O Jerusalem

Day by Day and Minute by Minute the Historic Struggle for Jerusalem and the Birth of Israel

By: Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre

Narrated by: Theodore Bikel

Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

O Jerusalem! is the epic drama of 1948, when Arabs and Jews fought for control of the city of Jerusalem. This story traverses centuries and continents, covering the time between WWII and the creation of the independent state of Israel. Based on five years of intensive research and thousands of interviews, this is a story of courage, terrorism, heroism, and ultimately, war.

©1972 Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre (P)2003 New Millennium Audio, All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"A history that not only clarifies the military and political events of the war but brings its human dimensions vividly to life." (The National Observer)
"A story as dramatic, as miraculous, as full of wonder as any ever told." (New York Times Book Review)

Good

The story is great. It took me several tries to really get into it; this is not a book you can listen to in small intervals and expect to follow along. Once I put it on for a road trip and had about two hours of uninterrupted listening, I was all in.

Definitely would recommend.

enjoyable retelling of Jerusalem's history

the narrator of this audio book was excellent. the book was very long, and because of that the style can become repetitive. but the facts covered were so interesting and the human element involved so moving, it kept my attention throughout the course of the book.

great book

This is a very detailed, but interesting book. The point of view is pretty unbiased,just historical.

Outstanding History of Jerusalem

What made the experience of listening to O Jerusalem the most enjoyable?

I felt like I was part of the history, day by day, sitting in on the war room meetings that changes the course of Jerusalem history

Just Amazing!

Beautifully written and narrated this book is packed with insight into the struggles of the people that live in the area surrounding Jerusalem. The research required must have been phenomenal!

Brilliant!

Riveting story, excellent reading, and good length. Anyone interested in the history of Israel will enjoy this book. It has a great balance of historical recounting and personal anecdotes. The battle for Jerusalem and outlying areas are told in fine detail, but with a dramatic flare. The reader also has a really appropriate voice for the subject matter. Awesome.

A very detailed account of the formation of Israel

I was surprised at the level of detail in this truly "day to day" account of Israel's formation. The book covers the Zionist movement and the interplay between American and European governments and the United Nations to facilitate the declaration of Jewish Independence within a segment of Palestine to the dismay of the neighboring Arab states. The military and paramilitary preparations and clashes are described seemingly to the last round fired from every gun in the territory. I enjoyed the narrator as well. This book certainly allows one to appreciate the seeds of the ongoing conflict over occupancy of the territory called Israel. The long duration of this conflict however is not explained by the origins of it. To understand the duration of the conflict to the current day one must study the subsequent politics and narratives that have prevented the countries in the region from behaving as sovereign and cooperative neighbors.

Extraordinary

The story is riveting, and the narration is spellbinding. Strongly recommend, really everything about this book.

Excellent

Theodore Bikel is the perfect guy to narrate this story. I learned a lot. It's a fantastic story. The creation of Israel is the most fantastic true life tale of the creation of any country on earth.

So Dense

This book is incredibly dense. So dense that if one drifts for a few seconds one is likely to get completely lost. There is just a mountain of information, names, dates, and places to keep up with. What a story, what perseverance, and in the end this is about God’s chosen and their struggle for survival. What a marvel.