SIGNED BY AUTHOR - BENZION NETANYAHU (1910-2012), the recently deceased Israeli historian, professor emeritus at both Cornell University and the Hebrew University, and the preeminent authority on the history of the Jews in Spain, with dedication in Hebrew, dated 5.7.1995, to Moshe Shamir (1921-2004), an eminent Israeli author, playwright, and public figure. This rare monograph on the Inquisition challenged and completely revolutionized the predominant view, held for centuries by most historians of the Inquisition who relied mostly on the Inquisition documents (including the most influential ones like H.C.Lea), that Jews were persecuted for secretly adhering to Judaic rites and customs after pretending to convert to Roman Catholicism. In this vast monograph, Netanyahu reinterprets the social, religious and political factors behind the Spanish Inquisition by presenting testimonies from sources absolutely free of the Inquisition`s influence, ranging from Jews through Old Christians to those of the Marranos themselves, with the conclusion that most Jews in Spain had in fact willingly become Catholics and wanted to integrate in Spanish society as full members, both religiously and socially, if not for the persecutions that followed, fueled by the mob which perceived the Jews as an evil race, and by the jealousy over their success in economics and politics. 240x175mm. XXII+1384 pages. Black cloth Hardcover with illustrated dust-jacket. Gilt lettering on front cover and spine. Jacket front flap creased, rear flap upper edge stained. Jacket upper edge wrinkled. Cover slightly stained. Spine edges bumped. Text block edges age-stained. Endpapers slightly age-stained. Author`s signed dedication on pre-title page. Front whitepage slightly stained. Pages rough cut as published. [SUMMARY]: This rare book, Netanyahu`s magnum opus, signed and dedicated by him, is in good condition.