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Israel Is Real
by
Rich Cohen
“It’s a great irony that Israel was more secure as an idea than it’s ever been as a nation with an army.”
In AD 70, when the Second Temple was destroyed, a handful of visionaries saved Judaism by reinventing it—by taking what had been a national religion, identified with a particular place, and turning it into an idea. Jews no longer needed Jerusalem to be Jews. Whenever a...more
In AD 70, when the Second Temple was destroyed, a handful of visionaries saved Judaism by reinventing it—by taking what had been a national religion, identified with a particular place, and turning it into an idea. Jews no longer needed Jerusalem to be Jews. Whenever a...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
July 21st 2009
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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While there are many more complete and precise books on the history of Israel, I doubt any of them is so much fun to read. I would imagine the breezy (and sometimes glib) prose and the metaphors relating people and places to movie characters and sets grates on the purists, but for those who want to know how things got the way they are, it gives a good outline. The general reader should come away understanding of main events in the history of Israel.
The book is written from a Jewish perspective b...more
The book is written from a Jewish perspective b...more
I learned some things in this book that I absolutely did not know, fascinating things, such as the Khazars, a lost colony of warrior Jews in the Middle Ages isolated over in Russia, and sad things, such as Ariel Sharon's son accidentally shooting himself. And I was impressed by Cohen's erudition, and by the way in which he drew from so much of Israel's past to meditate on Israel, Judaism, Zionism. So why only two stars? Because it took me a while to figure out what the hell was bothering me abou...more
Jul 28, 2011
Jessica
added it
Dense but thoroughly enjoyable! The irony is in the title: Israel is Real. This is a whole history of Israel as told through the characters that made it, each one painted in four or five pages like a legend, hero, mental patient, cowboy, you name it - thus, Israel being more than real. Cohen does an excellent job of narrating like a man telling stories around a campfire (and you wonder where he gets some of the information). It took me a while to get through, but my knowledge base of eleventh ce...more
I’m going to be honest with you: I don’t think I really understand Israel, even after reading this book. I did, however, walk away from this thinking about the insanity that is history, religion, and politics. There is no doubt about it: the Hebrews/Jews have a pretty damn depressing history.
What I liked about this book is that it wasn’t a propaganda filled Zionist love-fest. What it accomplishes, is providing a rich story around the key figures and events that brought Israel to where it is now....more
What I liked about this book is that it wasn’t a propaganda filled Zionist love-fest. What it accomplishes, is providing a rich story around the key figures and events that brought Israel to where it is now....more
I've spent a lot of time reading about the Middle East. It has haunted me for years. This is, by far, the best book I've read explaining the history and background of the case made by the nation of Israel. It is simple and succinct. It never reads like a textbook. As an ancient history major and as a student of the Old Testament (as far as it is translated correctly, of course), I found Cohen offering new light on oft-discussed ancient incidences. I learned a lot from his descriptions of history...more
Based on a review I'd read, I expected this to be a solid history book, even-handed yet with a highly individual voice. I did find it interesting at first, but after close to 100 pages Cohen still seemed to be focussing on individuals-- not so much on Israel as a whole. Contrary to the title, he continually presented his thesis that Israel is NOT real, but a set of shared illusions. Deeply felt-- but illusory.
As others have noted, the author's style is occasionally self-indulgent, with asides an...more
As others have noted, the author's style is occasionally self-indulgent, with asides an...more
This is the most underrated book of 2010.
Every review I've read has gone sniffing after the same red herring: so what does Cohen think about Israel — about the settlements, about Zionism, about this or that conflict or accord? It doesn't matter. This is a much, much bigger book than all of that. Cohen has written nothing less than a complete account of Judaism, starting with Josephus and working on through the Biblical stories and the destruction of the Temples and the heights of Jewish Intellec...more
Every review I've read has gone sniffing after the same red herring: so what does Cohen think about Israel — about the settlements, about Zionism, about this or that conflict or accord? It doesn't matter. This is a much, much bigger book than all of that. Cohen has written nothing less than a complete account of Judaism, starting with Josephus and working on through the Biblical stories and the destruction of the Temples and the heights of Jewish Intellec...more
I guess you could call this a history book, since it is a loosely chronological account full of actual history, but it doesn't quite fit that mold. It's hard for me to describe, but I will say it raised a lot of interesting questions and taught me a lot about Jewish history. Cohen manages to take a very unwieldy topic and do about as good a job as one can do condensing it into so few pages. If you're trying to make some sense of Israel, this is a good place to start.
I don’t necessarily agree with all of Cohen’s ideas and theses, but the book is fantastic. Its a great read, and Cohen does an incredible job tying a plethora of history into a relevant and fascinating work. It could have been very boring, but Cohen's adlibs, dry humor, and thought provoking comments throughout the book kept me highly engaged in my reading. I had a tough time putting the book down. An 8.5 on a scale of 10.
I loved this book! Rich Cohen is an excellent author, and in fact, the only reason why I searched this book out was because he wrote it. I loved his two previous books, The Avengers and Tough Jews. His style is very funny and smart. I laughed out loud on a few occasions. The book is an interesting history of Israel and its place in Judaism. But I would not recommend this book if you are very right-wing towards Israel because he does have his critiques.
Really enjoyed this. It finally answered so many questions I've had about the history of Israel, Judaism, Zionism, etc. And it did so in a relatively light, always readable, very smart, occasionally humorous way.
Mar 17, 2013
Kathy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Kathy by:
Nancy Pearl
Shelves:
far-away-places
This book reads like a chat with the author, albeit a really long involved chat. It begins with the destruction of the second temple and takes us through the history of Israel up to the present. Cohen has a way of putting archaic concepts into terms that I can understand. I particularly appreciated when he compared medieval stories of the Khazars (a colony of warrior Jews) to his boyhood book of Great Jewish Sports Heros.
Israel has a long and often bitter past, but Cohen is a gentle guide on an...more
Israel has a long and often bitter past, but Cohen is a gentle guide on an...more
A really interesting book that tells the history of Israel, how Judaism morphed after the destruction of the second temple and how it changed again after the creation of Israel.
Very interesting history of the conflict. Americans should read this.
if you love Jerusalem as much as i do, this is a must read book
Interesting and informative, but often seems like random jottings, and loose accuracy (e.g., confusing King Abdullah with his father the Sharif.)
Accessible read on the history of Jewish people and the making of the state of Israel. He seems apologetic. It felt like "Don't blame us coz' we've got this preoccupation with past wrongs". But we need to hear both sides of the argument.
I like the author's style--he's like a history teacher you wish you had. The modern history left me breathless a few times--the six day war chapter especially. It's hard to believe sometimes that all this history really happened in this tiny country. Here's a quote that sums up the book: "It's the great misfortune of Jerusalem to be both wholly imaginary and wholly real."
Good concept - I liked the history in the book, but I just couldn't make it through the long meandering philosophical parts.
Incredible history of Israel. Loved it!
May 11, 2013
Josh
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Hana Lee
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RICH COHEN is the author of Sweet and Low (FSG, 2006), Tough Jews, The Avengers, The Record Men, and the memoir Lake Effect. His work has appeared in many major publications, and he is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. He lives with his family in Connecticut.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Coh...
More about Rich Cohen...
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Coh...
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Sep 14, 2009 06:22pm