My Promised Land

The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel

By: Ari Shavit

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review and The Economist

Winner of the Natan Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award

An authoritative and deeply personal narrative history of the State of Israel, by one of the most influential journalists writing about the Middle East today.

Not since Thomas L. Friedman's groundbreaking From Beirut to Jerusalem has a book captured the essence and the beating heart of the Middle East as keenly and dynamically as My Promised Land. Facing unprecedented internal and external pressures, Israel today is at a moment of existential crisis. Ari Shavit draws on interviews, historical documents, private diaries, and letters, as well as his own family's story, illuminating the pivotal moments of the Zionist century to tell a riveting narrative that is larger than the sum of its parts: both personal and national, both deeply human and of profound historical dimension.

We meet Shavit’s great-grandfather, a British Zionist who, in 1897, visited the Holy Land on a Thomas Cook tour and understood that it was the way of the future for his people; the idealist young farmer who bought land from his Arab neighbor in the 1920s to grow the Jaffa oranges that would create Palestine’s booming economy; the visionary youth group leader who, in the 1940s, transformed Masada from the neglected ruins of an extremist sect into a powerful symbol for Zionism; the Palestinian who as a young man in 1948 was driven with his family from his home during the expulsion from Lydda; the immigrant orphans of Europe’s Holocaust, who took on menial work and focused on raising their children to become the leaders of the new state; the pragmatic engineer who was instrumental in developing Israel’s nuclear program in the 1960s, in the only interview he ever gave; the zealous religious Zionists who started the settler movement in the 1970s; the dot-com entrepreneurs and young men and women behind Tel-Aviv’s booming club scene; and today’s architects of Israel’s foreign policy with Iran, whose nuclear threat looms ominously over the tiny country.

As it examines the complexities and contradictions of the Israeli condition, My Promised Land asks difficult but important questions: Why did Israel come to be? How did it come to be? Can Israel survive? Culminating with an analysis of the issues and threats that Israel is currently facing, My Promised Land uses the defining events of the past to shed new light on the present. The result is a landmark portrait of a small, vibrant country living on the edge, whose identity and presence play a crucial role in today’s global political landscape.

Praise for My Promised Land

“This book will sweep you up in its narrative force and not let go of you until it is done. [Shavit’s] accomplishment is so unlikely, so total...that it makes you believe anything is possible, even, God help us, peace in the Middle East.” (Simon Schama, Financial Times)

“[A] must-read book.” (Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times)

“Important and powerful...the least tendentious book about Israel I have ever read.” (Leon Wieseltier, The New York Times Book Review)

“Spellbinding...Shavit’s prophetic voice carries lessons that all sides need to hear.” (The Economist)

“One of the most nuanced and challenging books written on Israel in years.” (The Wall Street Journal)

©2013 Random House Audio (P)2013 Ari Shavit

Critic reviews

“Shavit's provocative book avoids the clichés typical of some works about the Middle East, and the audio version benefits from Paul Boehmer's superb presentation.” (AudioFile Magazine)

“The most extraordinary book that I’ve read on [Israel] since Amos Elon’s book called The Israelis, and that was published in the late sixties.” (David Remnick)

“Shavit is a master storyteller. [His] retelling of history jars us out of our familiar retrospections, reminds us (and we do need reminders) that there are historical reasons why Israel is a country on the edge.... Required reading for both the left and the right.” (The Jewish Week)

Brilliantly Captured Content - No Words Are Wasted

What did you love best about My Promised Land?

This book shares comprehensive research, opinion and facts, weaving together perspectives from left wing views, right wing views and everything in between. Ari leaves out the sugar coating. It provides raw truths on past, present and the unknown. The book does not dance around white elephants on conflict, Israelis, Iranian global nuclear threat, Palestinians, politics, economy and international opinions. After each chapter, I was armed with information I was not ready to deal with. Brilliantly captured content.

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Promised Land?

Access to the people he interviews for the book. He writes to uncover facts, truths and is not afraid to ask uncomfortable questions and he actually reports his findings. In every chapter I am shocked on what he shares. Ari's journalist gift, peacenik beginnings, birthplace and his family background, puts him in a unique position to convey such powerful inside stories to the reader. His questioning comes from a deep place of understanding, frustration, fear and triumph.

What about Paul Boehmer’s performance did you like?

Just loved his voice. The perfect cast. Sample audio does not do it justice. Paul begins the chapters speaking fast and as the depth of the stories progress, there is sarcasm, despair and delight in his voice.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, I was almost in tears listening to the harsh beginnings, suffering and despair. Towards the end, my heart fell into my stomach. The ending leaves you in a pensive thought, I wanted at least one more chapter.

