Middle East Books

At a private dinner gathering in Wasington DC, before the 1996 elections in Israel, a few Congressmen, columnists, and members of Knesset listened to a warning from Jacob Gurewich, author of the recent book Chronicles of the State of Israel: "If an Israeli government will not obliterate the overture of dispensing any part of the Land of Israel-dispensing any part of the Land of Israel will obliterate such a government, and there is no doubt in my mind that there will be another war." To many, this echoed the warning of another visionary, the great Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who 77 years ago-well before the Holocaust-proclaimed to the Jews of Europe: "We are standing at the edge of an abyss. I see an avalanche on the horizon rolling toward us. We are facing an elemental cataclysmic calamity of immeasurable consequences and proportion. Either you liquidate the Diaspora or the Diaspora will liquidate you." At this same Washington gathering, Gurewich recited two poems he wrote in 1993 after the signing of the Oslo Accords. The first was "Life of Freedom or Annihilation," calling on the children of Israel to hold on to their hard-won homeland, or face destruction. The second was "They Should Be Put to Trial while They Still Live," demanding that the traitorous architects of the Oslo Accords, Peres and his ilk, be held to account for placing Israel in mortal danger by ceding territory in the heart of Israel to the terrorists who would wipe out the Jewish state altogether. "The Oslo Accords are not the road to peace," Gurewich stated then, they are the highway to terror death and destruction." Unfortunately, five years later, his vision has proven brutally true.

After reading the 60 pages of "Chronicles of the State of Israel", I looked again At the front cover of Gurewich's book. There was a picture of Jabotinsky over a Background of a Star of David and a map of Eretz-Israel on both sides of the Jordan River. I said to myself: "Alas to this orphaned nation that lost such a great leader and visionary like Ze'ev Jabotinsky."

I opened the book, and on the first page read, "The State of Israel was established on the broken necks of the Twelve who were sent to the gallows by the British hangman." So said Professor Joseph Klausner in 1947.

I turned the book over and read Jabotinsky's famous declaration many years before the Holocaust: "We are standing at the edge of an abyss, I see an avalanche on the Horizon rolling toward us. We are facing an elemental cataclysmic calamity of immeasurable consequences and proportions. Either you liquidate the Diaspora or the Diaspora will liquidate you."

I turned the pages of the book, I read in bold letters the words of Moshe Sharett, The second prime minister of Israel and a member of the Labor Party: " I said that I utterly reject Peres and see in his ascendance the most malignant form of political corruption, ... it will be a cause for national mourning and the State of Israel should render Kriah (rendering garments over the dead) if Peres becomes a minister in the government of Israel."

Ester (Cohen) Bar-Natan July 1998, Charlottesville, Virginia

One may derive incredible factual information from Chronicles of the State of Israel" (See Reviews and Commentary). In his fascinating prologue, "For Israel's 50th Anniversary," (which I would consider a wishful prophesy) Gurewich writes:..."The Arab mentality, which has led to enormous massacres among the Arab themselves, will never change, and the cycle of their hatred of Jews, of the State of Israel, and of Christians, will never be broken..."

At a private dinner gathering in Wasington DC, before the 1996 elections in Israel, a few Congressmen, columnists, and members of Knesset listened to a warning from Jacob Gurewich, author of the recent book Chronicles of the State of Israel: "If an Israeli government will not obliterate the overture of dispensing any part of the Land of Israel-dispensing any part of the Land of Israel will obliterate such a government, and there is no doubt in my mind that there will be another war." To many, this echoed the warning of another visionary, the great Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who 77 years ago-well before the Holocaust-proclaimed to the Jews of Europe: "We are standing at the edge of an abyss. I see an avalanche on the horizon rolling toward us. We are facing an elemental cataclysmic calamity of immeasurable consequences and proportion. Either you liquidate the Diaspora or the Diaspora will liquidate you." At this same Washington gathering, Gurewich recited two poems he wrote in 1993 after the signing of the Oslo Accords. The first was "Life of Freedom or Annihilation," calling on the children of Israel to hold on to their hard-won homeland, or face destruction. The second was "They Should Be Put to Trial while They Still Live," demanding that the traitorous architects of the Oslo Accords, Peres and his ilk, be held to account for placing Israel in mortal danger by ceding territory in the heart of Israel to the terrorists who would wipe out the Jewish state altogether. "The Oslo Accords are not the road to peace," Gurewich stated then, they are the highway to terror death and destruction." Unfortunately, five years later, his vision has proven brutally true.

Americans, Jews and Gentiles may be shocked and dismayed at the disturbing data brought to the surface by Chronicles of the State of Israel. Many left-oriented American Jews, as well as some U.S. government officials consider Ben-Gurion, the heads of the Jewish Agency and the leftist parties, as fitting leaders during the 40s, and after the establishment of the State of Israel.

On the first page of his book Jacob Gurewich quotes: The state of Israel was established on the broken necks of the twelve who were sent to the gallows by the British hangman. (1947, Professor Joseph Klausner.)

In his book, Gurewich says: Today, in the final analysis, looking at the horrendous Holocaust of European Jews, when an entire generation was wiped out by the German murderers, and the corrupt British Empire blockaded Israel's shores to Jews who escaped certain death in Europe and could not be able to save themselves by reaching Israel, one can declare with certainty that the British and their criminal policies extended the impact of the Holocaust. There is not the shadow of a doubt that their policies were interconnected with the massive genocide and the death camps.

In his prologue, Israel's 50th Anniversary: Gurewich writes: I see leaders and people in the State of Israel establishing a powerful organization that would form a stable government with the objective of preventing any more Holocausts ... a government that encompasses members from all the irrational numerous parties, interfacing with the parties/factions of the Left, Right, Religious, Secular and others...a government that would not cave in to pressures from the outside world...a government that would not keep Saddam Hussein's henchmen in its territory...a government that would not cede one inch of its land...a government that would not hesitate to preempt and/or powerfully retaliate against the Hitlers, the Saddam Hussein's-of today, and the Hitlers of the days to come-because they will come...a government that would secure the present and the future Jewish generations without relying on Messiahs and that no one on this planet shall ever imperil us"...And he concludes: Fanatics, especially those in religious factions will dismiss my idea but they will diminish...yet, the government will shield them, because democracy will be the crux of such a government ...democracy is like love, you should only say it if you mean it and exercise it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was both informative and interesting. I highly recommend it!

