Select a Tab to view the suggested reading list for that topic
Jewish History
| Title | Author | Pub. | Desc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People from the Time of Abraham to the Present | Barnavi, Eli (ed) | London: Kupercard, 1998 | user-friendly atlas with lots of maps, graphs and pics |
| A History of the Jewish People | Ben Sasson, H. H. (ed) | Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976 | The classic text book of Jewish history |
| O Jerusalem | Collins, Larry & Lapierre, Dominique | New York: Pocket Books, 1972 | A great book about the War of Independence and the Battle for Jerusalem in 1948 |
| The Siege-The Story of Israel and Zionism | Cruise-O’Brian, Conner | London: Paladin Grafton Books, 1982 | Good overview of Modern History of Zionism and Israel |
| The War Against the Jews 1933-1945 | Dawidowicz, Lucy | New York: Bantam Books, 1975 | The classic explanation of the uniqueness of the Holocaust |
| Miraculous Journey-A Complete History of the Jewish People from the Creation to the Present | Eisen, Yosef | Jerusalem: Targum Press, 2004 | Comprehensive frum overview of all Jewish History |
| The Pity of it All-A Portrait of German-Jewish Epoch 1743-1933 | Elon, Amos | New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2002 | A must-read account of German-Jewish life from the Enlightenment till Nazism |
| Legacy of Sinai | Fendel, Zechariah | New York: The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press, 1981 | Excellent overview of the chain of transmission of the Torah |
| The Routledge Jewish History Atlas | Gilbert, Martin | New York: Routledge, 2003 | Excellent collection of maps related to Jewish history |
| The Holocaust-A History of the Jews of Europe during the Second World War | Gilbert, Martin | New York: Henry Holt & Co.. 1985 | Powerful narrative history of the Holocaust |
| The Jewish Connection | GoldBerg, M. Hirsh | Lanham, Maryland: Scarborough House, 1993 | Great collection of facts and trivia about the impact of Jews, Judaism and the Bible on civilization |
| What Did They Think of the Jews? | Gould, Alan (ed.) | New York: Jason Aronson Inc., 1991 | Great collection of quotes about Jews from famous personalities |
| The Jewish State-The Struggle for Israel’s Soul. New York: basic Books, 2000 | Hazony, Yoram | New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2002 | Background to the Zionism and Post-Zionism intellectual struggle in modern Israel |
| The Arab Israeli Wars-War and Peace in the Middle East from the War of Independence through Lebanon | Herzog, Chaim | New York: Vintage Books, 1984 | Excellent one volume overview |
| The Pity of it All-A Portrait of German-Jewish Epoch 1743-1933 | Elon, Amos | New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2002 | A must-read account of German-Jewish life from the Enlightenment till Nazism |
| Critical Documents in Jewish History-A Sourcebook | Isaacs, Ronald & Olitzky, Kerry. (ed.) | New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1995 | Good collection of documents |
| A History of the Jewish People | Johnson, Paul | London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987 | Easy-to-read overview of all of Jewish History. Non-frum perspective |
| Josephus-The Complete Works. Several editions available | Translation of William Whiston is most easily found (Christian slant). Also translation of Paul Maier: Josephus-The Essential Writings. | The classic account of both the Second Temple Period and the Great Revolt of 67-70 C.E. | |
| The Biblical Heritage of American Democracy | Katsh, Abraham | New York: Ktav Publishing House Inc., 1977 | Good source for Jewish and Biblical impact on America |
| The Jew in the Modern World-A Documentary History | Mendes-Flour, Paul & Reinharz, Paul. (editors) | Oxford: Oxford University Press: 1995 | The BEST collection of primary sources on modern Jewish history |
| Six Days of War-June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East | Oren, Michael | Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 | Excellent background to ’67 war and its long-term impact |
| Why the Jews-The Reason for Antisemitism | Prager, Dennis & Telushkin, Joseph | New York: Touchstone, 2003 | The must-read explanation of the REAL reason for antisemtism |
| Scattered Among the Nations-Documents Affecting Jewish History 49 to 1975 | Rubin, Alexis P., (ed.) | New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1995 | Good collection of primary sources |
| Text and Traditions-A Source Reader for the Study of the Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism | Schiffman, Lawrence H. (ed.) | Hoboken, New Jersey: Ktav Publishing House, 1998 | Excellent source book for the Second Temple Period |
| The Bible and Civilization | Sivan, Gabriel | Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1973 | Excellent collection of information on the impact of Judaism and the Bible on Civilization |
| Crash Course in Jewish History-From Abraham to Modern Israel | Spiro, Ken | Jerusalem: Targum/aish.com, 2010 | The best one-volume overview of Jewish history. If you don’t believe me, ask my mother 😉 |
| WorldPerfect-the Jewish Impact on Civilization | Spiro, Ken | Deerfield Beach, Florida: Health Communications Inc. 2002 | In my unbiased opinion-a must-read for your dose of Jewish pride |
| (3 Volumes). Echoes of Glory; Herald of Destiny; Triumph of Survival | Wein, Berel | New York: Shaar Press | 3 volumes covering Jewish history from classical period to present-frum perspective |
Middle East
| Title | Author | Pub. | Desc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myths and Facts-A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict. |
Bard,Mitchell |
AICE: Maryland | Updated versions are printed every year-a must-own source book |
| O Jerusalem | Collins, Larry & Lapierre, Dominique | New York: Pocket Books, 1972 | A great book about the War of Independence and the Battle for Jerusalem in 1948 |
| The Siege-The Story of Israel and Zionism | Cruise-O’Brian, Conner |
London: Paladin Grafton Books, 1982 |
