Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Politics & government

MY PROMISED LAND

Ari Shavit

The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel

A groundbreaking, ambitious examination of Israel by one of the most influential columnists writing about the Middle East today, whom David Remnick called a “profound thinker".

With both unprecedented internal and external pressures, Israel today is at a moment of existential crisis. In MY PROMISED LAND, one of Israel's most influential columnists sets out to answer the question of how his country, once a bastion of idealism and democratic principles, has arrived at this unsettling moment.

Rather than rehashing the established narrative--one of wars, treaties, and noted political figures--Ari Shavit tells the stories of the normal citizens--the grassroots leaders, the farmers, the immigrants, the nightclub owners, the settlers, and the Arabs--who came to shape the moral fabric of the country. With each chapter focusing on an underappreciated moment in history or an untold story, MY PROMISED LAND paints a compelling and nuanced picture of a small country whose identity and presence has a crucial role not only in the Middle East, but in the Western world and in the identity and fate of all Jews. The book examines history through the stories of everyday figures who irrevocably changed the Zionist narrative, like the youth group leader who recognized the potential of Masada as a powerful symbol for Zionism, the young farmer who bought an orange grove from his Arab neighbor in the 1920s, or the religious Zionist who started a community in the no-man's-land the Northern West Bank, spurring on the entire settler movement.
It tells a riveting story that is both deeply human and of profound historical dimension, a book that will appeal to the readers of Thomas Friedman’s FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM, which captivated audiences over 20 years ago. At a time when the issue of a nuclear Iran is at the forefront of political debate, and when a newly elected American president will be called upon to discuss America’s stance toward Israel, this book will be extremely relevant. MY PROMISED LAND will take us to the present moment, providing a definitive account of Israel for the 21stCentury.
Ari Shavit is one of Israel’s most esteemed journalists. He is a political columnist at Israel's most influential newspaper, Haaretz, and is routinely quoted in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and recently appeared on 60 Minutes. Prominent journalists such as David Remnick, Thomas Friedman, Jeffrey Goldberg, and many others will support and promote the US publication of this important book.

Available products
Book Published 2013-11-01 by Spiegel & Grau
Book Published 2013-11-01 by Spiegel & Grau

Comments

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Ari Shavit's My Promised Land is without question one of the most important books about Israel and Zionism that I have ever read. Both movingly inspiring and at times heartbreakingly painful, My Promised Land tells the story of the Jewish State as it has never been told before, capturing both the triumph and the torment of Israel's experience and soul. This is the book that has the capacity to reinvent and reshape the long overdue conversation about how Israel's complex past ought to shape its still uncertain future.

With deeply engaging personal narratives and morally nuanced portraits Ari Shavit takes us way beneath the headlines to the very heart of Israel’s dilemmas in his brilliant new work. His expertise as a reporter comes through in the interviews, while his lyricism brings the writing --and the people--to life. Shavit also challenges Israelis and Diaspora Jewry to be bold in imagining the next chapter for Israel, a challenge that will no doubt be informed by this important book.

A beautiful, mesmerizing, morally serious, and vexing book.

My Promised Land is a passionate yet fair-minded account of how the Israel of today came into being. Whether or not you agree with its premises and assumptions, you will find this book hard to put down for its sheer narrative force. Both lyrically personal and rigorously reported, Ari Shavit's book will undoubtedly shape the conversation about a country we all talk about but few of us know well for years to come.

Shavit knows the country in a way no visitor, even a frequent visitor can, but he has the prose to speak to everyone. He is a spellbinding storyteller and a journalist with access to every corner of Israel.

This is a masterful portrait of contemporary Israel.

This is the epic history that Israel deserves--beautifully written, dramatically rendered, full of moral complexity. Ari Shavit has made a storied career by explaining Israel to Israelis; now he shares his mind-blowing, trustworthy insights with the rest of us. It is the best book on the subject to arrive in many years.

Ari Shavit's My Promised Land is without question one of the most important books about Israel and Zionism that I have ever read. Both movingly inspiring and at times heartbreakingly painful, My Promised Land tells the story of the Jewish State as it has never been told before, capturing both the triumph and the torment of Israel's experience and soul. This is the book that has the capacity to reinvent and reshape the long overdue conversation about how Israel's complex past ought to shape its still uncertain future.

With the heart of a storyteller and the mind of an historian, Ari Shavit has written a powerful and compelling book about the making of modern Israel.

This book brings to life epic history without being a conventional history book. It deepens contemporary political understanding without being a one-sided political polemic. It is painful and provocative yet colorful, emotional, life-loving and inspiring.

NEW YORK, NY, May 29, 2013 The Natan Fund, a grantmaking foundation that supports Jewish and Israeli social innovation, today announced the winner of the inaugural Natan Book Award: Ari Shavit's MY PROMISED LAND: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel

Not since Amos Elon's memorable portrayals of Israeli society has an author risen to similar heights of brilliance and eloquence in his penetrating description of the Israeli condition. Beautifully written, Ari Shavit's book is a comprehensive tapestry that overlooks no facet of Israel's complex social and political fabric. This is a document that will certainly become for years to come a reference for anyone willing to truly undestand the Israeli dilemma, the achievements and flaws of a fascinating historical experiment.

“My Promised Land is a passionate yet fair-minded account of how the Israel of today came into being. Whether or not you agree with its premises and assumptions, you will find this book hard to put down for its sheer narrative force. Both lyrically personal and rigorously reported, Ari Shavit's book will undoubtedly shape the conversation about a country we all talk about but few of us know well for years to come.”