I'm a Polytheist. And the author is a Christian who converted from Judaism. Those are both monotheistic religions (to me, they are both atheistic religions, given that there isn't any difference to me between believing in one God or zero). So why did I read this book? Because the author and I are both Zionists! And I want to see what he has to say.

The first point that Levitt makes is that the Arabs and Jews in the Middle East would all do well if they were to cooperate. I agree. They would.

Now, is the land Arab or Jewish? I'd advise taking note of the fact that when the Levant has been heavily populated, the majority has been Jewish. Levitt says the land was given to the Jews by God. I do not accept that. But I accept the fact that this statement is taken seriously by many Jews! And that means I can understand why Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital, and why many Jews have shown great interest in the region. Levitt continues by saying that Jews have lived in the Levant for 3500 years, well before there were any Muslims anywhere. That's true, but it still is ancient history. He also says that the archaeology of the land is Jewish (all but one Levantine city existed in times when the Jews ruled). And, most important, the Jews won their war for survival in 1967 (and in 1948, I would add).

Now, what about the Muslims? Are they trying to take over America? As a descendant of Muslims, whose side would I be on if they tried it? Well, I'm not too happy about Islamic intolerance and its treatment of women. So it all comes down to whether we non-Muslims are already in a fight, or if we're the ones who are starting a fight.

After 9/11, my guess is that we're already in a fight with at least some Muslims. Levitt agrees, and he gives the incident of the fight over Notre Dame University's attempt to hire Tariq Ramadan as an example.

What about the Levantine Arabs? Are they a famous and ancient people, a nation from eons ago that merely wishes to have a State? Or are they simply people who are trying to attack the Middle East's Jews? I think the latter is the case, and Levitt agrees. It seems that Levitt is making quite a few good points!

What does the author say about Hanan Ashrawi? Well, let's just say that he seems to agree with me about her as well. And Levitt has some useful things to say about media anti-Israeli bias. As well as some problems academia has been having in teaching about Israel.

I'm not all that interested in the religious aspects of this book. However, I can't ignore the fact that many Christians have taken sides. Some favor the Muslims, even to the extent of supporting anti-Christian terror. Some favor the Jews. And the author has some ideas about which group is making more sense.

I think there is plenty that can be learned from Levitt's book. Unfortunately, many of the people who might benefit from it the most are unlikely to have much interest in reading it, let alone in taking anything in it seriously.

I really liked this book. The author gives you information the media ignore. He even tells you what the media are really like. Best of all, the information put forth in the book is right from Scripture. A must-read for all who want to know the truth!

As witnessed on his television program, Mr. Levitt was a master armchair raconteur, (he went to be with the Lord April 19), and more so when sifting through end time puzzles.

"Dateline Jerusalem," therefore supplies the reader a delightful read, especially those akin to Mr. Levitt's theological leanings, though one reviewer has already noted agreeing with Zola greatly while still disagreeing with his most important conclusion, that Jesus is Ha Maschiach.

Perhaps the greatest test of a work is it's staying power, and this work shall be enjoyable however long the Lord should tarry before entering the author's dateline city.

Importantly, positions are firmed in regards to many of the major issues of the day including insights into his testimony, the Jews, the Muslims to name just the first few chapter headings.

An essayist of the first order in an age when that rank is sadly thinning, Mr. Levitt's exit still leaves his projection of wisdom and courage yet needed for this hour.

TL Farley,
author,
When Now Becomes Too Late,
Distant Reaches

When Now Becomes Too Late { Print Edition }

When Now Becomes Too Late { Kindle Edition }

{ Prophecy : The Rapture in Brief ! }


Distant Reaches { Print Edition }

{ True Life Adventures in Ireland, Boston and on the North Atlantic }

From keen insights into media bias, to refreshing keys to Israel's proper role in world affairs, Dateline Jerusalem is packed with hard-hitting analysis plus new and startling information. What is the Palestinian agenda? Will Israel survive in today's hostile climate? Can America win the war on terror? What End Times events are just around the corner? After giving his testimony in the first chapter, Zola devotes chapters to the Jews, Muslims, Palestinians, the government, media, education, churches, End Times and, finally, questions and answers. Brilliant book - highly recommend it!!

I just wanted write this message to tell readers that I read The Diaspora and the Lost Tribes of Israel and I really REALLY enjoyed it. I loved this book! I found it to be absolutely fascinating and totally riveting. I was completely engrossed in this book for the past few months. It is easily one of the best books I have read in recent times. The Diaspora and the Lost Tribes of Israel was one of the most interesting books I have ever read actually. It was tremendously well-written and the research Mr Asa-El did on this book was outstanding. Not only was The Diaspora and the Lost Tribes of Israel very informative and educational, it was also really a lot of fun to read. The photographs Mr Asa-El put in this book were stunning and gorgeous. He did a great job teaching people who are interested in the Jewish Diaspora and the Lost Tribes of Israel and did it in a way that was also entertaining. His insight into such a unique subject was also very much appreciated by this reader. I hope to read more of Mr Asa-El's works in the future.

I took the book because of the awesome pictures, but I love the book because of the story the author has given to us. I'm a thirty something Catholic woman from the Midwest. I have had very little encounters with Jewish people. But after reading this book, I have a completely new understanding of what it means to be Jewish and the reasons behind the current conflicts in the Middle East.

The book is broken up into several categories that makes it easier to read and understand. I only wish that they had used maps in the book so I could see where the migrations started and ended. I ended up looking at my historical atlas along with reading the book.

After reading this book, no matter who you are, you will get the bigger picture of what life has been like for the Jewish people for the last 2500 years. These are people who truly have had no home where they could feel safe in for any lengthy period of time. Everywhere they went, they faced the cruelty of the local people and governments.

If you are at all interested in learning about the life of the Jewish people, this is a book you'll want to read.

