undergraduate history class fare. I found myself skipping some sections that
were not much more than a skimming over what I got in a sophomore class on
Middle Eastern history or a seminary Old Testament survey class. But between the less enlightening sections
are stories of personalities and events that make the book well worth the
read. From villainous courtesans to
maniacal local rulers to eccentric millionaires bent on recreating Eden in God’s
city, the lesser known parts of Jerusalem’s history give Montefiore’s prose the
feel of a real biography. Some are
humorous, others are downright disturbing.
Taken together, they make Jerusalem more than ancient stone structures
and barren hillsides.
Jerusalem: the Biography
is not the best or most probing book on the history of Jerusalem, but it is
certainly one of the most entertaining.
