
My Promised Land
The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel
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Narrated by:
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Paul Boehmer
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By:
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Ari Shavit
About this listen
New York Times best seller
Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review and The Economist
Winner of the Natan Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
An authoritative and deeply personal narrative history of the State of Israel, by one of the most influential journalists writing about the Middle East today.
Not since Thomas L. Friedman's groundbreaking From Beirut to Jerusalem has a book captured the essence and the beating heart of the Middle East as keenly and dynamically as My Promised Land. Facing unprecedented internal and external pressures, Israel today is at a moment of existential crisis. Ari Shavit draws on interviews, historical documents, private diaries, and letters, as well as his own family's story, illuminating the pivotal moments of the Zionist century to tell a riveting narrative that is larger than the sum of its parts: both personal and national, both deeply human and of profound historical dimension.
We meet Shavit’s great-grandfather, a British Zionist who, in 1897, visited the Holy Land on a Thomas Cook tour and understood that it was the way of the future for his people; the idealist young farmer who bought land from his Arab neighbor in the 1920s to grow the Jaffa oranges that would create Palestine’s booming economy; the visionary youth group leader who, in the 1940s, transformed Masada from the neglected ruins of an extremist sect into a powerful symbol for Zionism; the Palestinian who as a young man in 1948 was driven with his family from his home during the expulsion from Lydda; the immigrant orphans of Europe’s Holocaust, who took on menial work and focused on raising their children to become the leaders of the new state; the pragmatic engineer who was instrumental in developing Israel’s nuclear program in the 1960s, in the only interview he ever gave; the zealous religious Zionists who started the settler movement in the 1970s; the dot-com entrepreneurs and young men and women behind Tel-Aviv’s booming club scene; and today’s architects of Israel’s foreign policy with Iran, whose nuclear threat looms ominously over the tiny country.
As it examines the complexities and contradictions of the Israeli condition, My Promised Land asks difficult but important questions: Why did Israel come to be? How did it come to be? Can Israel survive? Culminating with an analysis of the issues and threats that Israel is currently facing, My Promised Land uses the defining events of the past to shed new light on the present. The result is a landmark portrait of a small, vibrant country living on the edge, whose identity and presence play a crucial role in today’s global political landscape.
Praise for My Promised Land
“This book will sweep you up in its narrative force and not let go of you until it is done. [Shavit’s] accomplishment is so unlikely, so total...that it makes you believe anything is possible, even, God help us, peace in the Middle East.” (Simon Schama, Financial Times)
“[A] must-read book.” (Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times)
“Important and powerful...the least tendentious book about Israel I have ever read.” (Leon Wieseltier, The New York Times Book Review)
“Spellbinding...Shavit’s prophetic voice carries lessons that all sides need to hear.” (The Economist)
“One of the most nuanced and challenging books written on Israel in years.” (The Wall Street Journal)
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Critic reviews
“Shavit's provocative book avoids the clichés typical of some works about the Middle East, and the audio version benefits from Paul Boehmer's superb presentation.” (AudioFile Magazine)
“The most extraordinary book that I’ve read on [Israel] since Amos Elon’s book called The Israelis, and that was published in the late sixties.” (David Remnick)
“Shavit is a master storyteller. [His] retelling of history jars us out of our familiar retrospections, reminds us (and we do need reminders) that there are historical reasons why Israel is a country on the edge.... Required reading for both the left and the right.” (The Jewish Week)
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- The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation
- By: Yossi Klein Halevi
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 23 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In Like Dreamers, acclaimed journalist Yossi Klein Halevi interweaves the stories of a group of 1967 paratroopers who reunited Jerusalem, tracing the history of Israel and the divergent ideologies shaping it from the Six-Day War to the present. Following the lives of seven young members from the 55th Paratroopers Reserve Brigade, the unit responsible for restoring Jewish sovereignty to Jerusalem, Halevi reveals how this band of brothers played pivotal roles in shaping Israel's destiny long after their historic victory.
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A Clearer Understanding of the Israel
- By deborah on 06-07-14
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The War of Return
- How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace
- By: Einat Wilf, Adi Schwartz
- Narrated by: Einat Wilf
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1948, seven hundred thousand Palestinians were forced out of their homes by the first Arab-Israeli War. More than seventy years later, most of their houses are long gone, but millions of their descendants are still registered as refugees, with many living in refugee camps. This group—unlike countless others that were displaced in the aftermath of World War II and other conflicts—has remained unsettled, demanding to settle in the state of Israel. Their belief in a "right of return" is one of the largest obstacles to successful diplomacy and lasting peace in the region.
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The detailed outline of history of the Israel and Palestinian conflict and possibly of a solution.
