Israel Books

This is not a review, but just information I wanted to share with readers/consumers. I e-mailed an inquiry to Verso about this title, since it showed a January 2008 publication date but was for some reason unavailable. (Only the second edition is available.) I received a call back today, and I was informed that the third edition has been delayed; estimates are that it will be published in late 2009.

So, if you've been waiting for this edition to come out, you'll have to wait quite a bit longer and make due with the second edition in the meantime.

The five stars I gave this "review" were completely arbitrary, since I obviously haven't read this edition. After reading one of Norman Finkelstein's books and attending one of his lectures, the number of stars was just a guess as to how I'd rate this book when I finally do get a chance to read it.

This is a marvelous book which takes you on an exciting photographic tour of the Holy Land of Israel. For those who are not fortunate enough or can not afford to go to the Holy Land of Israel, they can now make a pilgrimage through this book. The book covers many biblical sites in the Holy Land; beautiful churches; cities like Jerusalem, Nazareth & Bethlehem; famous landmarks and tombs, with a note on every picture mentioning its significance and relevance. The book contains spectacular pictures of the Holy Land taken by the Israeli photographer Hanan Isachar, capturing its aesthetic beauty and spirit throughout and taking you to the places where Jesus was born and grew up; where He preached and performed miracles; where He died and rose again, sites which have attracted millions of pilgrims for almost 2000 years. Some of the top-view pictures depicting the landscape of Israel and spanning over the two pages measuring 11.5'' x 8.6'' are really breathtaking.

See for yourself the birthplace of Jesus at the grotto inside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem; Site of His Baptism at River Jordan; the Mount of Temptation where Satan tried Him; the Church of all Nations surrounded by Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed fervently and agonizingly before he was arrested; Via Dolorosa - path Jesus followed taking up His cross; Golgotha - the Crucifixion site; the Tomb of Jesus (both the traditional as well as the Garden tomb) and the Mount of Olives from where He will come again. You'll see - the Church of the Annunciation where Mary as a virgin was visited by the Archangel Gabriel; the Franciscan Church at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine; the famous synagogue in Capernaum built in the late third century AD over the remains of a previous synagogue dating to the times of Jesus, the Church of Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes at Tagbha on the shore of Sea of Galilee where Jesus fed five thousand with two loaves and five fishes; the recently excavated Bethsaida- the hometown of Peter, Andrew and Philip; the Church of the Transfiguration on the top of Mount Tabor where Jesus was transfigured; the Church of Dominus Flevit where Jesus wept over Jerusalem; the Church of Holy Sepulchre containing the traditional sites of Golgotha & tomb of Jesus; the tombs of Rachel, David & Mary; and Mount Carmel where Elijah executed 450 prophets of Baal.

There is depicted in the book the room of Last Supper where Jesus broke bread with His disciples the last time before crucifixion, the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on water, the Pool of Siloam where Jesus restored the sight of a blind man and the Mount of Beatitudes where He gave the famous Sermon on the Mount. You'll be in awe on seeing - the rock inside the Church of Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes marking the spot where Jesus performed the amazing miracle; the rock of agony inside the Church of all Nations on which Jesus prayed before his arrest when he was comforted by an angel; the stone of anointing inside the Church of Holy Sepulchre on which the crucified body of Christ was laid & washed; and the footprint of Jesus imprinted on a rock in the Chapel of Ascension from where Jesus is believed to have ascended to heaven. You'll also come to view other important sites such as Qumran, Masada, Jericho, the Dead Sea, Ein Karem, Caesarea, Tiberias, Herodion Fortress, Jezreel Valley, Emmaus and Megiddo.

I am sure the book shall prove to be a source of joy, inspiration and blessings to you & your family as much as it has been to me and my family. After seeing the book, let your spirit also rejoice and proclaim like Simeon, the righteous, when he said, "For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people." (Luke 2: 30-31). This book makes up an ideal gift for loved ones in your family, friends and Church. If you have never been to the Land of Jesus & the Prophets, don't let this opportunity go away. Get yourself acquainted with the important holy sites of the Holy Land before the Messiah comes. I pray the Lord grants each of us an opportunity to visit the Holy Land and be an eyewitness to all of His mighty & wonderful works accomplished there. After all, this is the place from where the Messiah shall establish His kingdom and rule all the nations. May you be counted worthy to dwell with the Messiah King - Lord Jesus Christ when He returns again to establish His kingdom from Israel!