From Hasaddah Magazine, August-September 2005
By Joan Michel Schwartz

In case you thought the Diaspora started with the Roman conquets of Judea in 70 CE think again. "Jewish communities have for untold centuries been prone to appear, disappear, and reappear almost everyewhere," writes Amotz Asa-El in this magnificent must-have book, "arguably belonging simultaneously everywhere and nowhere."

The intriguing social-political assessment of the Diapsora by the Jerusalem Post's executive editor starts in Israel, goes around the world to the remotest places to track the lost tribes, and returns to Israel, retelling this incredible story.

More than 270 atriking illustrations -- including archival and contemporary photographs -- capture the traditions, rituals anddaily lives of Jews of all colors and shapes in Djerba, Mozambique, Russia, Predborz, Samaria, Tibilisi, Susa, Kaifeng and Uganda, where you see a group of Abudaya Jews in front of a Hadassah infant school.

Jerusalem Post / 21 April 2005
Scattered peoples
By DOUGLAS DAVIS

The Diaspora and The Lost Tribes of Israel
By Amotz Asa-El
Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc
300pp., $60

Jews were globalizers a couple of thousand years before the word was invented. Since the dawn of history, they have traversed countries and continents - sometimes willingly, often not - in search of safety, commerce, scholarship or out of simple curiosity.

Wherever they went they learned to juggle identities. They were loyal to their adoptive lands while retaining a transcendental commitment to their ancient homeland, whether notional or actual. With all this, they maintained an unbreakable tribal/national cohesion that derives from a shared history and heritage. The development of the Diaspora, and its persistence against all odds, is one of the great human dramas in the history of mankind.

In The Diaspora and the Lost Tribes of Israel, Amotz Asa-El shines a piercing light on the Diaspora, from its birth to the present. Appropriately, it is a distinguished journalist (the executive editor of this newspaper) who has chosen to chronicle one of the most important stories of all time. And ironically, it is an Israeli who has brought the story of the Diaspora - and the "lost tribes" - to a worldwide audience.

Through the ages, great empires have risen and fallen, tyrants have come and gone, but the Jewish people have endured. Wherever they settled, they brought with them a cultural ecosystem suffused with morality and imbued with an intellectual energy that transmitted its message far and wide. As Asa-El notes, "Jewish books, ideas, and movements traveled during the Middle Ages through Diaspora communities thousands of miles away from each other and sank roots so deep they still bear fruit today."

These disparate, dispersed Jews have been in the vanguard of innovation in science and the arts, in commerce and philosophy. They were, and are, the cashpoints of kings, the tutors of intellectuals, the ideologues of political movements, the fiddlers of concert halls. In recent history, illustrious names of the Diaspora have, for good and ill, been at the very cutting edge of politics, culture, science and the arts - the Einsteins, Freuds, Mendelssohns, Menuhins, Chagalls, Salks, Marxes and Trotskys, among many others.

But the vast majority of Diaspora Jews have passed their time in quiet, anonymous endeavor. They are the ordinary folk who are now woven into the tapestry of the societies in which they dwell, but have never forgotten who they are.

Along with their intellectual and material treasures, the Jews also gave the world the words to describe the tragedies that have marked their exilic existence: ghetto, holocaust, genocide - and, of course, Diaspora itself. But this account of Jewish wandering is not just a story of destruction; nor is it a tale of mere survival. It is the account of a people that have endured massive oppression but also achieved the ultimate triumph. For despite their trials and tribulations, they proudly retain their ancient identity.

ASA-EL USES a large canvas to trace the routes of the dispersal and to describe the communities of Jews that have grown up around the world. He also takes his readers down a fascinating tributary that follows the claims of the "Lost Tribes" - in Africa, Asia and South America - who observe some Jewish rites and claim Jewish descent. These include Afghan Pathans, who claim lineage from the tribe of Gad, and Afghanistan's largest tribe, the Pashtun, whose origins have been attributed by some to King Saul.

The Diaspora today defines itself largely in terms of its relationship with Israel. While this relationship retains elements of tension, it has matured into an attitude that is, by and large, marked by tolerance, if not actual acceptance, and mutual respect. It is ironic that modern Israel, which Theodor Herzl envisaged as a refuge for the world's scattered, vulnerable Jews, arguably poses greater danger for Jews than much of the Diaspora.

Two millennia after Haman plotted to eliminate the Jews, the people of Persia once again deny Israel's right to exist and direct their nuclear weapons program toward the Jewish state. In this regard, notes Asa-El, the position of Israel's Jews is "much more precarious than that of the rest of the Diaspora, practically all of which lives in predominantly Christian lands."

Asa-El ends his tour de force with two questions that will delineate the contours of the ongoing conversation between Israel and the Diaspora: "Will the future vindicate the classical Zionist view that the Jews' salvation lies in their becoming a normal nation, one that will shed its sprawling Diaspora and thrive in its ancestral home? Or will, perhaps, the Jews manage to prove that a flourishing Jewish state and vibrant Diaspora are not mutually exclusive?" Only time, he says, will tell.

The saga of the Jewish people is told in vivid, elegant prose which derives from Asa-El's profound knowledge of the subject, his understanding of the dramatis personae and his journalistic experience. The sumptuously illustrated result is a magnificent book that is accessible to readers of varied bacggrounds, both Jewish and non-Jewish. To the home library of Jewish families that want to know where they came from and how they got there - Diaspora is an indispensable addition.