- By Lew on 03-31-25
By: Einat Wilf, and others
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The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
- A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917--2017
- By: Rashid Khalidi
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi, Rashid Khalidi - introduction
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials and the reports of generations of family members - mayors, judges, scholars, diplomats, and journalists - The Hundred Years' War on Palestine upends accepted interpretations of the conflict, which tend, at best, to describe a tragic clash between two peoples with claims to the same territory. Instead, Khalidi traces a hundred years of colonial war on the Palestinians, waged first by the Zionist movement and then Israel, but backed by Britain and the United States, the great powers of the age.
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Thoroughly Researched and Evidence-Based, but...
- By K on 05-24-21
By: Rashid Khalidi
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The Case for Israel
- By: Alan M. Dershowitz
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Widely respected as a civil libertarian, legal educator, and defense attorney extraordinaire, Alan M. Dershowitz has also been a passionate though not uncritical supporter of Israel. In this audiobook, he presents an ardent defense of Israel's rights, supported by indisputable evidence. Dershowitz takes a close look at what Israel's accusers and detractors are saying about this war-torn country. He accuses those who attack Israel of international bigotry and backs up his argument with hard facts.
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Excellent
- By Marcus James on 06-14-18
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From Beirut to Jerusalem
- By: Thomas L. Friedman
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 25 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the most thought-provoking books ever written about the Middle East, From Beirut to Jerusalem remains vital to our understanding of this complex and volatile region of the world. Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman drew upon his 10 years of experience reporting from Lebanon and Israel to write this now-classic work of journalism.
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Games
- By Gina Samci on 07-10-24
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Eighteen Days in October
- The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East
- By: Uri Kaufman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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October 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a conflict that shaped the modern Middle East. The War was a trauma for Israel, a dangerous superpower showdown, and, following the oil embargo, a pivotal reordering of the global economic order. The Jewish State came shockingly close to defeat. After the war, Prime Minister Golda Meir resigned in disgrace, and a 9/11-style commission investigated the "debacle." But, argues Uri Kaufman, from the perspective of a half century, the War can be seen as a pivotal victory for Israel.
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gripping history
- By Alex Troy on 11-12-23
By: Uri Kaufman
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The Gates of Gaza
- A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel's Borderlands
- By: Amir Tibon
- Narrated by: Amir Tibon
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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On the morning of Saturday, October 7, Amir Tibon and his wife were awakened by mortar rounds exploding near their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, a progressive Israeli settlement along the Gaza border. Soon, they were holding their two young daughters in the family’s reinforced safe room, urging their children not to cry while they listened to the gunfire from Hamas attackers outside their windows. With his cell phone battery running low, Amir texted his father: “They’re here.”
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I could not stop listening
- By Nancy on 10-15-24
By: Amir Tibon
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Start-Up Nation
- The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle
- By: Dan Senor, Saul Singer
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel - a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources - produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK?
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Interesting and worth the time
- By Nili on 12-10-09
By: Dan Senor, and others
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Son of Hamas
- A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices
- By: Mosab Hassan Yousef, Ron Brackin - contributor
- Narrated by: Mosab Hassan Yousef
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Since he was a small boy, Mosab Hassan Yousef has had an inside view of the deadly terrorist group Hamas. The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader, young Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status...and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader.
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Very insightful look at the underbelly of Hamas.
- By C,L, Richey on 05-05-14
By: Mosab Hassan Yousef, and others
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The Genius of Israel
- The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World
- By: Dan Senor, Saul Singer
- Narrated by: Dan Senor
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Why do Israelis have among the world’s highest life expectancies and lowest rates of “deaths of despair” from suicide and substance abuse? Why is Israel’s population young and growing while all other wealthy democracies are aging and shrinking? How can it be that Israel, according to a United Nations ranking, is the fourth happiest nation in the world? Why do Israelis tend to look to the future with hope, optimism, and purpose while the rest of the West struggles with an epidemic of loneliness, teen depression, and social decline?
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The richness of the Israeli culture and the brilliance of the IDF.
- By Jandee Camozzi on 12-06-23
By: Dan Senor, and others
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Ten Myths About Israel
- By: Ilan Pappe
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The outspoken and radical Israeli historian Ilan Pappe examines the most contested ideas concerning the origins and identity of the contemporary state of Israel.
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wonderfully educational
- By Stephen Michael Joyner on 12-04-24
By: Ilan Pappe
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O Jerusalem
- Day by Day and Minute by Minute the Historic Struggle for Jerusalem and the Birth of Israel
- By: Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre
- Narrated by: Theodore Bikel
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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O Jerusalem! is the epic drama of 1948, when Arabs and Jews fought for control of the city of Jerusalem. This story traverses centuries and continents, covering the time between WWII and the creation of the independent state of Israel. Based on five years of intensive research and thousands of interviews, this is a story of courage, terrorism, heroism, and ultimately, war.
