By mid-nineteenth century, Meyer Amschel Rothschild's five sons controlled one of the most massive fortunes in Europe. The Rothschild name had become synonymous with the enormous political and social power that often accompanied that wealth, the amassing of which is remarkable considering the painfully modest beginnings of its founder.

Born in the unimaginable squalor of Frankfurt's Jewish ghetto (where he chose to spend his entire life), Meyer Rothschild established a small trading and banking business that - despite political, legal, and social constrictions segregating Jews from the outside world -evolved into an empire that included the financial centers of the world.

"Founder" is the story of Meyer Rothschild's times, of the condition of the Jews, of the city-states before they were overrun by Napoleon's troops. It is about the threshold of the modern era, when the world of aristocrats and gentlemen was profoundly influenced by a shrewd, dedicated, loyal father and his family. Amos Elon's rich and evocative depiction of life in mid-eighteenth-century Europe provides a vivid background against which we come to understand and marvel at the strength and perseverance driving this obviously extraordinary, humble man.

'Elon... has written a terrifically readable biography that does more than illuminate the formerly shadowy figure who served princes in what is now Germany. Through the prism of Mayer Rothschild's life, Mr. Elon gives us a fascinating glimpse into how Europe - and by implication, the New World - made the journey from mercantilism to modern entrepreneurship....Mr. Elon's feat is in chronicling all this with clarity and drama. "Founder" skillfully weaves history into this story of human endeavour to create a memorable narrative of Mayer Rothschild's time.'

Deborah Stead, "New York Times Book Review"

'A brilliantly illuminating book.' Philip Roth Jerusalem: City of Mirrors is an absorbing contemplation of the fabled city which for the Western mind remains as much a myth as a physical reality. First published in 1990, Amos Elon's elegant, dazzling biography of Jerusalem gives a profound insight into the kaleidoscopic culture of this eternally magical city. Battle-scarred from four thousand years of violent conflict, the holy city is a sacred symbol of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, and its religious wars of today reflect those of the past - Arab versus Jew, orthodox versus secular, continuity versus change. 'Elon's Jerusalem is both a learned book and a charming one ... He places us before a veritable many-layered mountain of myth and history, a compressed symbol of our most sublime aspirations along with our most disgusting, hatefully brainless excursions into religious bigotry and fratricide. It is a book as complex and surprising as the city itself.' Arthur Miller 'A superbly readable study.'Jewish Chronicle 'A book which should be read by all.' Catholic Herald

Israel was built on dreams and strivings, on humanistic principles and hard labour. What was conceived as a country of peace and dignity, however, has emerged as a society of contradictions, ethnic tensions, clashes between the religious and the secular - a society buffeted by extreme changes in both national and international politics. The ideals of the founders have floundered in the reality of wars and violence. In this dramatic, fair-minded portrait of Israel, first published in 1971, Amos Elon places the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East in brilliant historic perspective. In illuminating the political and philosophical background of the State of Israel, he offers rare insight into the rise to power of Menachem Begin and the complications of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, and he shows how Zionism, ironically, led to the development of its bitterest enemy, the Palestinian nationalist movement.

Theodor Herzl was the founder of modern Zionism. His early life, however, gave little inkling of this. Until 1895 he was no more than a 'boulevardier', a moderately successful playwright, and the Paris correspondent for Vienna's leading newspaper, Die Neue Freie Presse. In short, he was an assimilated nineteenth-century Jew. The Dreyfus Affair was to change that. In a feverish, semi-mystical state he wrote a pamphlet "The Jewish State: an Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question" that was to affect the lives of literally millions of people. The claim has been made, with no exaggeration, that it was as important to Zionism as "The Communist Manifesto" was to socialism: it set in motion the plans that led to the modern state of Israel. From then on Herzl devoted all his energies to his vision of creating an independent, sovereign Jewish state. He travelled back and forth across Europe and the Middle East, negotiating with European rulers, statesmen, financiers, Jewish leaders, and even the Sultan of Turkey. The man who could note with such conviction in his diary that he had founded the 'Jewish State' after organizing and leading the first Zionist congress in 1897 would hardly have been surprised when, fifty years later on 14 May 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed.

