«A sweeping chronology filled with excitement-pagan ritual, the clash of armies, ancient and modern: the evolving drama of man’s faith.» The Philadelphia Inquirer

In the grand storytelling style that is his signature, James Michener dramatizes one of the most riveting and important developments in world civilization: the birth and full flowering of Judaism. Beginning with a group of modern-day archaeologists digging at a site in Makor, Michener sweeps us back through time to the very beginnings of the Jewish faith thousands of years before.

Here is the entire history of the Jews: the first religions, the transition to monotheism, the life of the early Hebrews and how they were persecuted, the impact of Christianity, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition, all the way to the founding of present-day Israel and the Middle East conflict. Through the eyes of the archaeologists-an Irish Catholic from Chicago, an Arab who lives in Israel, a German Jew, his Israeli fiancée, and the wealthy American financing the dig- we experience the panorama of Jewish history, filled with passion, pain, and enormous faith.

«Magnificent…A superlative piece of writing both in scope and technique. It is, in fact, one of the great books of this generation….It will hold the interest of any reader, no matter what religion he may be.» San Francisco Call-Bulletin