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Distorted
- By Scot on 05-08-04
By: Larry Collins, and others
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The Invention of the Jewish People
- By: Shlomo Sand, Yael Lotan - translator
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 15 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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A historical tour de force that demolishes the myths and taboos that have surrounded Jewish and Israeli history, The Invention of the Jewish People offers a new account of both that demands to be reckoned with. Was there really a forced exile in the first century, at the hands of the Romans? Should we regard the Jewish people, throughout two millennia, as both a distinct ethnic group and a putative nation—returned at last to its Biblical homeland? In this iconoclastic work of history, Shlomo Sand provides the intellectual foundations for a new vision of Israel's future.
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An interesting read!
- By Jim Minter on 06-20-23
By: Shlomo Sand, and others
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To Be a Jew Today
- A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: Noah Feldman
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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What does it mean to be a Jew? At a time of worldwide crisis, venerable answers to this question have become unsettled. In To Be a Jew Today, the legal scholar and columnist Noah Feldman draws on a lifelong engagement with his religion to offer a wide-ranging interpretation of Judaism in its current varieties. How do Jews today understand their relationship to God, to Israel, and to each other—and live their lives accordingly?
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Struggling with Judaism
- By Shmuel M on 05-22-24
By: Noah Feldman
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How to Fight Anti-Semitism
- By: Bari Weiss
- Narrated by: Bari Weiss
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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On October 27, 2018, 11 Jews were gunned down as they prayed at their synagogue in Pittsburgh. It was the deadliest attack on Jews in American history. For most Americans, the massacre at Tree of Life, the synagogue where Bari Weiss became a bat mitzvah, came as a total shock. But anti-Semitism is the oldest hatred, commonplace across the Middle East and on the rise for years in Europe. So that terrible morning in Pittsburgh raised a question Americans can no longer avoid: Could it happen here? This audiobook is Weiss' answer.
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Shallow and confused
- By Wayne on 09-17-19
By: Bari Weiss
What listeners say about My Promised Land
Highly rated for:
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- Lees
- 02-08-14
Brilliantly Captured Content - No Words Are Wasted
What did you love best about My Promised Land?
This book shares comprehensive research, opinion and facts, weaving together perspectives from left wing views, right wing views and everything in between. Ari leaves out the sugar coating. It provides raw truths on past, present and the unknown. The book does not dance around white elephants on conflict, Israelis, Iranian global nuclear threat, Palestinians, politics, economy and international opinions. After each chapter, I was armed with information I was not ready to deal with. Brilliantly captured content.
What was one of the most memorable moments of My Promised Land?
Access to the people he interviews for the book. He writes to uncover facts, truths and is not afraid to ask uncomfortable questions and he actually reports his findings. In every chapter I am shocked on what he shares. Ari's journalist gift, peacenik beginnings, birthplace and his family background, puts him in a unique position to convey such powerful inside stories to the reader. His questioning comes from a deep place of understanding, frustration, fear and triumph.
What about Paul Boehmer’s performance did you like?
Just loved his voice. The perfect cast. Sample audio does not do it justice. Paul begins the chapters speaking fast and as the depth of the stories progress, there is sarcasm, despair and delight in his voice.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Yes, I was almost in tears listening to the harsh beginnings, suffering and despair. Towards the end, my heart fell into my stomach. The ending leaves you in a pensive thought, I wanted at least one more chapter.
Any additional comments?
He explains brilliantly how and why the middle east conflict and life is complex and where the hope for peace stands. Forget about Self Help books - listen to this and you will learn about decades of hope, anguish, luck, faith and courage from both Israelis and Palestinians.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Edgar
- 03-25-16
Comprehensive and touching
The book covers a wide span of the country's history, leveraging personal stories to make history more real.
It nicely covers several aspects of history providing different points of view, enabling the reader to develop an own opinion.
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- Mindy
- 03-20-14
Terrific
What does Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Mr. Boehmer read the book as if he wrote it. He spoke with a level of passion and urgency this book truly deserves.
Any additional comments?
What a terrific book. Ari Shavit doesn't just tell a factual story about Israel's history and the Arab-Israeli crisis, he tells us an emotional story through his and his family's eyes, the eyes of Arabs, holocaust survivors, and young Jewish Israelis, the latter of which may be oblivious to the true tenuousness of their modern and safe lifestyle. I went into this book with animosity toward Israel's treatment of neighboring Palestinians, and though my disdain remains, I did also leave with a great deal more compassion, understanding and concern for Israel's Jews.