The writer, London correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, is co-author, with Helen Davis, of Israel in the World, published in London this month by Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Coffee-table booksd are usually notable for their pictures, and Amotz Asa-El's "The Diaspora and The Lost Tries of Israel" certainly does not disappoint in this regards, filled as it is by nearly 300 pages of photographs of Jewish life spanning six continents. But the accompanying text has a special claim on our attention. Mr. Asa-El, the executive editor of the Jerusalem Post, vividly captures both the creativity and the nomadic quality of the Jewish people. More important, he offers an engaging history of the Jewish experience by tracing he history of the Jewish Diaspora.
Mr. Asa-El's historical narrative begins with the post-biblical wanderings of the Jews from the first exile in 730 B.C.E., when thousands of Jewish refugees were forcibly relocated by ther Assyrians into what is today northeastern Syria. The second exile, some 150 years later, came in the aftermath of the Babylonian conquest of the First Temple. By the time of the Second Temple's destruction by Rome in C.E. 70 and the final rebellion against the Romans in 135-the dates most frequently cited as the beginning of the Diaspora-a majority of Jews were already residing outside the land of Israel.
Mr. Asa-el devotes most of the book to descriptions of individual Jewish communities in the Diaspora. He describes how, throughout the Middle Ages, Jewish merchants brought their traditions to the farthest corners of the world, establishing communities in the most remote parts of Africa and Asia, and also in major European and Middle Eastern countries. He chronicles the various legends and facts surrounding the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, whose communities were as far-flung as Kaifeng, China, and Djerba, an island off the Tunisian mainland. He notes that the greatest cultural and intellectual achievements of the Jewish people-the Babylonian Talmud, the philosophical writings of Maimonides and the biblical commentaries of R ashi-took place in the Diaspora.
As we begin the 21st century, Jews are faced with a situation that they have experienced for only brief periods in their long history-how to reconcile life in the Diaspora with the existence of a sovereign Jewish state. While Israel once against hosts the world's largest Jewish community, after more than two millennia of exile, Diaspora Jews are flourishing as never before. Among much else, the state of Israel and the Diaspora complement each other-with Israel serving not only as a physical refuge for Jews fleeing persecutiion but also, in the words of the early Zionist thinker Ahad Ha-am, as "a spiritual center for the Jews of the world." At the same time, the Diaspora has proved itself to be a durable place of Jewish vitality and accomplishment. [Review written by Jay Lefkowitz for The Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2005, p. D10]

I bought this guide before I left for Egypt this past spring and let me tell you, I was amazed at how useful it proved to be. I spent 5 months in Cairo and I took it with me every time I went out! It has all the information you need to visit the most popular places, as well as some of the most innaccesible areas. I was able to figure out bus schedules for trips to Maadi, Giza, Mohandeseen & Saqqara, as well as entertainment information and cultural advice. I learned from it how much I should pay for a taxi and where to find belly-dancing outfits at Khan-el-Khalili. Also, I used it to go around Islamic Cairo and visit some of the most wonderful mosques, all on my own. Their maps and nformation are invaluable! They even cover trips to the oasis, Sinai and places only an Egyptologist would know of! (I was amazed).
In addition, it has useful arabic phrases, guides to cities and ancient sities with descriptions and historical background. Really, get one before you leave! I used the Rough guide to Syria and it is just as good...

I just returned from a month in Egypt. I bought this book at a bookstore in Cairo and I can't tell you how amazing it is. It is so richly packed with information including walking guides through Islamic Cairo and the Cairo Museum. Brilliant book. The author knows Egypt inside and out and I cannot stress enough... if you are going to Egypt.. BUY THIS BOOK! Great maps, language section and very easy to reference in a hurry. The prices are a bit outdated but you will learn what is standard shortly after you get there anyway.

Overall I was quite pleased with this guide. It provided accurate information for transportaion details, hotels and restaurants and gave good basic introductions to the sites and cities, as well as what to expect in the culture. The city maps were accurate and the maps of ancient egyptian monuments were helpful and enough for me, though anyone with a serious interest in them will want to pick up something extra (the guide recommends titles). DOn't rely on the arabic section at the back - if you need to teach yourself any arabic for a trip you'd do best to buy an egytian arabic phrasebook as the rough guides section is small and can mislead your pronounciation.

While my companion and I had four guide books between us for our two week trip, the Rough Guide was the one that we constantly referred to. After a while, we didn't even look at the others, even though they had fancier and more colorful illustrations. By far, the Rough Guide gave us more, and more useful, information on the locations we visited than the others. The descriptions of the various neighborhoods and the sights along the way were most helpul in our planning for the one free day in Cairo that we had from our group tour. We also appreciated the discussion of customs and practices (the notes on baksheesh, for example, helped us gain a better understanding of a practice that many Americans found annoying). An added benefit: it weighed less than the fancier guides with glossy pages, so it was far easier to carry with us.

We had purchased both LP and Rough Guide for our Egypt trip this past April (2005). I was reluctant to get RG for two reasons: 1. I generally think LP's are better and am used to their user-friendly format. 2. RG's most recent edition was published in early 2003 and with all the recent uncertainty in the area, I was nervous to rely on information from 2-3 years ago. However, for this trip, the RG was far better! The main reason it was more useful than LP was that it contained much more detailed explanations of the sites/museums. This book contained maps to almost all the major sites/museums with corresponding letters to explanations of the hieroglyphics/objects within the sites/museums - Far more information than LP. Of course, it also had the usual practical information (hotels, restaurants, getting around, etc.) which we relied upon as well. If you want to choose just one book to take with you as an independent traveler, my advice is to take this one.

The book contains over 300 magnificent photographs and illustrations of Egypt's monuments, treasures, archaeological discoveries and travelers. The reader will see the pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, the Faiyum, the Sinai, the Strait of Tiran, Nubia, Tanis, Esna, Luxor, Karnak, Philae, Dendera, Abu Simbel, Deir el-Bahri, the Valley of the Queens, Edfu, Kom Ombo and the Valley of the Kings, and will identify Ernesto Schiaparelli, Auguste Mariette, Jean-François Champollion and Howard Carter, among many famous discoverers. A history of this fascinating civilization, from ancient to modern Egypt, is included, as well as reconstructions of tombs, a bibliography and a glossary. For everyone to own.

i don't have this book yet. i have already told hubby that he's getting it for me for valentines. everytime i go into the bookstore, i take it off the shelf and spend about a half hour just leafing through it and looking at the pictures. if you are not sure whether you want to put out the money to buy this book, do yourself a favor and see if they have a copy at the bookstore and look through it. i know you'll be convinced that it's worth the price. i plan on ordering my book rather than buying it off the shelf. there are several fold out sections in the book and i want to make sure they are in good shape. the pictures of the temples and tombs in the book are great. also lots of maps. i admit, i'm an egyptology geek, but i think anyone who is interested in egypt will enjoy this book. if egypt is a hobby/passion, this book is a must have. i know it's a bit pricey, but you're payig for a book full of fantastic color photographs and you defintiely get what you are playing for. you get your money's worth with this book. my only regret is that i have to wait 6 weeks til i can have my copy in my hot lil' hands. :)

I will not add too much to what the other reviewers have opined on this magnificent book. It is gorgeously illustrated with superior photographs and interesting drawings and geographical overviews.

