The Jews: History, Memory, and the Present

The Jews treat a range of issues from the ancient Jewish revolt against Roman rule and the much-mythologized martyrdom at Masada, the French Revolution, the Dreyfus Affair, and Marxism's difficulties with 'the Jewish Question,' to Nazi genocide and the deep problems of representing it. -A vivid presentation of one of France's most dynamic and original thinkers. . . .With sources ranging from classical texts to contemporary films and Holocaust testimonies, and enhanced by fascinating linguistic, philosophical, and political asides, Vidal-Naquet's book maintains a firm balance between textual criticism and analytic rigor, open inquiry and moral fervor, French republicanism and liberal ideals, Jewish tradition and universal values. -Vidal-Naquet discusses Josephus and the Jewish War as a critical historian. He is no less demanding and critical when he turns to the modern era, but this time he writes also as a historian personally involved in the historical process he analyzes. -Vidal-Naquet focuses on the way history, especially as it relates to Jews, has been distorted by mainstream cultures through history. In shedding light on this, he rescues for us the golden thread of historical truth that unites us with our ancestors.