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- Sharon
- 01-08-15
A Must Read For Anyone Fascinated by the Miracle o
If you could sum up My Promised Land in three words, what would they be?
miracle
challenging
dynamic
Who was your favorite character and why?
Ari Shavit, the author, who pulls together the story of modern Israel from a multidimensional perspective and leaves the reader with a sense of excitement, fascination and confidence.
What does Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Paul Boehmer reads the story with enthusiasm, sincerity and just the right intonations.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Yes, when author Shavit brings all the varied currents he has elucidated, together, revealing the incredible miracle of modern day Israel and Israelis, he brought tears of admiration and incredible pride, to my eyes.
Any additional comments?
I wish that everyone would read this wonderful book, and especially for anyone who is Jewish , Ari Shavit writes with such depth and intelligence, making sense of a highly complex and challenging situation, and he does so in an interesting and easily readable way. At times his writing is sheer poetry. If you want to gain a real insight into the Israeli psyche, you can do no better than to read Ari Shavit's book: Israel, The Promise.
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- Judy Boros
- 05-29-24
Compelling and deeply real
With his gorgeous prose, Shavit captures the tragic, tumultuous, vibrant story of a nation on the edge, the story of a people intent on clutching life from death. It’s a story whose end we do not yet know, especially now as Israel faces existential decisions on what price it will pay for nationhood. Either Israel ends the occupation or the occupation will end Israel, Shavit writes. Will the Jewish state live by its moral compass or allow nationalism, and militarism to destroy its soul as it wages a war on the Palestinian people. It is a question Shavit is not afraid to ask. Neither should any Israeli or Jew in the diaspora.
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- James
- 10-13-14
Too important to be ruined by its narration!
Is there anything you would change about this book?
I've withheld comment until I had a chance to listen to some samples of Paul Boehmer's narration of other works. In other contexts, he has a terrific voice and style. But this was a mistake - the faux-Israeli accent makes it almost unbearable to listen to, and undermines the content of this important book. As I was listening in my car, I almost had to pull over because I was laughing so hard at the pronunciation of "1936" - the "theerrty" so far back in the throat I thought he would choke. Over and over again. This during the "Arab Uprisings" - not the intended effect, I'm sure.
The irony is that the author himself speaks far better English than the narrator - a richly-intoned, articulate, British-inflected voice.
What did you like best about this story?
If all Israelis - and Palestinians - had a sensibility akin to Shavit, the two nations would surely find a way to coexist peacefully. He holds the remarkable achievement of the Jews in Palestine in perfect tension with its tragic impact on the Palestinian people. Essential reading on the history of this land.
How could the performance have been better?
See above. Really unfortunate. In that this is clearly a reaction many have had, the publisher should strongly consider re-doing the recording.
Do you think My Promised Land needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
No, just a new recording - same narrator, sans accent. Please consider it - this book is too important to be ruined by its narration.
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16 people found this helpful
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- Jeff Lacy
- 01-28-21
Personal and illuminating
Ari Shavit provides, with great clarity, a very personal assessment of the history, people and present state of Israel—drawn from primary research, and many interviews of the original players of the events that impacted and impacting Israel politically, socially, militarily, economically. In addition to being a worthwhile read, the Audible performance by Paul Boehmer is superior.
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 06-16-14
ISRAEL
“My Promised Land” is a masterpiece of modern history, a story of Israel told by an Israeli.
Ari Shavit reveals intertwined truths about Israel and its place in the world. He explores a one-state and two-state solution for peace in the Middle East. Shavit acknowledges Israeli’ ambivalence about Jewish settlement, occupation, and Palestinian ghettoization; Shavit explains how Jewish experience in WWII pervades Israeli’ consciousness. It binds the country together and tears it apart. The binding together comes from the holocaust’s common ancestral experience. The tearing apart comes from Jewish empathy for uprooting and isolating indigenous Palestinians.
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- Benjamin
- 08-20-14
A must read to understand Israel and its politics.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
It is a great class in history and politics of a nation very hard to explain.
Still some things are left unexplained but this clears a lot of misunderstandings and assumptions.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Not a NOVEL
What does Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
A good read
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
NOT A NOVEL
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- Rob C
- 03-15-15
Israel explained
This book manages to articulate many of the ideas I have towards Israel, its founding, Zionism, Israeli history and society. A superb analysis of the past, present and future of the Jewish people. The book provides a very useful tool kit to understand the region and the eternal conflict of the land. Entertaining, thoughtful, complete.
This is the first audio book I've ever listened to and I feel I found a new of learning
Great experience
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