It is the perfect book to get anyone interested in the never-ending treasures to be found in Egypt. The large-format size and the several fold-outs only add to the many and varied pleasures to be found in this book.

Also, it is somewhat scholarly and has some very useful timelines and genealogies.

Highly recommended to all Egyptophiles and lovers of antiquity alike.

Tim Wingate, CANADA

I recieved this book for Christmas, and even though I haven't read it all the way through, I'm very happy with it. It has very brilliant pictures, and beautiful maps. I also like the foldouts.

I first saw this book after a four-week trip to Egypt, where our travels included as much as we could see between the relocated monument Ramses II built in honor of himself at Abu Simbel to the vicinity of El-Qahira (Cairo) and its monuments and museums. This book is the one I have chosen to "keep my memories fresh" and share them with others- it is that good, and more. The illustrations are brilliant; the informative text is thorough and illuminating without being pedantic or burying the photos and drawings. I only wish the Cairo Museum had books as good as this one! If you love Egypt, this book will live an active life on your coffee table.

Arendt's analysis of the "banality of evil" characterized by Adolf Eichmann is a chilling look into how evil can be systematized, how it can be seemingly bureaucratic, and how normal people can be turned into monsters through law.

This is a great book for anyone interested in World War 2, the Holocaust, political philosophy, or getting really really depressed.

this book arrived from amazon in excellent condition and very quickly, especially relative to other books purchased at the same time through independent sellers.

A previous reviewer claims that Arendt's book shows the ambivalence of human nature, proving that in effect anybody could have done what Eichmann did. In fact, this is exactly the cynical point of view that Arendt opposes in this, and her other writings. Her argument here is a revision of her earlier position on 'radical evil' advanced in The Origins of Totalitarianism, a position which Heidegger claimed to find 'incomprehensible.' She argues here that banality and "sheer thoughtlessness" (akin to Heidegger's reflections on boredom) are in fact the root of Evil. To put it better, evil continues precisely because of its inherent rootlessness, its constitutive disregard of the world. Thus, the detachment of claims such as "Anybody could have done what Eichmann did" distort her intention. Evil, she insists, is not an inevitable aspect of human nature, but instead arises from an unwillingness to understand.

I am delighted to see this classic back in print. Jewish author Hannah Arendt has provided a wealth of timeless information that goes far beyond the trial of the German war criminal Adolf Eichmann. This review is based on the original (1964) edition.

Arendt (p. 39) gives the readers a taste of the scale of the Kristallnacht (November 1938): 7,500 Jewish shop windows broken, all synagogues burned, and 20,000 Jewish men incarcerated in concentration camps. In common with many others who wrote during the first two decades after WWII, Arendt (p. 5, 11-12) addresses the issue of Jewish passivity in the face of death during the later roundups and transports to the death camps.

Arendt briefly discusses the fate of Jews of some individual European nations. She mentions the conniving of the Bulgarians (with, of course, the implied freedom to do so) performed in order to avoid sending their Jews to the death camps, and the fact that Finland, Germany's ally, was never seriously pressured to turn over her 2,000 Jews to be murdered (p. 170). Clearly, the latter part of the oft-repeated statement, "Not all of the victims of the Nazis were Jews, but all Jews were victims of the Nazis" is incorrect.

Throughout this work, Arendt gives various biographical details of Adolf Eichmann. For example, she mentions that he was a Gottglaubiger (p. 27), a Nazi term for those who had broken with Christianity, and which Eichmann maintained right up to the very moment of his hanging, having refused the solace and Bible reading of a Protestant minister (p. 252).

Arendt briefly discusses Hitler's flouting of the Versailles treaty and his rise to power. While Jan T. Gross has asserted that there were Poles who praised Hitler in the 1930's, Arendt makes it clear that this was far from limited to Poland during that time: "...Hitler was admired everywhere as a great national statesman." (p. 37).

While most recent Holocaust materials focus on the real or imagined collaboration of locals in the sending of Jews to their deaths, Arendt is unsparing in her criticism of Jewish collaborators in this regard: "Without Jewish help in administrative and police work--the final roundup of Jews in Berlin was, as I have mentioned, done entirely by Jewish police--there would have been either complete chaos or an impossibly severe drain on German manpower. (p. 117). She adds that, because of this collaboration, only a few thousand Germans, most of whom furthermore only did office work, were able to send hundreds of thousands of Jews to their deaths (p. 117). Finally, Arendt concludes that: "Wherever Jews lived, there were recognized Jewish leaders, and this leadership, almost without exception, cooperated in one way or another, for one reason or another, with the Nazis. The whole truth was that if the Jewish people had been unorganized and leaderless, there would have been chaos and plenty of misery but the total number of victims would hardly have been between four and a half and six million. (According to Freudiger's calculations about half of them could have saved themselves if they had not followed the instructions of the Jewish councils..." (p. 125).

Arendt (p. 42, 118, etc.) elaborates on the actions of a Jew, Rudolf Kastner (Kasztner). He made a deal with Eichmann in which 1,684 Jews were allowed to go to Palestine in exchange for Kastner's silence before and during which 476,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz.

