In this insightful book, Thomas Cahill, internationally-acclaimed historian and author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization, reveals the changes in thinking that made Western civilization possible. A New York Times best-seller, The Gifts of the Jews is his accessible portrait of an ancient society and their vision that would later inspire the concept of individual worth. Until the third millennium, it was a widely-held belief that people were pawns in an endless cycle of birth and death, with no hope of altering their fate. But when Abraham followed God's command in ancient Sumer to "go forth" into the wilderness, a remarkable shift in thought emerged. As Abraham led his tribe through strange lands, these people called Jews began to view time as having starting and ending points-and holding the possibility of a better tomorrow. Through compelling stories, insights, and humor, Thomas Cahill demonstrates how many of your treasured values really are gifts from the Jews. Narrator Richard M. Davidson transports you to the distant past to rub elbows with such renowned biblical characters as Sarah, Moses, Job, and Ruth.