Jerusalem, the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the altar of three faiths, the place of the Day of Judgment, and the battleground of today's clash of civilizations. The only city that exists twice – once in heaven and once on earth.

How this small corner of the earth became the Holy City, the center of the world, and now the key to peace in the Middle East. Drawing from new archives as well as a lifetime of study, Montefiore reveals this city that is constantly reshaped by wars, loves, and revelations about men and women - kings, empresses, prophets, poets, saints, conquerors, and whores - who created, destroyed, shaped, and recorded its history.

From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the reader follows the epic story of 3000 years of faith, massacres, fanaticism, and coexistence.