Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 228
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-4422-1065-3 • Hardback • February 2013 • $48.00 • (£37.00)
978-0-8108-9525-6 • Paperback • October 2017 • $29.00 • (£21.95)
978-1-4422-1067-7 • eBook • February 2013 • $27.50 • (£20.95)
Norman Gelb is the author of a number of acclaimed books, including Kings of the Jews: The Origins of the Jewish Nation. He is a historian and freelance writer, who periodically contributes to publications such as Smithsonian magazine.
This book accurately portrays the turbulent life and times of King Herod the Great in a highly readable and engaging manner. Fast-paced and clearly written, it will appeal to a broad audience.
— Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In 2010, historian Gelb (Dunkirk: The Complete Story in the First Step in the Defeat of Hitler) switched subjects, moving from World War II to the line of Jewish kings, examining the 52 monarchs who ruled until 70 CE. He offers an in-depth analysis of one of those kings, Herod the Great, appointed king of Judea by the Romans in 37 BCE, holding the office for more than 30 years until he died. Most of what we know about Herod is from the historian Josephus, who was born forty years after Herod died. Josephus and other ancient chroniclers depicted Herod as cold, calculating, cruel, and brutal. He mistrusted most of his ten wives and sons, executing at least one of the wives and a number of the sons, fearing that they were trying to replace him. Despite Herod’s dark streak and mental instability, Gelb tries to revamp the monarch’s image, stressing the cities and structures he built, including his reconstruction of the Temple, and asserting that “his positive achievements may be considered to have outweighed his brutality and tyrannical rule.” This is an exemplary illustration of revisionist history.
— Publishers Weekly
This account not only delivers a full portrait of a historically important figure but also offers much about the political and religious history of the time.
— Booklist
This book is more than a biography of Herod; it tells the history of the Greco-Roman world in classical antiquity and the emergence of early Christianity. Gelb attempts at presenting a balanced picture of Herod, who is known largely for his cruelty (he killed members of his own family!); yet, the Idumean who was appointed by the Romans as King of Judaea had many facets to his personality. Gelb examines Herod’s cruelty and paranoia, his genius as a builder and architect, his cunning and cleverness as a diplomat and his able work as an administrator. The book actually goes beyond Herod’s reign to the reign of his great grandson, Marcus Julius Agrippa: 'the last king of the Herodian dynasty and the last king of the Jews though he never became king of Judaea.' There is a bibliography, notes and an index. The book will be enjoyed by anyone who likes to read about classical antiquity. Herod the Great is especially recommended for anyone traveling to Israel because a vast majority of the ancient tourist sites that you visit where originally constructed by Herod—Tower of David Citadel, Masada, Caesarea, etc.
— Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews