Israel; A Simple Guide To The Most Misunderstood Country On Earth
Title of the book: Israel; A simple guide to the most misunderstood country on earth Author: Noa Tishby
Publisher: Free Press
Publishing Date: 2021
ISBN: 9781982144944
Summary:
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A “fascinating and very moving” (Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenwriter of The West Wing and The Social Network ) chronological timeline spanning from Biblical times to today that explores one of the most interesting countries in the world—Israel.
Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts?
Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. But “this is not your Bubbie’s history book” (Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher ). Instead, offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her “passion, humor, and deep intimacy” (Yossi Klein Halevi, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor ) to the subject, creating an accessible and dynamic portrait of a tiny country of outsized relevance. Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel’s creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.
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Personal Opinion:
To say that the last few weeks were overwhelming is definitely an understatement of epic proportions. Seeing the hypocrisy everywhere, seeing lack of support from those who claim to be for everyone, its overwhelming, thus I decided to read this nonfiction. For obvious reason I will not allow commenting on this review because as many have learned, it is not safe to be yourself if you are different in any shape or form. If you, gentle reader, are interested in exploring the feelings of religious minority that is being hated and reviled by the groups who claim to be for everyone, then pick up and read Dara Horn's phenomenal book, PEOPLE LOVE DEAD JEWS to truly understand. If not, then enjoy my review.
I read this in response to what is happening right now in Middle East, and more than anything the author has given tools and understanding of what is going on and why. As mentioned, this is a simple guide thus there is not much going in depth or complications. Instead she lays out the history and reasons as well as the arguments that people have heard. I really would love it if more people would read this book and perhaps begin to go through understanding of their own biases towards Jews and Muslim groups of people. The nonfiction also adds up to a narrative that I am familiar with it. The history part isn't overwhelming but just very general, and while I'm familiar with a lot of it, I still learned a lot, in particular the post-Crusade history of the region. The author does go into detail of how people live in Israel as well as where the misunderstandings emerge between groups.
5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
