History of Jewish Antiquities and the Jewish War. Prime source for the history of the Jews and the fall to Rome. The book includes notes to help explain unfamiliar or confusing items. The appendices charts of the rulers. ( )

I had heard of the writings of the ancient historian Josephus but it always seemed daunting to take on reading the words of somone who lived so long ago. I guess I thought it would be hard to understand like ancient epic poetry. But this translation and edition are actually quite simple to understand. The first part reads like a summary of what you find in your old testament, with a few differences. The second part tells what happend in between the testaments, like the story of the Maccabees and how the Herods came into power. It continues on through the time of Christ (whe gets a couple of mentions, as does John the Baptist and later the early Christians are alluded to as well) up to the destruction of the Jerusalem and the Jewish temple, whichis told in detail. It is fascinating in places and it provides a fuller picture of what was happening politically during the time of Christ and the early church. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in having a little historical flavor added to their understading of the Bible or these time periods in general. And don't be scared by it--this edition is condensed to all the relevant books and is easy to read. ( )