Far reaching, intellectually rich, and passionately written, Unsettled takes the whole history of Western civilization as its canvas and places onto it the Jewish people and faith. With historical insight and vivid storytelling, renowned anthropologist Melvin Konner charts how the Jews endured largely hostile (but at times accepting) cultures to shape the world around them and make their mark throughout history--from the pastoral tribes of the Bronze Age to enslavement in the Roman Empire, from the darkness of the Holocaust to the creation of Israel and the flourishing of Jews in America. With fresh interpretations of the antecedents of today's pressing conflicts, Unsettled is a work whose modern-day reverberations could not be more relevant or timely.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Highly enjoyable:
I first heard of Melvin Konner, a professor of anthropology at Emory University, when he gave a speech at a conference on science and religion in 2006. He tangled with famous atheist authors Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris at that conference. Later that year he tangled with Jimmy Carter after Carter wrote a controversial book on the Middle East that Konner felt was intellectually dishonest. Like me, Konner is a non-religious Jew and I looked forward to reading him again (I read a previous book of his called... more info
A Chagall Painting of the Jewish Experience:
The 3,000 year old history of the Jews has been the subject of
many one volume works, and some many volume masterpieces. It is impossible to be "comprehensive" so the author has to select
certain episodes to construct a winning narrative. Melvin Konner succeeds because he is such a talented writer. This
book has the flavor of a James Michener novel as opposed to a dry scholarly tome. Take a look at just two examples of his writing: "The roots of the Jews are lost in the deep, blood-soaked... more info
Super Secular History of The Jews:
Absolutely outstanding Jewish History for those looking for a reality-based accounting. Superbly written - reads like a novel. I couldn't believe it was already out of print and needed to be purchased through a secondary seller (which was easy enough to do through Amazon). I cannot praise this book enough.
History as anthropology - What a great idea!:
Konner is a brilliant writer and a wonderful, exquisitely embellished thinker. His ability to look for and follow many variant streams of theory, thought and action without loosing his way is very impressive. This book is wonderfully rich to read and satisfying in the way provides fodder for rumination. My only reservation is that it is not until nearly the end of the book that Konner's own strong point of view, which clearly informed his choice and handling of much of his material, became clear to me.... more info