Amos Elon's magnificent biography is being reissued to mark the 150th anniversary of Theodor Herzl's birth in 1860.

'A fascinating book . . . it has the fascination of a novel on the grand scale.' Arthur Miller, "Washington Post"

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'A skilfully written human look at the man whose life reads like a novel . . .' "Miami Herald"

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'A full superb, dramatic biography, rich in big scenes . . .' Alfred Kazin, "New York Times"

A portrait of Jerusalem which gives an insight into the kaleidoscopic culture of this magical city. Battle-scarred from 4000 years of violent conflict, the holy city is a sacred symbol of Judaism, Islam and Christianity and its religious wars of today reflect those of the past.

A powerful and evocative collection of essays, "A Blood Dimmed Tide" gathers nearly thirty years of Amos Elon's work on the Middle East. Skillfully moving from the Intifada to the Gulf War and its aftermath to the Peace Now movement, these essays provide a nuanced account of relations between Jews and Arabs and among the Israelis themselves. Elon has also written a timely introduction that provides an overview of his work and brings it up to the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister of Israel.

This internationally-known journalist presents sharply observed portraits of the region's key figures: Shimon Peres, Yitzak Rabin, and King Hussein; he interviews Yasir Arafat; and he considers Moshe Dayan's life and legacy. Elon also ranges far to sketch the political climate of the region and its players, from Israeli settlers in Hebron and their uneasy coexistence with Arab neighbors to the foreign policy of Egypt.

Sensitive and powerful, "A Blood-Dimmed Tide" provides a timely analysis of the conflicts between Jews and Arabs. From the Palestinians' refusal to accept Israel's 1978 offer of "full autonomy" to the Israeli government's insistence that settling the occupied territories would bring security, Elon traces what he considers to be the deadly miscalculations of both groups. As he examines the events and misunderstandings that have made it so difficult for Palestinians and Israelis to establish peace, Elon concludes taht what will finally bring the two sides together will not be moral imperative or personal courage but exhaustion. "A Blood-Dimmed Tide" is a significant contribution to our understanding of this troubled land.

The Pity of It All is a passionate and poignant history of German Jews, tracing the journey of a people and their culture from the mid eighteenth century to the eve of the Third Reich. As it is usually told, the story of the Jews in Germany starts at the end, overshadowed by their tragic demise in Hitler's Reich. Now, in this important work of historical restoration, the acclaimed historian and social critic Amos Elon takes us back to the beginning, chronicling a 150-year period of achievement and integration that at its peak produced a golden age second only to the Renaissance.

A powerful and evocative collection of essays, "A Blood Dimmed Tide" gathers nearly thirty years of Amos Elon's work on the Middle East. Skillfully moving from the Intifada to the Gulf War and its aftermath to the Peace Now movement, these essays provide a nuanced account of relations between Jews and Arabs and among the Israelis themselves. Elon has also written a timely introduction that provides an overview of his work and brings it up to the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister of Israel.

This internationally-known journalist presents sharply observed portraits of the region's key figures: Shimon Peres, Yitzak Rabin, and King Hussein; he interviews Yasir Arafat; and he considers Moshe Dayan's life and legacy. Elon also ranges far to sketch the political climate of the region and its players, from Israeli settlers in Hebron and their uneasy coexistence with Arab neighbors to the foreign policy of Egypt.

Sensitive and powerful, "A Blood-Dimmed Tide" provides a timely analysis of the conflicts between Jews and Arabs. From the Palestinians' refusal to accept Israel's 1978 offer of "full autonomy" to the Israeli government's insistence that settling the occupied territories would bring security, Elon traces what he considers to be the deadly miscalculations of both groups. As he examines the events and misunderstandings that have made it so difficult for Palestinians and Israelis to establish peace, Elon concludes taht what will finally bring the two sides together will not be moral imperative or personal courage but exhaustion. "A Blood-Dimmed Tide" is a significant contribution to our understanding of this troubled land.