Jerusalem in 3000 Years

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This breathtakingly beautiful photo-essay explores the image of Jerusalem as a city of peace, juxtaposing it with the bitter reality of centuries of conflict waged in the name of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. More than 400 color and black-and-white photographs are organized around such themes as ancient sites, the medieval period, British rule, the Holocaust, immigration, the city's architecture, the Knesset (Parliament), the birth of Israel and the 1967 Six-Day War. With sections on Christian Byzantium, Jesus in Jerusalem, Islamic rule, the Intifada, the Arab and Orthodox Jewish quarters, this is a memorable cornucopia of indelible images. The text is in English, German and French. Author/photographer Gidal, born in Munich, has lived in Jerusalem since 1970 and teaches the history of visual communication at Hebrew University. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Internationally recognized photographer Gidal is also a journalist and writer of adult and children's books. In this large-format documentary history, he traces Jerusalem's stormy saga from the biblical account of its conquest by David through its Greco-Roman, medieval, and modern periods. Text and captions are in English, German, and French in three parallel columns. The 3000-year history is presented in a 44-page introductory essay followed by the illustrations, mostly photographs by the author. A chronology, color map, and index complete the work. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths are inextricably, sometimes violently, interwoven throughout. The black-and-white photos are especially effective in depicting such events as the arrival of Jews in the early 20th century and of the growing movement for independence in the 1940s and 1950s. Libraries seeking a more sustained narrative should see Thomas Idinopulos's Jerusalem Blessed, Jerusalem Cursed (LJ 5/15/91). For geographic emphasis, consider Dan Bahat's Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem (LJ 8/90). Recommended for large public, academic, and appropriate special libraries.Harry E. Whitmore, formerly with Univ. of Maine, Augusta