Good overview of Modern History of Zionism and Israel |
| The Case for Israel |
Dershowitz, Alan |
New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003 |
A thorough overview of all the key issues related to Israel and the Middle East conflict |
| The Arab-Israeli Conflict-Its history in Maps |
Gilbert,Martin |
Jerusalem: Steimatzky Ltd. 1990 |
large selection of good maps on every possible topic |
| The Israel Test |
Gilder, George |
USA: Richard Vigilante Books, 2009 |
Tremendous insight into how a country’s treatment of Israel is a reflection of the values of that country |
| The Jewish State-The Struggle for Israel’s Soul |
Hazony, Yoram |
New York: Basic Books, 2000 |
Background to the Zionism and Post-Zionism intellectual struggle in modern Israel |
| The Arab Israeli Wars-War and Peace in the Middle East from the War of Independence through Lebanon |
Herzog, Chaim |
New York: Vintage Books, 1984 |
Excellent one-volume overview of all of Israel’s wars |
| Islamic Imperialism-A History. |
Karsh, Efraim |
New Haven: Yale University Press 2006 |
A balanced and insightful look at the history and politics of Islam and its expansion |
| The Middle East-A Brief History of Last 2,000 Years |
Lewis, Bernard |
New York: Touchstone, 1995 |
Excellent, comprehensive overview of the history of the Middle East & Islam |
| Six Days of War-June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East |
Oren, Michael |
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 |
Insightful look into the ’67 war and its long-term impact |
| From Time Immemorial-The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine |
Peters, Joan |
New York: Harper & Rowe, 1984 |
Excellent back ground material and the definitive sourcebook on the demographics of the Arab and Jewish populations of Palestine/Israel |
| Why the Jews-The Reason For Antisemtism |
Prager, Dennis & Telushkin, Joseph |
New York: Touchstone, 2003 |
The Best book to understand the true cause of all antisemtism |
| WorldPerfect-The Jewish Impact on Civilization |
Spiro, Ken |
Deerfield Beach, Florida: HCI, 2002 |
One of the best books ever written-ask my mother –seriously, a great source for building Jewish pride |
| Crash Course in Jewish History-From Abraham to Modern Israel |
Spiro,Ken |
Jerusalem: Menucha Publishers, 2010 |
In all modesty-an excellent overview of Jewish history. Great way to get the “big picture.” |
| The Land Question in Palestine, 1917-1939 |
Stein, Kenneth |
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1984 |
Good source of information on pre-state, Jewish land acquisition |
| The Dhimmi-Jews and Christians Under Islam |
Ye’or, Bat |
Fairliegh Dikenson U. Press, 1985 |
The ultimate sourcebook on the topic |
Online Resources on the Middle East
| Name | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| AIPAC |
The American –Israel Public Affairs Committee |
|
| CAMERA |
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America |
|
| Honest Reporting |
Defending Israel from Media Bias |
|
| Jerusalem U |
Israel Inside/Out course |
|
| Kenspiro.com |
Crash Course in Jewish History Articles |
|
| Kenspiro.com |
Crash Course in Jewish History Audio |
|
| MEMRI |
Middle east Media Research Institute |
|
| Stand With Us |
Supporting Israel Around he World |
|
| UN Watch |
Monitoring the United Nations, Promoting Human Rights |
Antisemitism
| Title | Author | Pub. | Desc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism |
Bostom, Andrew G., (editor) |
New York: Prometheus Books, 2008 | A monumental compendium of sources on the subject of Islamic anti-semitism |
| Jews, Antisemitism and the Middle East | Curtis, Michael | New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2013 | |
| The War Against the Jews 1933-1945 | Dawidowicz, Lucy |
New York: Bantam Books, 1975 |
|
| The Case for Israel |
Dershowitz, Alan |
New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003 |
A thorough overview of all the key issues related to Israel and the Middle East conflict |
| The Holocaust-A History of the Jews of Europe during the Second World War |
Gilbert,Martin |
New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1985 |
A powerful narrative history of the Holocaust |
| Hitler’s Willing Executioners-Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust |
Daniel Jonah Goldhagen |
London: Abacus, 1996 |
|
| The Israel Test |
Guilder, George |
USA: Richard Vigilante Books, 2009 |
|
| Semites and Anti-Semites |
Lewis, Bernard |
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999 |
|
| History on Trial-My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier |
Lipstadt, Deborah E. |
New York: Harper Collins, 2006 |
|
| While 6 Million Died-A Chronicle of American Apathy |
Morse, Aurthur D. |
New York: Ace Publishing Corporation, 1968 |
|
| Why the Jews? |
Prager, Dennis, and Telushkin, Joseph |
New York: Touchstone, 2003 |
The must-read explanation of the REAL reason for anti-semitism. (Read WorldPerfect first and then read this book. The best concise explanation for anti-semitism) |
| Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers-The untold story of Nazi racial laws and the men of Jewish descent in the German military |
Rigg, Bryan Mark |
Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2002 |
Absolutely fascinating! |
| WorldPerfect-The Jewish Impact on Civilization |
Spiro, Ken |
Deerfield Beach, Florida: HCI, 2002 |
One of the best books ever written-ask my mother –seriously, a great source for building Jewish pride |
| From Ambivalence to Betrayal-The Left, the Jews and Israel |
Wistrich, Robert |
Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2012 |
|
| Antisemitism-The Longest Hatred |
Wistrich, Robert |
London: Thames Methuen, 1991 |
|
| A Lethal Obsession-Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad |
Wistrich, Robert |
New York: Random House, 2010 |
An encyclopedic and exhaustive study of anti-semitism |
**For a free, comprehensive overview of all of Jewish History visit: www.aish.com/jewishhistory A Crash Course in Jewish History (Also available as an audio download from the MP3 download site of aishaudio.com)
