My husband and I will be going to Israel and Jordan in the spring and would like to prepare by reading ahead of time (not just travel books). What have been your favorite books for a sense of culture and history? www.pbase.com/pattyroth

I read Queen's Noor's autobiography before going to Jordan - it was very good

"Leap of Faith" is the title

Thanks, Elizabeth! That sounds like a great start. I'm open to all suggestions.

I studied for five months in Jerusalem when I was a sophomore in college. The experience was amazing. Before leaving for the middle east, each student was required to read a book about the region (from a reading list). I chose Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour. The book gave me a different perspective about the history of the area and helped me understand the current conflicts. It is a quick read and I highly recommend it.

Thanks, Schmede! I will check it out also. That sounds like it was an incredible experience. Fortunately our guide (a friend) for this trip has lived in Israel as well.

Before our trip to Israel I especially enjoyed:

The Source (James Michener)

The Rock: a Tale of Seventh Century Jerusalem (Kanan Makiya)

Walking the Bible (Bruce Feiler)

Abraham (also Bruce Feiler)

Thanks, Laurie Ann. Great list. And if you had to pick one or two of these, which would you recommend? I'd love to read everything, but I know I won't have that much time.

Patty - The Source is really long, but easy reading. Like many of Michener's books, it is a string of loosely-connected short stories that span 3,000 years. It's a good way to get a sense of the history of Israel, though the "modern day glue" part is VERY outdated.

If you have a chance, watch the movie, Exodus. A pretty good historical representation of WWII and the beginning of the state, and you will see a lot of the places in the film while you are there.

If you have limited time, I would read Source and skip the chapters with the "modern" parts. It's the story of an "modern" archeological dig and what they find. The dig is not as interesting to a traveler as what they find. I would also choose Abraham as it relates the three major religions to history and to contemporary times through this common ancestor.

Thank you Pitzikat! I will definitely get Exodus to watch. I had not even thought about movies to see in preparation.
And Thanks, Laurie Ann and Pitzikat, I will definitely get The Source. I do a lot of reading on the treadmill, so that should keep me going a long time!

Ahh Israel! My favourite place in the whole wide world.... makes me

There are many books to read but for history I loved Son of a Star by Andrew Meisels.

For more recent history, Exodus, but maybe you can watch the Exodus movie and read a book too. If you want to watch a WW2 movie, then Playing for Time with Vanessa Redgrave was heart breaking but eye opening.

Exodus is a Leon Uris book, but all his other books are great too. For an insight into Jewish and Arab life a great read is Haj, also by Leon Uris.

I hope you have a wonderful trip, I'm jealous!!! I've been three times but really want to go again...sob!

I look forward to reading your trip report.

Happy travels

Thanks mucho, Mischka! Your enthusiasm ignites my excitement for going. And thanks for the recommendations. I'll look for Son of a Star. I read Haj many lifetimes ago when I was in high school or college. And I'll look for the DVD. Patty

I agree with many of the suggestions above and would like to add "O Jerusalem" by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. It gives an amazing feel for the city and its history, and makes it all come alive.
Enjoy.

By the way, how can you read on the treadmill??? I would go flying off the end...

Ah, I have perfected the art of reading on the treadmill, which keeps me going for an hour. Otherwise I would be too bored. I finally found a way to keep my book open with a chip bag clip. However, when I have the incline at 15% and the speed up, I have to switch it quickly so I don't go off the end! And thanks mucho KatPen for the suggestion. I'll check it out.

Definitely read Donna Rosenthal's The Israelis. As an Israeli myself, I think it's a great snapshot of the vibrant pluralistic culture here.

Also, Danit Brown's Ask for a Convertible is a great collection of short stories about an Israeli teenager who moves with her family to the States and then who moves (alone) back to Israel as a young adult. It's a great take on the Israel/Jewish diaspora issue. There are many Israelis who have lived abroad only to return to Israel and many who move abroad only never to return, and many who have one parent (or both) from abroad... etc.

I think between the non-fiction book (Rosenthal's) and the collection of short stories, you will get a taste for Israel even before you come!

pattyroth

an original, out-of-the-box view of the Bible (& the history of the Israelites)
“The Bible Unearthed; Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and Origin of Its Sacred Text,” by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silverman

They have a new book, though i haven't had the chance to read it yet
David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible’s Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition

aby

For an independent travel to Israel and the Holy Land -
have a look at this brand new site
named - Backpacking Israel.
You can get there some good ideas and tips:

www.BackpackingIsrael.com

I wanted to add one more thing...

There will be the temptation to read about the history and the biblical aspects of the land... and I think it's great to be informed about the historical aspects of the place. BUT. There is so much more to Israel than that. There is a vibrant contemporary culture here, too!

Wow! I will now need to clear an entire shelf in my study for all of these great suggestions!
Thanks, Myata for the fiction short story recommendations as well as for the advice to focus also on the contemporary culture.
Also, thanks Aby for the book by Israel F. I had not heard of any of these three.
And thanks, Noanoa for the website idea. While we will be on a tour, I love to go prepared with lots of ideas and I am sure we will have time on our own as well.
I have already ordered The Source, O Jerusalem, Abraham, Queen Noor's book, and Blood Brothers. Guess I'd better take a few weeks off from work to read!