Mark Rubbo, MD of Readings, suggested I do myself a favour and read this extraordinary book. His enthusiasm for it was infectious so I bought it, and $45 later, am sooo glad I did!
It's simply one of the best books I've read all year. And there have been loads of great books published in 2013.
As the author himself notes 'My Promised Land is not an academic work of history. Rather, it is a journey through contemporary and historic Israel, recounting the larger Israel saga by telling several dozen specific Israeli stories that are significant and poignant.'
What emerges is an overwhelming sense of a nation in the midst of an existential crisis - a nation in denial. Surrounded by a sea of 1.5 billion antagonistic Muslims, 300 million seething Arabs and 2 million angry Palestinians, and a rabid, nuclear-arming Iran committed to its destruction, Israel exists on the edge of a precipice - this despite all that it has achieved for its liberated, creative and dynamic people over the last 100 or so years.
I can't recommend this beautifully written, compassionate, and thrilling book highly enough. Do yourself a favour and read it.
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