To Jerusalem and Back: A Personal Account

by Saul Bellow

Hardcover, 1976

Status

Available

Call number

915.694 BEL

Tags

Israel, New York Times Best Book of the Year, Jerusalem, Middle East, Arab-Israeli conflict

Genres

Collection

Adult Non-Fiction

Publication

The Viking Press (1976), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 182 pages

Description

Nobel laureate Saul Bellow's revealing interviews and meditations, steeped in history and literature, on the unique spirit and challenges of Israel A Penguin Classic A powerful, stimulating testament, To Jerusalem and Back is a rigorous attempt to come to grips with Israel's history and future. Immersing himself in the landscape and culture of this "small state in perpetual crisis," Bellow records the opinions, passions, and dreams of Israelis of varying viewpoints--Yitzak Rabin, Amos Oz, the editor of the largest Arab-language newspaper in Israel, a kibbutznik escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto--and adds his own reflections on being Jewish in the twentieth century. Saul Bellow's journey is not merely an exploration of a very beautiful and very troubled city; it is a major literary work, and an urgently important one. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.… (more)

Media reviews

Palestine Digest
Saul Bellow’s report of his trip to Israel is subtitled “a personal account.” As such, it cannot be faulted. No doubt it reflects his perceptions. But these are alleged to relate to the social and historical reality. Here, some serious questions arise. Bellow speaks of his “American
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 even-handedness” and “objectivity,” which so irritate his Israeli hosts. In fact, he is a propagandist’s delight. He has produced a catalogue of What Every Good American Should Believe, as compiled by the Israeli Information Ministry. Everything is predictable. No cliche is missing. Like any collection of random shots, some of Bellow’s comments hit near the mark, though there is no internal evidence to determine which. Argument and evidence are not really his business. In their place, we find snippets from Proust and Baudelaire and Ruskin on Thucydides in a display of world-weary wisdom.
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Barcode

3066

Subjects

Awards

The New York Times Best Books of the Year (1976)

Language

English

User reviews

LibraryThing member omegaomega0515
This is a book from the 1970s, covering some of Saul Bellow's encounters in Jerusalem and his reflections on the Arab-Israeli conflict. A lot has changed since then: for example, the Cold War has ended and there is no need to spend that much time conjecturing Russia's stance on the issue. Gone too,
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 is the language of imperialism; so are the names of that era, Kissinger, Rabin and Nasser. But more has remained the same, although 30 years have elapsed since the writing of the book. Therefore, Bellow's reflections on the Jews as a people, on the supposed relationship between America and Israel, and on the root of animosity between Israel and its Arab neighbors are still pertinent.

The background of this book may look obscure to a casual reader not sharing any expertise on this topic. However, Bellow's plain yet beautiful language and thoughtful meditations makes it an enjoyable read.
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LibraryThing member JBGUSA
I just finished To Jerusalem and Back, by Saul Bellow. I thought the book was excellent. Saul Bellow usually writes fiction, so it was a different genre than he usually writes. It was more a series of approximately 100 essays, organized into a book. Good book concerned broadly Middle Eastern
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 politics and some religious issues, focusing on the mid-1970's. That was a period of time that Israel was in in the shadow of the 1973 war between Israel and the Arabs. The book focused around discussions with 1970's-era academicians and politicians. Those people and the author made some predictions that did not pan out. For example, Egypt negotiated real peace with Israel, whereas the other surrounding powers, as predicted by the book, did no

The book is a good read for people with a deep interest in history, and the way things were during an earlier period. It is the kind of book that for other readers would seem dated.
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ISBN

0670717290 / 9780670717293

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