The Source: A Novel (Book Club Edition) [B1573]

1965 HCDJ book club edition, clean with some wear in a mylar-protected, clipped dust jacket. In his signature style of grand storytelling, James A. Michener transports us back thousands of years to the Holy Land. Through the discoveries of modern archaeologists excavating the site of Tell Makor, Michener vividly re-creates life in an ancient city and traces the profound history of the Jewish people-from the persecution of the early Hebrews, the rise of Christianity, and the Crusades to the founding of Israel and the modern (circa 1965) conflict in the Middle East. An epic tale of love, strength, and faith, The Source is a richly written saga that encompasses the history of Western civilization and the great religious and cultural ideas that have shaped our world. Praise for The Source "Fascinating . . . stunning . . . [a] wonderful rampage through history . . . Biblical history, as seen through the eyes of a professor who is puzzled, appalled, delighted, enriched and impoverished by the spectacle of a land where all men are archeologists."-The New York Times. "A sweeping [novel] filled with excitement-pagan ritual, the clash of armies, ancient and modern: the evolving drama of man's faith."-The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Magnificent . . . a superlative piece of writing both in scope and technique . . . one of the great books of this generation."-San Francisco Call Bulletin.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Epic history related through a few fictional characters. And timely historical perspective given the state of the world, and the state of Israel, today."; "The greatest book I've ever had the good fortune to read."; "Wow. Excellent book. It took me 9 months to finally finish it. I learned so much about the formation of what I consider to be the most singular destructive and divisive force in the world: religion. To be exact the Judaism, Christianity and Islam religions, of which this wonderful book tells the story. And as a recovering and reformed Catholic altar boy from Jersey it's all hoo hah and whack to me."; "Brilliant! A sixty-year-old must-read for our time! A vital reminder for a brave new world in which (anti-)social media mechanically strives to convince us that the answers are clear and we and our friends are always right, when reality is actually a complicated place!"; "I finally finished this tome after picking it up 2 years ago! I learned a lot about the history of the State of Israel, the early beginnings of the Jewish people, the Crusades, and relationships with Arabs in the Galilee - starting from 10,000 BCE! It was a beautiful, and oftentimes uncomfortable, telling of the custody and care of the Holy Land through thousands of years and why the various religious groups felt they were owed claim. With the length, it could sometimes get a little verbose and hard to get through, but weaving in the modern 1964 archaeology dig and the current descendent of Ur was a unique way to stay in the moment of history."