A synopsis of Israel's history—from the perspective of the poor. Reflecting the option for the poor that characterizes his Latin American setting, Pixley argues, with Norman Gottwald, that the "real story" of Israel is that of its peasants' struggles. This book is the first to attempt a brief, concise recovery of the broad outlines and sweep of the story of the people of Israel from the Bible. He deftly sketches that history from its origins in peasant uprisings of the fourteenth century b.c.e. to the bloody suppression of Simon bar Cosiba's uprising in the second century c.e. This straightforward presentation, with its numerous aids (charts, map, chronology, and select bibliography), and its keen sensitivities to the import of social location, should make this book a very helpful resource for undergraduate and lay leaders.