Written just before Hitler came came into power, this passionate book was done with brilliance, clarity and order by a master of historical narrative.

This book is often referenced in Douglas Reed's "Controversy of Zion."

From the preface:

AMONG the civilized races of the world, the Jewish people are at once the best and the least known. It is one of the tragic pe­culiarities of their fate that they could never be ignored, and have thus been constantly obliged to face the criticism of the rest of the world­ their non-Jewish environment-and stand or fall by it. Various at­ tempts have been made, from time to time, to correct the inaccuracies which have crept into the Gentile portraits of the Jew-inaccuracies which were inevitable since they were the outcome of judgments in­spired by particular motives, by human passions, animosity, and incompatibility. But they served no useful purpose. For a people as intensely vital as the Jews stand in no need of an apologia. On the contrary, they require above all to be constantly reminded of their true nature, so that they may never be in danger of forgetting the stupendous responsibilities which have been imposed upon them on this earth.

The main object of this book is to reveal the nature of these respon­sibilities, that is to say, the raison d’etre of the Jewish people. Its further object is to give a just and accurate account of the part they have played in history, and this will necessitate passing the panorama of their life and fate in swift and sweeping review. For they are now standing on the threshold of a new historical period, a fresh begin­ning. To make this plain it will be necessary to recapitulate two previ­ous periods of exceptional activity and importance.