TheInventionoftheJewishPeople
- 作者
- 出版社 VersoBooks
- 出版时间 2009年10月
- ISBN 9781844674220
- 定价 445.90
内容简介
AhistoricaltourdeforcethatdemolishesthemythsandtaboosthathavesurroundedJewishandIsraelihistory,TheInventionoftheJewishPeopleoffersanewaccountofboththatdemandstobereadandreckonedwith.Wastherereallyaforcedexileinthefirstcentury,atthehandsoftheRomans?ShouldweregardtheJewishpeople,throughouttwomillennia,asbothadistinctethnicgroupandaputativenation—returnedatlasttoitsBiblicalhomeland?ShlomoSandarguesthatmostJewsactuallydescendfromconverts,whosenativelandswerescatteredfaracrosstheMiddleEastandEasternEurope.TheformationofaJewishpeopleandthenaJewishnationoutofthesedisparategroupscouldonlytakeplaceundertheswayofanewhistoriography,developinginresponsetotheriseofnationalismthroughoutEurope.Beneaththebiblicalbackfillofthenineteenth-centuryhistorians,andthetwentieth-centuryintellectualswhoreplacedrabbisasthearchitectsofJewishidentity,TheInventionoftheJewishPeopleuncoversanewnarrativeofIsrael’sformation,andproposesaboldanalysisofnationalismthataccountsfortheoldmyths.AfteralongstayonIsrael’sbestsellerlist,andwinningthecovetedAujourd’huiAwardinFrance,TheInventionoftheJewishPeopleisfinallyavailableinEnglish.ThecentralimportanceoftheconflictintheMiddleEastensuresthatSand’sargumentswillreverberatewellbeyondthehistoriansandpoliticiansthathetakestotask.WithoutanadequateunderstandingofIsrael’spast,capableofsupersedingtoday’sopposingviews,diplomaticsolutionsarelikelytoremainelusive.Inthisiconoclasticworkofhistory,ShlomoSandprovidestheintellectualfoundationsforanewvisionofIsrael’sfuture.
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