Jan Tomasz Gross, who has gotten a great deal of publicity for his books (NEIGHBORS and FEAR), has stated that the 2-3 million Poles who died in the hands of the Germans were largely the collateral victims of military action. Arendt knows better: "...Eichmann knew that right behind the front lines all Russian functionaries ("Communists"), all Polish members of the professional classes, and all native Jews were being killed in mass shootings." (p. 95). "At no point, however, either in the proceedings or the judgment, did the Jerusalem trial mention even the possibility that extermination of whole ethnic groups--the Jews, or the Poles, or the Gypsies--might be more than a crime against the Jewish or the Polish or the Gypsy people, that the international order, and mankind in its entirety, might have been grievously hurt and endangered." (pp. 275-276). Arendt realizes the alternative future: "The measures against Eastern Jews were not only the result of anti-Semitism, they were part and parcel of an all-embracing demographic policy, in the course of which, had the Germans won the war, the Poles would have suffered the same fate as the Jews--genocide. This is no mere conjecture: the Poles in Germany were already being forced to wear a distinguishing badge in which the "P" replaced the Jewish star, and this, which we have seen, was always the first measure to be taken by the police in instituting the process of destruction)." (pp. 217-218).

Arendt praises the Danes for saving Jews during WWII and then, without mentioning the incomparably more difficult conditions under which Polish rescuers of Jews labored, nevertheless gives the Poles their due. After listing some individual examples of Polish assistance to Jews, Arendt adds the following: "One witness claimed that the Polish underground had supplied many Jews with weapons and had saved thousands of Jewish children by placing them with Polish families. The risks were prohibitive; there was the story of an entire Polish family who had been executed in the most brutal manner because they had adopted a six-year-old Jewish girl." (p. 231).

"It was sheer thoughtlessness that predisposed him to become one of the greatest criminals of the period," political theorist Hannah Arendt observes of Adolf Eichmann, who was in charge of the logistics behind the mass deportations of Jews and other so-called asocials to ghettos and extermination camps during the 2nd World War. The face of evil, she suggests through her portrayal of the high-ranking SS bureaucrat at his trial in Jerusalem, is not necessarily that of a radically perverse pathological mastermind, but instead and more frightening still, can come in the form of a banal and unimpressive caricature of normalcy.

In his testimony, Eichmann characterizes himself as a blameless cog who was only following orders, and even goes on to cite instances where he tried to help certain Jews who were friends of his escape their inevitable fate. His tone is that of one regaling a run-of-the-mill human sympathy story of hard luck, and his telling is rife with contradiction, blanks in memory, and ridiculous cliché. According to Arendt, this "created considerable difficulty during the trial - less for Eichmann himself than for those who had come to prosecute him, to defend him, to judge him, and to report on him. For all this, it was essential that one take him seriously, and this was very hard to do, unless one sought the easiest way out of the dilemma between the unspeakable horror of the deeds and the undeniable ludicrousness of the man who perpetrated them, and declared him a clever, calculating liar - which he obviously was not."

Also relevant for its criticism of the shaky legal foundation upon which the trial was conducted (Eichmann was illegally abducted in Argentina, then was brought to Israel and prosecuted there using an outdated framework that was unable to properly address the problem of genocide as specifically carried out by the Nazis).

This book is very smart, very elegantly written. The questions it raises about ethics and preconceived notions of good and evil are universal and remain relevant to the times. If it were a person, I'd sleep with it on the first date.

In two words: Read This

I enjoyed reading this provocative heart warming book...The Exile of the Author is a result of what Israel did to hundereds of thousands of innocent Palestinians in 1948...The author is honest and criticizes the Palestinians and their leadership as much as he critices Israel and it's leadership.

Fawaz Turki describes his exile from Palestine, growing up in Beirut, his families unthinking chains to tradition, and his journey to establish peace within himself. Not only does this book educate all of us on the immigrant experience, it is a book that should be read by every Arab-American. It helps the reader to gain understanding of identity politics. This book urges an examination of Arab cultural traditions and makes the point that change with purpose serves for individual and collective enlightenment

I loved this book that I read it three times. It is timeless, enjoyable, and should be read by everyone. It tells the Palestinian story in the most detailed manner. It speaks to all of us and challenges us to shake off our stereotypes and hatred. I learned so much about myself reading this book. It will make you laugh and cry.

In the third iteration of his memoirs, Turki concentrates on two aspects of his life: changing from Arab into American and alienation from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In Turki's case, becoming an American is a funny, quite degenerate, and certainly ribald process. It makes for a moving transformation, especially when contrasted with his earlier dislike of the United States. As for the PLO, Turki denounces its "corruption and incompetence" as well as its "tired cant and lame banalities." But don't think he only has harsh words; in Turki's hands, even turning away from the PLO has a humorous edge (indeed, his game on the Arab League's pompous ambassador in Washington is sidesplitting). Turki also condemns what he sees as the terrible traditionalness of Palestinian society and calls for nothing less than a revolution: "the liberation of Palestinian society will only come about when the Palestinians themselves recognize their neobackwardness and begin an Intifada against it." It wasn't many years ago that every Palestinian proclaimed himself a PLO supporter. Hamas and Islamic Jihad first broke the monopoly on the fundamentalist side. Now more liberal elements are ready to tell the world just how awful the organization is, providing details detractors could hitherto only have imagined. In contrast to grudging Americans like Edward Said, Turki eagerly embraces the United States and rejects PLO brutalities; this is a major development. Indeed, his candor and thoughtfulness marks a significant breakthrough.

Middle East Quarterly, December 1994

Many other books about modern Israel's pre-state history focus largely on diplomatic relations, or lack thereof, this volume centers on individuals and the experiences that shaped their actions. Here, readers will learn about the appalling violence, and lack of British response, that drove Jewish residents of Jerusalem, and other cities, towns and villages to finally take up arms to defend themselves against Arab aggression and British indifference that bordered on hatred.

The early Jewish defenders formed and joined the Irgun and Stern Gang, which included both heroes and criminals.

In the late 20th century it became PC to term these groups as terrorists, but in the context of massacres of Jews perpetrated by Arabs in 1920 and 21; again in 1929, and in 1936 through 1939, such labels are not quite fair. It was not as if the Jewish warriors actually started the fighting. In fact, they were merely trying to buy land, build schools, farms and communities and rebuild the Jewish communities in Israel that had been limited and oppressed for centuries by conquerors from the Babylonians, Greeks and Romans and finally, centuries of Muslim conquerors--the Umayyads, Abbasids, and Saracens to the Ottomans defeated in 1918.

