Herod was an Idumean, a half-Jew at best; a monster; a killer; a ruthless political operator. He was also his people's great benefactor and the last Jew to rule all of Palestine in antiquity.There have been scores of books on the subject of Herod. Is there any reason to have another one?
Oh, yes! And how!
First of all, no other biography of Herod situates him within the Graeco-Roman milieu like this book does. For whatever reason, all books on Herod are somehow near-sighted. Somewhere on the periphery of the action appear large-looming figures--Pompey, Caesar, Crassus, Antony, Cleopatra, the Parthians. Their motivations are unclear; why they should care for or interfere in Palestine and Judea is uncertain; how and why Herod has to maneuver is a mystery. This book gives us the global perspective we need to understand the man and his works. It also explains how and why what happened in provincial little Palestine impacted the grand politics of Rome.
Second, in beautiful and vivid language, this book evokes the harsh geographic and economic realities of Palestine. Why was Jericho important? Why did the separate national identity of Samaria matter? Who were the Nabateans? What was the significance of the port of Caesarea? What was it like to be there then?
Finally, there is the old Krawczuk touch: an easygoing and yet profound reflection on the biography of a politician and his posthumous reputation; and the fate of a small nation buffeted by the ambitions of great empires and the seemingly irresistible force of globalization.
Though not an Italian, yet is Krawczuk a master of the sprezzatura--the artful "off-the-cuffness" hiding surprising depths within a seemingly throwaway comment. As Rameau would have put it, hiding art with art. And then... then there is the prose. Krawczuk writes some of the most beautiful prose ever written by a historian. His books are a feast.
