
Published: 04/10/2018

Shortlisted for the 2017 Baillie Gifford Prize, this seminal chronicle of four centuries of Jewish history makes the vast machine of history human. A vivid portrait of diaspora, identity and hope.
A passionate history of Judaism; a world unfolding across many continents and five centuries by one of our greatest and internationally bestselling historians.
Belonging is a magnificent cultural history abundantly alive with energy, character and colour. From the Jews' expulsion from Spain in 1492 it tells the stories not just of rabbis and philosophers but of a poetess in the ghetto of Venice; a boxer in Georgian England; a general in Ming China; an opera composer in nineteenth-century Germany. The story unfolds in Kerala and Mantua, the starlit hills of Galilee, the rivers of Colombia, the kitchens of Istanbul, the taverns of Ukraine and the mining camps of California. It sails in caravels, rides the stage coaches and the railways; trudges the dawn streets of London, hobbles along with the remnant of Napoleon's ruined army.
The Jewish story is a history that is about, and for, all of us. And in our own time of anxious arrivals and enforced departures, the Jews' search for a home is more startlingly resonant than ever.
'A magnificent achievement...' Jonathan Freedland, Guardian
'An extraordinary cultural journey, filled with astonishingly colourful and outrageous characters ... Schama delivers a superb and thrilling ride, both inspirational and tragic' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Mail on Sunday
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9780099590064
Number of pages: 800
Weight: 660 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 50 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Magisterial ... the product of a world-class historian at the peak of his creative powers ... rich, ornate, intensely evocative and sensory. With astonishing range and extraordinary synthesising powers, Schama captures the drama of Jewish history. * Financial Times *
A rich melody that soars above the ground bass of prejudice and persecution ... Schama has made himself the leading virtuoso of our time. This second volume of this trilogy is an affirmation of faith in the grand narrative ... Its familiar and familial tone proclaims the author's unapologetic mission to play his part in the story of the Jews by bringing their history alive... [A] glittering gemstone of a book -- Daniel Johnson * The Times *
So beautifully written it regularly takes your breath away, it is a book far greater than the sum of its parts. Daunted by its colossal size, I started reading with some trepidation; I finished filled with wonder and delight. -- Abigail Green * Times Literary Supplement *
An extraordinary cultural journey, filled with astonishingly colourful and outrageous characters ... Schama delivers a superb and thrilling ride, both inspirational and tragic. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Mail on Sunday *
You may also be interested in...
Sign In / Register
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?