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A review by sleepyboi2988
A Jew Among Romans: The Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus by Frederic Raphael
2.0
Its hard to even describe this book, its part biography, part a dissection of Josephus' writing, and mostly an examination of Judaism through the lens of the time period and after. The biography and the dissection of Josephus' writing is very good, but its just too interrupted with pages and pages on random Jewish theories and facts (Even addressing parts of the Holocaust). It just sadly doesnt seem to come together and comes across rather convoluted as if the author attempted to cover too many topics at once.
If its a biography of Josephus, thats what I want to read about, not all the other stuff about the religion outside of what he wouldve been dealing with in his day. I understand that to understand Josephus one has to look at the religious aspects of the time and those parts of the book are good, but all the extra stuff about the Middle Ages, Crusades, Inquisition, and Holocaust really serve to confuse rather than explain.
If its a biography of Josephus, thats what I want to read about, not all the other stuff about the religion outside of what he wouldve been dealing with in his day. I understand that to understand Josephus one has to look at the religious aspects of the time and those parts of the book are good, but all the extra stuff about the Middle Ages, Crusades, Inquisition, and Holocaust really serve to confuse rather than explain.