FOREVER OUTSIDERS

An interesting foreword launches this first volume— summarizing 4,000 years of Jewish history—in the Holocaust series. Altman introduces Judaism as the world's oldest surviving religion, presents Abraham as the first monotheist, questions Christian monotheism, and includes a brief summary of Jewish persecutions through the ages. Black-and-white reproductions, cartoons, and etchings often depict images of hate and intolerance; back matter includes chronologies to help readers gain a context for the material, and suggested readings for further study. That's fortunate, for the scope of the series, discussed in the preface, is broad; this first volume—an ambitious undertaking that falls prey to oversimplification—does not stand alone, but will require supplementary texts to give readers a real overview of history. (b&w photos, illustrations, maps, chronologies, glossary, notes, further reading, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12-15)