Any additional comments?

He explains brilliantly how and why the middle east conflict and life is complex and where the hope for peace stands. Forget about Self Help books - listen to this and you will learn about decades of hope, anguish, luck, faith and courage from both Israelis and Palestinians.

Comprehensive and touching

The book covers a wide span of the country's history, leveraging personal stories to make history more real.
It nicely covers several aspects of history providing different points of view, enabling the reader to develop an own opinion.

Terrific

What does Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mr. Boehmer read the book as if he wrote it. He spoke with a level of passion and urgency this book truly deserves.

Any additional comments?

What a terrific book. Ari Shavit doesn't just tell a factual story about Israel's history and the Arab-Israeli crisis, he tells us an emotional story through his and his family's eyes, the eyes of Arabs, holocaust survivors, and young Jewish Israelis, the latter of which may be oblivious to the true tenuousness of their modern and safe lifestyle. I went into this book with animosity toward Israel's treatment of neighboring Palestinians, and though my disdain remains, I did also leave with a great deal more compassion, understanding and concern for Israel's Jews.

A Must Read For Anyone Fascinated by the Miracle o

If you could sum up My Promised Land in three words, what would they be?

miracle
challenging
dynamic

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ari Shavit, the author, who pulls together the story of modern Israel from a multidimensional perspective and leaves the reader with a sense of excitement, fascination and confidence.

What does Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Paul Boehmer reads the story with enthusiasm, sincerity and just the right intonations.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when author Shavit brings all the varied currents he has elucidated, together, revealing the incredible miracle of modern day Israel and Israelis, he brought tears of admiration and incredible pride, to my eyes.

Any additional comments?

I wish that everyone would read this wonderful book, and especially for anyone who is Jewish , Ari Shavit writes with such depth and intelligence, making sense of a highly complex and challenging situation, and he does so in an interesting and easily readable way. At times his writing is sheer poetry. If you want to gain a real insight into the Israeli psyche, you can do no better than to read Ari Shavit's book: Israel, The Promise.

Detailed history of Israel, leading to today

What did you like best about this story?

I learned so much about the recent history of Israel, which gives perspective to modern events. The author covers the initial history period in such loving detail - I can taste the oranges, feel the heat, see the people's faces. The history is reviewed from personal perspectives, and includes rich details. As the book moves to current times, the author does live interviews, and is careful to explore right, left, and centrist ideals. For the most part, all are given respectful staging. At some points, the author seems to be lecturing people for ideas with which he does not agree, and the book, to me, starts to lean very leftwards. While the author does continue to respectfully present other views, his view is very clear by the end.

What about Paul Boehmer’s performance did you like?

I love the book as audio, as the reader has an Israeli accent and the words are so richly pronounced. I find myself echoing the words after he reads them. It is lovely in audio format.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The personal stories of how different individuals came to and experienced Israel were varied and interesting, to hear the unique histories.

Any additional comments?

At times the author's politics are frustrating and I get angry - but perhaps this is what makes a book very good - that emotions are stirred. I enjoyed listening to this with my husband - we would often stop the telling to discuss it, and for me, that enriched the telling.

Educational and entertaining.

Very informative. I learned a lot about the history of the state of Israel. I enjoyed the narrator's accent as well. He made me feel like I was with the author the whole time.

Israel at Its' Most Terrible and Glorious

If you want to understand intimately the history of modern day Israel, from start to present day, and grasp its' culture from a big picture level, listen to this book.

Insightful and engaging

This book opened my eyes, but troubled me.
Illuminated the essence of human conflict.

good book, horrible audiobook<br />

extremely bad pronounciations of israeli cities and people, absolutely nobody checked them beforehand
otherwise, the story is well written and reserched

Brilliant history, authentic narration

Part memoir, part history, part provocation, this well reported book is a brilliant account of Israel's past, present and future. "My Promised Land" is deeply personal and moving. It is written by Haaretz columnist Ari Shavit who has deep knowledge and love of his subject: Israel. And yet he is also alive to the blindness of so many Isrselis when they ignore the other: their Arab neighbors. Shavit can be cold-eyed and clear about his nation's many enemies who deny its right to exist. A note about the narration: Paul Boehmer brings an Israeli voice and true authenticity to the production. His nuance and pronounciation are first-rate. He speaks in the voice of the author, just as he should. Listening to this book was a rich and rewarding experience. - Richard Davies