Abba Eban (1915-2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician. He wrote in the Foreword to this 1968 book, "My vocation has been to explain the Jewish people to a confused and often uncomprehending world. The central fact in modern Jewish experience has been the renewal of Israels statehood... the title of this book is a frank confession that the story is written from within, by one who feels passionately committed to the strange destiny which he is trying to elucidate."

He notes that the philosopher "Philo thus embodies the extreme Hellenic development of Judaism. He held that between faith and philosophy there is no conflict. But he did not convice the [Jewish people] of his age..." (Pg. 84) Of Herod the Great, he comments, "A deep gulf separated Herod from his people. They resented the pagan customs which he brought to Jerusalem." (Pg. 87-89) Of the historian Josephus, he observes, "Josephus entered [Jewish] annals as a traitor. But his reputation for inconstancy was mitigated by his literary achievement... (he) is an unrivaled source for this period of Jewish history." (Pg. 96)

After the Bar Kochba revolt, "The Romans erased the name of Judah from official usage, choosing deliberately to call the country Palestine... Roman soldiers guarded (Jerusalem) assiduously against any... who might dare come to weep at the ruins of the Temple..." (Pg. 109)

Of the Medieval ghettos, he writes, "Talmudic law... received its fullest application in this period. The same discipline of legal and moral integrity which had proved so adequate a defense against Rome... was now employed against the heirs of Rome, the Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church." (Pg. 213) He adds, "For the most part, the Jewish community as a whole remained untouched by the winds of change that swept the intellectual world in this period." (Pg. 225)