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Belonging
- The Story of the Jews: When Words Fail (1492-1900)
- Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
- Length: 36 hrs and 14 mins
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Belonging
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Summary
Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize
Belonging is a magnificent cultural history abundantly alive with energy, character and colour. It spans centuries and continents; from the Jews' expulsion from Spain in 1492, it navigates miracles and massacres, wandering, discrimination, harmony and tolerance, to the brink of the 20th century and, it seems, a point of profound hope.
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; and an opera composer in 19th-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 and hobbles along with the remnant of Napoleon's ruined army.
Through Schama's passionate telling of this second chronicle in an epic tale, a history emerges of the Jewish people that feels it is the story of everyone, of humanity.
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What listeners say about Belonging
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- KT Zee
- 13-04-24
Interesting & little reported view on history
I loved that this was an overview of a side of western history which I hadn't encountered before in more than isolated snippets, but as with all Schama, this is very much a "big people of history" style overview, and in a lot of ways the scale and barbarism of e.g. the pogroms of the 19th century is lost as the big people he follows have enough money and power to escape the worst of it. I'd love a follow up from the everyman Jewish perspective.
Narration is clear and avoids being either overdramatic or monotone.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 15-12-17
A wide ranging history of the Jewish people.
Many useful insights into Jewish history, culture, religion and thought. The mini biographies of famous, and not so famous individuals are particularly interesting and help to tell the bigger story.
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Idaho Mum
- 10-10-22
More a history of the Zionist movement
Dense and hard going. No doubt impeccably researched, but for most of the book, I was wondering where he was actually going with it. Some chapters are better than others, and there were some fascinating revelations. Overall, I'm thankful for having listened to the book, but I won't be buying any more Simon Sharma books
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Manish
- 04-07-19
History of the Jews
A massive undertaking and very interesting. It follows certain characters at certain points in history. Shows the Jewish diaspora and their difficulties. Wonderful. Can be a bit sparse on major events occurring at same time.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- G. Child
- 09-02-18
The Story of the Jews
narrator very good. Excellent book also for student study. loved learning all their early history .
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 10-05-18
An interesting read
good read if lengthy. whilst I enjoyed the detail a synopsis would be a useful addition. such a lot to remember and not easily refound on audible
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dr. Kenneth Lancer
- 28-05-18
An Amazing Tour de Force
This book must rank as one of the truly great achievements in the telling of the story of the Jews. Simon Schama has written this in three volumes, the final one to be published shortly. I found that this volume, entitled Belonging, was absolutely riveting. The narration is superb. It is great length but do not let this put you off. You'll find it is gripping and the only sadness is that it has to end. I can thoroughly recommend this volume without any hesitation in the knowledge that it must be one of the most powerful evocations of Jewish history which should have an appeal to Jews and non-Jews alike.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-04-22
A great listen
Well written and fascinating.
I learnt so much about these amazing people. Their story is not over yet .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- MR H
- 23-10-19
Worthwhile reading
Not a typical history book. More like an imaginative tapestry. But so much persecution. A contrast is the Zionist project, so ending on a note of hope- with a critique.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- CCWEST
- 29-10-17
Excellent sequel
Simon Schama continues his much anticipated epic history of the Jews and doesn’t disappoint. Brilliant.
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13 people found this helpful