Israel is Real

(Paperback)

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Description

A startlingly fresh, superbly written account of Israel's history - by one of the best young non-fiction writers in the US. There are many books about Israel, but none like this. From Rich Cohen, the author of the acclaimed Tough Jews, The Avengers, and Sweet and Low, comes a new approach to a story we thought we knew. Breaking through the heated polemics and intractable politics, Israel Is Real is a fresh voice, a tale of people and ideas, of the background of present-day Israel.Cohen relates Israel's story as that of a place long ago destroyed and transformed into an idea . . . and which, sixty years ago, was retransformed into a place, and therefore into something that can once again be destroyed. From the medieval false prophets, to the nineteenth-century Zionists, and on to present-day figures like Ariel Sharon, Cohen tells the stories of the people obsessed with this fine line between place and idea, creation and destruction. He reclaims from obscurity a multitude of figures marginalised by history, but whose lives are key to any real understanding of Israel.

Reviews

Accomplishes the miraculous. It made a subject that has vexed me since early childhood into a riveting story... by narrating the oft-told saga of the Jews in a fresh and engaging fashion. Provocative and entertaining Cohen brings tough love to Judaism and modern Israel -- Tony Horowitz * The New York Times Book Review *
A smart, energetic overview of the history of Israel and its relation to the Jewish people, from biblical times to the present. Cohen's narrative is propelled by muscular prose and an irreverent wit at times reminiscent of Jon Stewart.... Absorbing, clear-eyed history * Boston Globe *
A sweeping and impressionistic saga... [which] also happens to be a page-turning delight to read. What other book about Zionist history has ever included references to Howl, Goodfellas, Joseph Mitchell, and Willie Dixon I commend and admire this book -- Samuel. G. Freedman * Chicago Tribune *

Author Bio

Rich Cohen is the author of Tough Jews, The Avengers, Lake Effect and Sweet and Low. He is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone and lives in New York City.