O- Jeru-Salem! By Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
Non fictional research book
Narrated by Theodore Bikel
Running length is around 24 hours, but if you increase the speed of narration to around 1.3 times then you can try to finish in around 17 hours or so!
It may seem long but Bengaluru traffic takes care of any time!
The whole story starts in a sublime manner with the vote in the United Nations for the partition of Palestine into Jew and Arab parts with the ancient most important site going to the Jews as per the partition. Before that a brief history of the various times Jews were tortured and prosecuted including by Hitler among others is mentioned.
Then a brief history of Jews and Arab is mentioned and how they have lived for now in a tense state which would surely be uprooted with the partition.
Then the arm twisting on either side for passing or failing the partition is explained rather lucidly and I must say the research is amazing in accordance with most of the books by this duo!
Freedom at midnight was an extensively researched book and that was only one country while this is one partition which has the interest of the whole world and even here the research is vast and so many different stories are presented that you can marvel at their power of assimilation!
The vote leads to lots of surprises and shocks and celebration from the Jewish side which goes on the whole night and then leads to shock waves! This leads to preparation from both the sides that is Jews and Arabs. While Jews want to retain or settle in their historically significant site, the Arabs felt cheated that the partition was trying to take away their property and place.
And then it was a bloody war which goes in some way even now. The book talks a lot about David Ben Gurion, the Jewish leader under whom they put up the Arab Resistance. Talking about john bagot Glubb or Glubb PASHA, the commander of Arab legion from the Arab side. The authors also speak of different leaders from each side.
Then the book describes the long struggle for peace and tranquility in between the shelling and the bombings.
The book talks about Hagana the fighting group of the Jews which finally becomes the Israeli army or defence system. Multiple accounts of Arabs and their bombings of civilian areas and how its carried out. The stories of bombing and death and atrocities are told in detail. It is heartbreaking to listen to the acts done by humans! Similar to the style of Freedom at midnight; the book also takes us into the lives of those who were alive and happy just some time before either being blown to bits or shot or maimed and what not!
How each side smuggled arms and ammunition and their struggles in that and howa ship called SS Borea with Arab weapons caught in Italy was sunk by the Hagana.
How England was both the silent spectator at times and other times interfered only for its reason
The cruel and heartless bombings of one side and the the massacre by the Stern Gang of quasi independent forces
Initially Jews did not have money and the efforts done by men and women alike to raise money has been described very well.
All in all, it was a bloody phase, a violent time and there were multiple attacks and cease fires. Both sides surviving many times only by their will power and hope and by the grit of their leaders. How water and food were the gold during these times.
A must read book to try to understand the Palestine and Israel issue and why it is so sensitive. The narrative is engaging and you would not realise how time flies. The amount of research itself makes you sit back and listen and say; O Jerusalem!
ramadocblog 