By 1920, the Jewish people had represented a majority in Jerusalem for at least 80 years. But in the rest of Israel, Arabs had over centuries developed the habit of frequently attacking Jews, whom they'd freely oppressed, taxed and murdered, according to the dictates of their muftis and their faith. Plunder from non-Muslims, after all, belong to Allah.

There was nothing divine, though, in the treatment Arabs meted out to Jewish inhabitants, and nothing regal about the resultant British indifference. It's inhuman to abuse, torment, attack or kill others simply because one has been taught to do so, and can. And how much more inhuman to be able to stop the abuse, as were the British but to stand by and do nothing, as the British also did. Multiply that inhumanity exponentially in 1936, with the British White Paper "prohibited" Jewish immigration to the Jewish homeland, in direct contravention of the 1918 international mandate of the League of Nations. The British were therefore responsible for the murders of millions of European Jews who could have otherwise been saved by moving to Israel.

By contrast, the Jewish rogues and heroes described here had a overarching purpose of saving their people. Without doubt, some murdered innocent civilians in the process. But that was not their primary intent--and many paid with their lives for these crimes.

But over time, the Jewish forces developed a cognitive strategy, focusing on military and strategic targets that could, and if not destroyed would, harm the Jewish population. Their object was not to destroy life, but to save it. And while some innocent people were assuredly killed in that process, for the most part, the Jewish rogues and heroes dedicated themselves to self-defense, not destruction for its own sake.

A fascinating take on early 20th century events in Israel.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

The only problem with this transaction is that I check-off the "no charge delivery option" (as I always do) but I was still charged for the delivery! Something did not work correctly at your end of this relationship. Other than that, the two books are what I wanted and they are what I received.

Knowledgeably written by Zev Golan (a Nazi hunter who has worked with the Israeli police to capture infamous war criminals), Free Jerusalem: Heroes, Heroines And Rogues Who Created The State Of Israel is an historically accurate and quite dramatic history of the Zionist revolution and the events of history that led to the creation of the State of Israel, as well as that fledgling nation's imperiled beginnings. An enthusiastic, deftly written, and "reader involving" accounting of the heroic traits and foibles of the men and women who helped create the state Israel, Free Jerusalem is an enthusiastically recommended addition to Judaic Studies, International Studies, and Israeli History Studies reference collections and reading lists.

Much has been written about the history of Israel. But this book certainly fills in some of the blanks: namely early Jewish resistance to Arab aggression and British occupation.

Special emphasis is placed on the Irgun and the Stern Gang. And that raises the issue of whether the members of these groups were criminals or heroes.

In many cases, they were both.

There were Arab pogroms against Jewish communities in 1920-21, 1929, and 1936-39. One can understand why Arabs might have wanted to attack Jews. After all, the Arabs outnumbered the Jews, the British often did not interfere with Arab attacks on Jews, and many Arabs felt that as a majority, they had a Divine Right to oppress Jews. Besides, it was fun, and relatively risk-free.

Until, of course, the Jews began to fight back.

What is my feeling about the morality of all this? Well, for those Arabs who managed to kill a few Jews and the British who happily allowed themselves to be persuaded to fight against Jewish immigration, I have nothing but contempt. They killed hundreds of thousands or more innocent people who otherwise would have been allowed to move to what is now Israel.

On the other hand, the Jews who fought back often broke the law, and once we approve of such crimes in one case, we've established a precedent. I think people will indeed fight back even if doing so is a crime; I just think they have to be prepared to face the consequences. And some of these Israeli heroes paid very dearly for their deeds.

Given that the Arabs wanted to establish their right to oppress all Jews, they had few qualms about attacking "soft" targets. The stabbing to death of a couple of totally innocent and unarmed nurses is a good example. But the Jews who fought back had a problem. If they attacked soft targets, they would kill a few innocent people, but they would not accomplish much. If they failed to attack and kill anyone, the Arabs would simply slaughter them all. We see how a few Jews initially attacked people randomly in revenge for Arab attacks, but then quickly progressed to fighting against genuinely wicked and dangerous opponents.

I recommend this book.

Before this book I knew a little about Betar, the Irgun, etc. But I didn't know that blowing the shofar at the Western Wall on Yom Kippur was illegal and that every year the British put someone in jail for it. I didn't know about people like Moshe Seigal, who went on to become a rabbi. These are the heroes that "don't appear on stamps", many of whom are still around. For those who are alreday familiar with some Jabotinsky material, this book is focused on the 1920s and 1930s in Jerusalem as opposed to the more well known Begin period of the 1940's. Free Jerusalem definaetly fills in some blanks. The Israeli Army of today spawned from such humble beginnings. In today's Arab Israeli conflict the struggle for Jewish civil rights against the British empire is often forgotten, sometimes on purpose. That's what makes this book, and it's heroes so important. Written in English by a museum director from Israel, the book is fairly thin, easy to read, flows smoothly and can be understood by thsoe with or without a historical background. The old rare photos are great.

I've had an opportunity to read an excerpt (Chapter 15) and I am looking forward to reading the whole book. I've already pre-ordered two and thinking of ordering more to give as gifts. Captain Navarro is a newcomer to the writing world with a maturity beyond his years. His writing "voice" is a unique one - a mixture of a dry sense of humor and colorful, first-hand accounts of his experiences. While in the Islamic world, the phrase 'God willing' invokes a particular meaning, clearly, in the Christian mindset, God has a purpose and a plan for Captain Navarro. God, of course, was able to bring him back safely and turn the Captain's horrific experiences into something good. May God continue to bless him and enlarge his territory in his new endeavors.

After hearing Capt. Navarro discuss his book at length, I feel the previous reviewers have missed the author's main thrust. Navarro is emphatic that on his first tour in Iraq the situation was dismal to beyond hope, partly because of the Iraqi soldiers' fatalistic attitude (i.e., "if God wills it") and their seeming refusal to take any responsibility for their own well being. However, he says that by the time he returned for a second tour, things had turned around more than he ever would have expected and that this improvement was largely a result of a change in U.S. policy. Where the U.S previously had been installing their own hand-picked leaders in Iraqi villages, they instead began working with the village chieftans, who already occupied positions of authority. This strategy produced much better results, and Navarro ended the book appearing optimistic about the future of the U.S. in Iraq. However, he was adamant that the U.S. must not leave Iraq, because to do so would create a power vacuum in the area that Iran would quickly exploit.

