Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgment Day and the battlefield of today’s clash of civilizations. From King David to the 21st century, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism, and coexistence. In this masterful narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore brings the holy city to life, through the people who created and destroyed it—from Herod, Cleopatra and Nero to Churchill, Rasputin and Truman—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.
This book condenses a library of material covering over 3,000 years into a bit over 500 pages. The acknowledgements pages show that the author had access to the finest academic scholars as sources and reviewers. His personal family history gave Montefiore unique access to members of centuries-long leading Arab families of the city as sources for many stories available nowhere else in English. That family background also gave him access to surviving early leaders of Israel, and royal families of England and Jordan with ancestors who are part of the story.
The span of history is equivalent to 10 histories of the United States, in a place where lots happened. It appears Montefiore resolved this difficulty by briefly explaining the general flow of the history and then writing more detailed stories of spectacularly interesting personalities and events for each period -- kings, queens, or religious leaders. It works beautifully. It appears some reviewers didn't understand that pattern.
Montefiore is English, and a member of a distinguished family of Italian and North African Jews who funded the 19th century settlement of impoverished Russian Jews settling Jerusalem. That was in the Ottoman period decades before the century-long fights between Arabs and Jews, which likely explains his access across those lines, and knowing who to interview.
The first 100 pages are based mostly on historical sections of the Bible and Josephus, so those familiar with those sources will not learn much. The parts Montefiore uses in this book are accepted as probably accurate by most Western scholars. After the Biblical period, every page is chock full of fascinating history unfamiliar to nearly all Americans.
He appears to understand all the historical factions who have controlled the city over the centuries. However, like most Europeans, he seems flummoxed by American Evangelical beliefs. Some other commentators mention errors in the book -- I believe those are rare and minor, and some of the Amazon.com comments are themselves simply wrong.
The only points I found wrong were brief, rare references to U.S. history -- for example, he believes that Ben Franklin's suggestion of the crossing of the Red Sea as the seal of the U.S. was accepted. Or that Harry Truman was a back-bench mediocre Senator -- not true during WWII. Those rare errors are not a surprise after reading the Acknowledgements pages -- great scholars, historical players, and Jerusalem leading family members, but all European or Middle Eastern.
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