The Jewish War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)

Having gone through the state education system, I came out of school completely uneducated about things like history and classic literature and I've been trying to rectify this omission for many years. This has resulted in me reading a lot of the classics line, and something I've realised is what hard work many of them are. As times change, so do writing styles and ideas of what makes a narrative work, and to the modern reader many books written hundreds of years past can be a challenging read.This is why Josephus is such a pleasure. For all that we are separated from him by almost two thousand years, his humanity shines through. His history of the Jewish war against the Romans in the late 1st century AD is very much a history of his own activities therein, and what an unashamedly self-serving document it is. Originally a regional commander in the rebellious jewish army, Josephus wrote his history after his capture by the Romans and defection to their side (he became a Roman citizen and a courtier to more than one emperor). By turns witty, outrageously immodest and deceitful, Josephus wrote a hagiography of himself and his roman patrons and a tremendously enjoyable read it is too. By humanising his narrative, he also succeeds in making it accessible.We have so few records of the ancient world it is impossible to be absolutely certain how accurate any given historical document is. However, as well as being enjoyable, the archaelogical and historical record suggests that when Josephus talks about the facts of the war (who won and fought who, where and when) he can be trusted in the broad sweep if not in the details.It's a fascinating and human insight into the ancient world which shows that people, wherever and whenever they lived, are just as human - and as worried about their reputations - as are we.

I bought this book for my Bible study on Jerusalem's history and my Pastor had mentioned this in the discussion. I'm pleased that I got one for myself so that I can read it at leisure. It's a fascinating story of Josephus on his writings on the accounts of the wars that took in and around Jerusalem. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how the Temple was destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans. It gives a detailed description of what the leaders and priests of that time did.

It seems like an accurate translation (although I don’t read Ancient Greek).Plenty of notes without which the whole reading would be pointless given the amount of inaccuracies and exaggerations Josephus seems inclined to produce: the most recurring one is that he can’t see the bottom of ravines a few hundreds feet deep

was great

I'd been wanting to read this for years, and was not disappointed. Josephus is a lively writer, though it's not hard to see how critics find him self-serving (I found that pretty entertaining, actually). It's utterly fascinating to get right into this pivotal moment in history, and learn how nuanced it was--all those warring factions within the Jewish community (okay, little evidence of community spirit). The Middle East has changed little since then.It was also quite wonderful to watch the great figures of history--Cleopatra, the Caesars, Pontius Pilate, the Herods--move in and out of the story like extras on the stage. It also seems as if the great world-changing crucifixion made absolutely no impression on anyone at the time.

Josephus allows us to become acquainted with historical events that are not covered by the Jewish or Christian bibles but are evidinced by archaeological sites. Although perhaps not 100 perecent accurate -allowing for his biases and patrons, his book is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn more about events leading up to and following the destruction of Temple II in Jerusalem

A chunky but worth while book. It does go into spirals of side stories and detail at times, but it is interesting and gives a good picture of what Isreal and Rome's relationship was. I do believe it offers some inaccuracies but generally quite well strung.

Good translation of a classic work by Flavius Josephus.