The history of Jerusalem is the history of the world, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to the American Century. Now the author of the acclaimed Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar presents a grippingly original epic history of Jerusalem through the lives of those who created, destroyed, conquered, wrote about - and believed in - the Holy City.

Here are all the key players in a vast, thrilling, and intimate panorama that brings every epoch and titan blazingly to life, from King David to Jesus and Muhammad; from Maccabees and Herods to Churchill and Barack Obama; from Cleopatra, the Caliphs, and Saladin to Mark Twain and Rasputin; from Dayan, Arafat, and King Hussein to the author's ancestor, Sir Moses Montefiore, who founded the new city of Jerusalem 150 years ago.

Drawing on new archival materials, the latest scholarship, his own family papers, and a lifetime's study, Montefiore illuminates the essence of holiness, power, empire, and the only city that exists twice - in heaven and on earth.