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The gifts of the Jews : how a tribe of desert nomads changed the way everyone thinks and feels /
The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see ti...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Nan A. Talese,
©1998.
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| Edition: | 1st ed. |
| Series: | Cahill, Thomas. Hinges of history ;
v. 2. |
| Subjects and Genres: | |
| Online Access: | Sample text Contributor biographical information Publisher description |
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| Summary: |
The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. |
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| Physical Description: |
xii, 291 pages : maps ; 22 cm |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-265) and indexes. |
| ISBN: |
0385482485 9780385482486 0385482493 9780385482493 074595040X 9780745950402 |