Prior to your visit to the Land of Abraham, you may want to check out a book or two about the country, its history and current politics. There are hundreds of books you can choose from, here are the top 5 that I have read or listened to on audiobooks. If you are in New Orleans you can order from Octavia Books, our favorite local bookstore.
1. "To Jerusalem and Back" by Saul Bellow (1976 Nobel Prize laureate in literature). This authoritative volume is a rigorous attempt to come to grips with Israel’s history and future. Immersing himself in the landscape and culture of this “small state in perpetual crisis,” Bellow records the opinions, passions, and dreams of Israelis of varying viewpoints—Yitzhak Rabin, Amos Oz, the editor of the largest Arab-language newspaper in Israel, a kibbutz member escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto—and adds his own reflections on being Jewish in the twentieth century. Saul Bellow’s journey is not merely an exploration of a very beautiful and very troubled country; it is a major literary work, and an urgently important one. - Penguin Random House
2. "Exodus" by Leon Uris is a historical novel about the founding of the State of Israel beginning with a compressed retelling of the voyages of the 1947 immigration ship Exodus and describing the histories of the various main characters and the ties of their personal lives to the birth of the new Jewish state. First published in 1958, it became an international publishing phenomenon, the biggest bestseller in the United States since Gone with the Wind and made into a movie starring Paul Newman(1960) - Doubleday
3. “The Source'' by James A. Michener is a historical novel; a survey of the history of the Jewish people and the land of Israel from pre-monotheistic days to the birth of the modern State of Israel. The Source uses, for its central device, a fictional Tel (mound/hill) in northern Israel called "Makor" (Hebrew: "source"). Prosaically, the name comes from a freshwater well just north of Makor, but symbolically it stands for much more, historically and spiritually. - Random House
4. “My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel” by Ari Shavit is an authoritative and deeply personal narrative history of the State of Israel. Shavit was one of the most influential journalists writing about the Middle East in HaAretz newspaper. As it examines the complexities and contradictions of the Israeli condition, the author asks difficult but important questions: Why did Israel come to be? How did it come to be? Can Israel survive? Culminating with an analysis of the issues and threats that Israel is currently facing, My Promised Land uses the defining events of the past to shed new light on the present. The result is a landmark portrait of a small, vibrant country living on the edge, whose identity and presence play a crucial role in today’s global political landscape. - Penguin Random House
5. “Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle” by Dan Senor and Saul Singer addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and more stable nations? With data and personal stories, the authors examine the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality-- all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. - Grand Central Publishing
6. “The Hope” by Herman Wouk (1915 – 2019) is an historical novel about pivotal events in the history of the State of Israel from 1948 to 1967. These include the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the 1956 Sinai War and the Six-Day War. This volume can be considered as a sequel to Wouk's Second World War books - The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. Wouk was an American author best known for historical fiction such as The Caine Mutiny - Little Brown & Co (1993)
Is there a must read that you recommend, let us know and we will add it to a future post.
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