The photographs, maps, travelers' accounts, physical reconstructions, and studies of the Bible that are the subject of this book once fired popular fantasies of the Holy Land. Nineteenth century visitors to the Chautauqua Institution used to walk through a large scale model of biblical Palestine, sometimes tucking a blade of grass into their pockets or purses. You can still take a tour and listen to Sunday evening lectures there. At the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904, a replica of Jerusalem covered eleven acres while today, some 300 miles to the southeast, a seven story high Christ of the Ozarks looks over a modern re-creation of the Holy Land set in the hills of Arkansas. For home viewing there were tours via stereoscopic photographs, lavishly illustrated books such as Picturesque Palestine, and the reports of scholars who passed through the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. All reached for an illusory touch of the "real" in the midst of fantasies about the Holy Land, as may still be seen in a reader friendly book written by John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan Reed, Excavating Jesus. These competing visions of the Holy Land were, and are, shaped by forms of Christianity and Judaism, and entangled with various political and ideological debates at home in America.

David Gunn, Bradford Professor of Religion at Texas Christian University wrote that Imagining the Holy Land is "remarkable and important...not only pertinent to an understanding of biblical criticism and popular culture in America...but crucially important to a nuanced understanding of American public discourse about Middle Eastern affairs today."

I cannot believe that I am the first one to do a review ofBernard Crick's great masterpiece, "In Defense of Politics."This is a honor that forces me to question my worthiness. Crick so aptly understood that the aiming for a kind of absolutist perfection in any human relationship is dooming oneself to inevitable bitter disillusionment. This may especially be true within the political sphere. Those who indulge in a virtual cult of adoring specific "great men" totally misunderstand the goal of politics. Democracy can never be more than an attempt to search out a workable compromise between disagreeing citizens. A certain agnosticism concerning one's position is often required; a dogmatic true believer mentality may indeed become dangerous and threaten the very tenuous underpinnings of our governmental institutions. We must indeed strive to improve our political process. It is even a moral obligation to do so. Nonetheless, The search for the perfect and virtuous leader to give one's unhesitating allegiance and adoration has always resulted in a hell on earth.

The political process is often yucky, disappointing, and after much effort may leave one at best with a half a loaf result. It has been said that there are two things someone with a weak disposition may wish to avoid---viewing the processing of sausage and the making of human law. Am I a cynic and possessing a defeatist attitude? The answer is an adamant no! On the contrary, Crick and I recognize the glorious possibilities of an evolving civilization premised upon frail and imperfect human beings. It takes incredible physical, intellectual and moral diligence to bring about viable human relationships of any sort. What we have so far accomplished in Great Britain and the United States is of mind boggling beauty and structural effectiveness. Bernard Crick understands the limits of politics and that a democratic society deserves two cheers, not three. Winston Churchill paradoxically said it best--democracy is usually disappointingly awful--it's simply better than all the other political systems devised and implemented throughout human history.

deeply involved with the recent and troubled history of both the jewish people and the state of isreal, these great poems uncover, touch , and may help in healing some of the most painfull human scars known to all immigrants, all victims, all of us feeling unsafe in our own home , already marked as the targets of the next war. with humor, eye for detail and compassion, "in my skin" carries a rare urgency, lacking from most poetry written today. reading it, you might find that you've been exposed beneath your own skin more than you were willing to.

You start reading it, and it keeps you from the first to the last word.

Read Rachel's words and be moved forever. Put her writings on your bookshelves next to Ghandi, Martin Luther King, John and Robert Kennedy, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel, Mother Theresa, President Jimmy Carter, President Abraham Lincoln, etc,etc,etc,.... My mind was opened by reading President Jimmy Carters' book: Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (Read Ch. 16 First - !Dios Mio!) to the present day atrocities being committed by "certain," Israeli and American Jews, against the Helpless and everyday, more homeless - humiliated Palestinian people. Israeli Human rights groups are trying, but also seem helpless to stop the daily and PRESENT atrocities against the poor Palestinian people. Visit: www.rachelcorrie.com Thank you.

I could lost my insecurity when I was in front of a fetus with skeletal dysplasia. Thanks My name is Miguel Octavio Sosa P. MD OG from Barquisimeto, venezuela. I work in antenatal diagnosis of fetal malformations. Thank you again.

This book is a great keepsake as well as guide book. The photographs are beautiful, so you get to "see" parts of the country that you would otherwise not be exposed to. The book has good travel hints (such as special airfares for nonresidents). Well formatted also with special symbol for hints specific to geographic areas.

As a Bene Israel Jew the book impressed me very much. Lot of research work was done by the author. Many customs and history of the Bene Israel community are written profoundly by the author. The book isn't only about the Bene Israel, but also about other Jewish communities in India and outside India. The book also includes Indian history. This book is a good example of what a comprehensive book should be like.