The idea was that we would send over some of our best and brightest military personnel to serve as advisors to train the New Iraqui Army. Now the politicians and generals in Washington who cooked up this operation would have us believe that in the not too distant future the New Iraqui Army would assume increasing responsibility for the security of their homeland. Capt. Eric Navarro, USMCR knows better. After spending eight long months in Iraq as one of those advisors he felt compelled to write a book about his experiences there. "God Willing: My Wild Ride with the New Iraqui Army" chronicles Navarro's sometimes harrowing and almost always frustrating time there. "God Willing" calls into question the wisdom of our mission in Iraq and documents the challenges our military personnel face each and every day to try to make it all work. As Capt. Navarro points out time and time again it is almost always a case of "two steps forward and one step back".
In order to highlight the kinds of obstacles that Capt. Navarro and his compadres in the Advisor Support Team (a/k/a The Drifters) were forced to deal with during their tour of duty in Iraq I will quote liberally from a paragraph on page 212 of "God Willing" which seemed to neatly sum it all up: "Too many pieces were being thrown into the puzzle and none of them fit neatly together, no matter how much the President or the generals wanted them to. American contractors, Iraqui civilians, Iraqui solders--all were mixed together with marines, soldiers and sailors from a multitude of different units. No one person was in charge of it all. We were living with a complete breakdown of command and control in a combat environment." Get the picture? And when you discover that soldiers in the New Iraqui Army are allowed to take one weeks vacation each month to spend time with their families you will begin to empathize with the intense frustration of Capt. Navarro and the others who have had to put their own lives on hold and travel half way around the world in order to try to stabilize the situation in Iraq. In addition, Navarro points to a number of other serious logistical problems that impede real progress in Iraq.
As someone who has never served in the military and therefore is not familiar with military nomenclature I found that some of the terminology in "God Willing" was foreign to me. For some readers this may prove to be a bit of an obstacle to fully comprehending the issues being discussed here. Those with military experience will probably glean more from "God Willing" than the rest of us. Having said that, it is extremely important that the rest of us get up to speed on these matters. The citizenry at large cannot question policies that they really do not understand. In "God Willing: My Wild Ride with the New Iraqui Army" Capt. Eric Navarro succeeds in arming his readers with badly needed information. "God Willing" has certainly changed the way I view events in Iraq. This is a timely and well-written book that deserves your attention. Highly recommended!

I just finished reading Capt. Navarro's novel about his first tour in Iraq. I couldn't put the book down. Eric's writing is clear, detailed and eloquent. The shame of it is that our military and political leaders never learned any lessons from my father's generations Iraq, "Vietnam" and our failures there. You can't grow a democracy and train a new army if the countries populace has no idea what freedom of choice is about. You need to read this book to have any understanding of what our soldiers are dealing with over there. We need more from Eric. We need our political leaders to listen to young people like Eric.

The "New" Iraqi Army - quite a concept as told from the fiercely intelligent and jaw dropping perspective of Marine Captain Eric Navarro. As you read Navarro's superbly drawn account of his mission - attempting to transform a rag-tag battalion of hapless and hopeless Iraqis into a cohesive fighting force - you can't help but wonder whether the NIA are really the "New" Marxists (as in Groucho, not Karl.)

Far from the Pentagon and superdelegates, Navarro lays down a brutally honest assessment of how questionable logistics and barriers of culture and language intrude on our neat and convenient notions of democratization and nation-building - where even the basic civics of defecation becomes a test of wills. It would be brilliant satire if not for the deadly serious circumstances. Told by a true patriot, God Willing is an important testament to the real work of Iraq.

Semper Fidelis and Insha Allah.

The book is very thorough in the information it provides. Pretty much self explanatory.

This book gives a good overview of what we know about the Ancient Egyptian culture. This was a book I had to purchase for a class on the subject and I found it quite interesting.

A wonderful book to replace the very outdated and patently racist "Life in Ancient Egypt" by Erman, David's coffee-table book about the worldview and culture of the ancient Egyptians is quite nice. Be aware of a tendency to read certain portions of Egyptian life as "coming from an outside source" (an oblique reference to the outdated "Dynastic Race Theory" that, sadly, still seems to be held to by some British archaeologists). Otherwise factual, useful, and filled with an excellent bibliography.

This book basically follows the same format for the "Handbook to life in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome" books of Adkins and Adkins. That's a good thing, since I enjoyed those books.

I have significant interest in Ancient Egypt but know very little about it. Most texts simply concentrate on the pyramids and other monumental architecture. This text gives you a much more balanced introduction and includes sections on history, religion, the military, geography, trade and economy, and daily life. It's organized very well. It has plenty of pictures, illustrations, chronologies, etc. There is a suggested bibliography at the end of each section to encourage research in greater depth.

Overall this is a very affordable and user friendly survey of Ancient Egypt that will service students as well as adults with no prior background to the subject.

HANDBOOK TO LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT is a very helpful reference and the revised edition gives the most up-to-date information. It really is more like an encyclopedia. It is not necessary to be read cover to cover as such, although the reader can do so. It is divided up into 12 chapters covering 12 different topics. Some of the information, if pertinent, overlaps in the chapters, but is put there for completeness. The chapters are: 1 - Egyptology, Archaeology and Scientific Mummy Studies in Egypt; 2 - Historical Background; 3-Geography of Ancient Egypt; 4 - Society and Government; 5 - Religion of the Living; 6-- Funerary Beliefs and Customs; 7 - Architecture and Building; 8-- Written Evidence; 9-- The Army and Navy; 10 -- Foreign Trade and Transport; 11 - Economy and Industry; and 12 -- Everyday Life. There are also a Chronological Table, a List of Museums with Egyptian Collections, a Bibliography and an Index included.
This is a helpful reference for anyone and is especially useful to the person just beginning to learn about Ancient Egypt.