- Paperback: 216 pages
- Publisher: Hushion House (May 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1581950179
- ISBN-13: 978-1581950175
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.7 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,421,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres combines history, memoir, and fiction in an "imaginary voyage" through 20th-century Israel with the 19th-century founder of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl. "Only the narrow-minded and unimaginative will find this premise off-putting or surprising," Peres explains. "Everyone else has long known that in our country the impossible is a way of life." This make-believe tour includes a brief description of the Holocaust for a man who initially would have disbelieved it, plus vignettes of life in the Jewish nation-state ("I had no idea whether Herzl would appreciate the pleasure of today's Tel Aviv nightlife. I had a hard time picturing him dancing to some disc jockey's rock 'n' roll, or taking part in a rave on one of the converted docks at Jaffa"). Peres also uses Herzl as a tool for projecting some of his own views on contemporary Israeli politics: "[Herzl] sternly disapproved of the role religious parties play in governing Israel today.... I am concerned about the growing schism between the religious and the secular factions in Israel. The former, to be quite honest, have proven themselves far more vindictive than the latter. If we are not careful, this latent conflict could divide Israel and Israeli society, and encourage intolerance and discourage progress." The Imaginary Voyage is a quickly read tale full of charming idiosyncrasies and edgy political observations. --John J. Miller
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Some of the same qualities for which he has been criticized throughout his long career as a statesman and politician make Peres an enjoyable writer: erudition (and a tendency to show it off), a taste for whimsy and a romantic streak. Peres, co-winner with Yitzak Rabin and Yasir Arafat of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, takes the reader on an imaginary journey around present-day Israel with Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), the father of modern Zionism. The imaginary Herzl proves a good foil to whom Peres explains concisely how Israel has evolved in so many ways: from a desert to an agricultural miracle; from an agricultural economy to a high-tech one; from a nation remarkably unified in spirit to one rent by factional discord. As befits a man who was twice prime minister and many times a member of Israel's cabinet, Peres demonstrates pride in what Israel has created and satisfaction in his own rise from Russian immigrant in 1923 to one of the country's elder statesmen. To his credit, however, Peres doesn't rely on a "what-miracles-has-the-state-produced" approach. He expresses, for example, his dismay with the lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process since Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud block defeated Peres's Labor Party in 1996. Part history, part autobiography and part patriotic romance, Peres's idiosyncratic tour of Israel and its history is more loving than it is thorough. But his love is not directed at a Jewish utopia but rather at a real state with all its real-world imperfections and perils.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Comparing visions,
By
This review is from: The Imaginary Voyage with Theodor Herzl in Israel (Hardcover)
Shimon Peres, Nobel Peace Prize winner and a former prime minister of Israel, finds a way to examine how far Israel has come in a half-century by conducting an imaginary tour of the Holy Land for Theodor Herzl, father of Zionism. While the prose is hardly exotic, Peres does offer some keen and thought-provoking analysis. The book is recommended for readers with an interest in modern Israel.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two Visionaries, Different Eras,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Imaginary Voyage with Theodor Herzl in Israel (Hardcover)
Peres takes Herzl on an imaginary tour through Israel, a century after Herzl's first visit to Palestine. The author makes astute observations about Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and the spectacular changes these and other cities in Israel have undergone throughout the years. Peres evaluates the predictions made by Herzl in his utopian novel, Old-New Land, in light of present-day realities. Of course, some of them were totally off-base, but others are amazingly prescient. And, in discussing the character of the Jewish state and how it ought to deal with its neighbors, Peres quotes extensively from Herzl's writings and the works of other Zionist thinkers (e.g., Ahad Ha'am). Despite the mediocre editing job, there is plenty of keen insight on issues ranging from cultural/religious/ethnic diversity to the water problem in the Middle East that make this book a good read.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two Visionaries, Different Eras,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Imaginary Voyage with Theodor Herzl in Israel (Hardcover)
Peres takes Herzl on an imaginary tour through Israel, a century after Herzl's first visit to Palestine. The author makes astute observations about Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and the spectacular changes these and other cities in Israel have undergone throughout the years. Peres evaluates the predictions made by Herzl in his utopian novel, Old-New Land, in light of present-day realities. Of course, some of them were totally off-base, but others are amazingly prescient. And, in discussing the character of the Jewish state and how it ought to deal with its neighbors, Peres quotes extensively from Herzl's writings and the works of other Zionist thinkers (e.g., Ahad Ha'am). Despite the mediocre editing job, there is plenty of keen insight on issues ranging from cultural/religious/ethnic diversity to the water problem in the Middle East that make this book a good read. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Comparing visions,
By David Cohen "Dave C" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Imaginary Voyage with Theodor Herzl in Israel (Hardcover)
Shimon Peres, Nobel Peace Prize winner and a former prime minister of Israel, finds a way to examine how far Israel has come in a half-century by conducting an imaginary tour of the Holy Land for Theodor Herzl, father of Zionism. While the prose is hardly exotic, Peres does offer some keen and thought-provoking analysis. The book is recommended for readers with an interest in modern Israel.
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