By Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg This informative book gives emphasis on the Jewishness of the New Testament and of Jesus in particular. The two writers give cultural and biblical background of some of the Jewish influences and rabbinic influences on Jesus and the early Church. Informative work.
This is a large historical novel by James Michener about the land of Israel. Its setting is in a fictitious tell (ancient mound in the Middle East) of Makor. From this vantage point Michener traces, episodically, the history of the land of Israel. That is, he does not deal with continuous history, but he dips in and gives a glimpse of the land at various times. The book was published in 1965, so it only goes through the early 1960s.
Through the chapters, the reader gets a good idea of life in the land thousands of years before Christ; life in the land during the time of King David; life in the land during the 600s B.C.; life during the Hellenistic times, about 170 B.C.; life about the time of Jesus’ birth in 4 B.C.; life during the Roman period, 66 A.D., shortly before Rome was destroyed; life about 335 A.D., during the Byzantine Period; life about 644 A.D., the arrival of Islam; life about 1100 with the Crusaders; life in the 1200s; life about 1291 as the Crusade continues in the land; life during Ottoman rule in the 1400s; life about 1880, when more Jews were beginning to return to the land; and then finally life in 1948, during the battle for independence.
In some ways, this is a collection of novellas rather than a continuous novel. Although most of the characters are fictitious there are some historical characters who populate the work, such as Rabbi Akiva, King David, Herod the Great, Emperor Vespasian, Josephus, Moses, Maimonides. And, as always with Michener’s works, the story is true to life and representative of how life was in the various historical periods.
To tell the story, Michener ranges far away from the fictitious city of Makor and includes life in other cities of Israel, at times branching out to Russia and to Spain. Michener certainly conveys the idea of the persecution and difficulties of the Jews throughout the centuries, including persecution in ancient times, the Spanish Inquisition, persecutions in Europe during the Middle Ages, and some references to the Holocaust of the 20th century
Michener is a great writer. He is continually fascinating and the reader learns a ton about Israel and the Jews.
My Promised Land, The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit is a fascinating history of Israel. I feel like I learned so much. The author clearly loves Israel, but on the other hand he can recognize Israel’s problems and its flaws. I felt he was balanced in his approach. Shavit tells the story of the last 100 years in the land of Israel, weaving his own family story with that of the nation. We learn all about life before 1948 as well as life since 1948. We learn about the intense struggles of the Jews throughout their history. We learn about the key events of 1948, 1967 and 1973. We learn about life and culture today, both the good things and the bad things.
There are fascinating sections on Masada, on the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, on the Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank, and on the differences between the Oriental Jews and the Occidental Jews.
There is a sad and disappointing chapter on the sex and drug scene in Tel Aviv. Even sadder, perhaps, is the way that most of the nation seems to have forgotten their God.
This is an important book and worth reading for those who are interested in Israel. The following comments by serious students of Israel indicate its importance.
“This is the epic history that Israel deserves – beautifully written, dramatically rendered, full of moral complexity. Ari Shavit has made a storied career of explaining Israel to Israelis; now he shares his mind-blowing, trustworthy insights with the rest of us. It is the best book on the subject to arrive in many years.”
– Franklin Foer, editor, The New Republic
“A beautiful, mesmerizing, morally serious, and vexing book. I’ve been waiting most of my adult life for an Israeli to plumb the deepest mysteries of his country’s existence and share his discoveries, and Ari Shavit does so brilliantly, writing simultaneously like a poet and a prophet. My Promised Land is a remarkable achievement.”
– Jeffrey Goldberg, national correspondent, The Atlantic
“Ari Shavit’s My Promised Land is without question one of the most important books about Israel and Zionism that I have ever read. Both movingly inspiring and at times heartbreakingly painful, My Promised Land tells the story of the Jewish state as it has never been told before, capturing both the triumph and the torment of Israel’s experience and soul.”
– Daniel Gordis, author of Saving Israel and Koret Distinguished Fellow at Shalem College, Jerusalem.
“With the heart of a storyteller and the mind of a historian, Ari Shavit has written a powerful and compelling book about the making of modern Israel. No country is more emotionally connected to the United States, and no country’s fate matters more to many Americans. And yet until Shavit’s My Promised Land, it has been growing more difficult to sense the character of Israel through all the caricatures. This book is vital reading for Americans who care about the future, not only of the United States but of the world.”
–Jon Meacham, author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power