The Jewish War: Revised Edition
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
One of the most extraordinary eyewitness accounts ever committed to parchment, The Jewish War chronicles the catastrophic first-century conflict between Rome and Judea — a brutal clash of empires that culminated in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Written by Yosef ben Matityahu, a Jewish-Roman historian who fought on both sides of the conflict, this gripping narrative presents the military campaigns of Vespasian and Titus alongside the desperate resistance of Jewish rebels, capturing the horror of mass crucifixions, famine within the city walls, and the ultimate fall of the Second Temple with the unflinching precision of a man who was there. What elevates The Jewish War beyond mere military chronicle is its profound moral ambiguity — Josephus was a defector, a survivor, and a deeply controversial figure whose motivations colour every line he wrote, lending the text a psychological tension rarely found in ancient historiography. His prose moves with the sweep of Thucydides, blending strategic analysis with vivid human drama, and his account remains the single most important primary source for one of antiquity's most consequential events. Translated and revised for modern readers in this Penguin Classics edition, the text invites us to ask a question that has haunted scholars for two millennia: was Josephus a traitor, a pragmatist, or the sole reason this history survived at all?
Author: Josephus
Format: Paperback
Genre: Ancient history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
One of the most extraordinary eyewitness accounts ever committed to parchment, The Jewish War chronicles the catastrophic first-century conflict between Rome and Judea — a brutal clash of empires that culminated in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Written by Yosef ben Matityahu, a Jewish-Roman historian who fought on both sides of the conflict, this gripping narrative presents the military campaigns of Vespasian and Titus alongside the desperate resistance of Jewish rebels, capturing the horror of mass crucifixions, famine within the city walls, and the ultimate fall of the Second Temple with the unflinching precision of a man who was there. What elevates The Jewish War beyond mere military chronicle is its profound moral ambiguity — Josephus was a defector, a survivor, and a deeply controversial figure whose motivations colour every line he wrote, lending the text a psychological tension rarely found in ancient historiography. His prose moves with the sweep of Thucydides, blending strategic analysis with vivid human drama, and his account remains the single most important primary source for one of antiquity's most consequential events. Translated and revised for modern readers in this Penguin Classics edition, the text invites us to ask a question that has haunted scholars for two millennia: was Josephus a traitor, a pragmatist, or the sole reason this history survived at all?