Jerusalem’s Traitor: Josephus, Masada, and the Fall of Judea (Da Capo), by Desmond Seward

­A narrow strip of land along the Eastern Mediterranean shore, fought over by Israelis and Palestinians for over half a century, has exerted an influence over the world disproportionate to its size. Desmond Seward's study of Josephus, a first-century chronicler who joined the Jewish rebellion against Rome, only to switch sides, is interesting less for what it says about this murky figure than for its vivid sketch of Palestine at a crucial time. The crucible of the world's major monotheisms, the Holy Land was a more diverse place than many imagine. Judaism encompassed a relatively fluid set of beliefs and practices, the influence of Greek culture was strong in urban areas and competing local interest groups, all of them under Rome's thumb, governed the land. The challenge of understanding Josephus, handled by Seward with fairness, is that little is known about him outside his own writings, which present an apparently contradictory and self-justifying impression. Seward pronounces Josephus as a wily survivor who did his best in the face of "the inevitable catastrophe" facing Jews in the Roman Empire.