This book is an examination of the historical struggle between the Biblical twins Jacob and Esau. Their opposing worldviews have nurtured whole cultures and is the source of a centuries-long clash of civilizations. The Jewish Sages teach that the bloody legacy of Esau/Edom spawned the Roman Empire, nurtured the foundations of Europe and fuels a rampant consumerism that still drives the modern Western world. James Donald Long reveals the powerful forces that influenced Esau and Jacob to take very divergent paths. Long also traces little-known geographical and ancestral milestones that link Esau/Edom directly to the founding of the Roman Empire. He also discusses at length, the often maligned and misunderstood system of sacrificial offerings. Long is also the author of Riddle of the Exodus:Startling Parallels between Ancient Jewish Sources & the Egyptian Archaeological Record