Mon 2 Apr 2007
I picked this up at the airport bookstore on the way back from the More Light Presbyterians winter board meeting in Santa Fe. I like to find reading material at airports sometimes — the selection is limited, and sometimes I’ll find something that I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. I’m often suspicious of books on the bestseller list, which is probably a sign of my intellectual snobbery (I grew up in a trailer park and went to a public university, so go figure), and also tend to roll my eyes at books that tend to pander to the fluffy religiousity of some parts of the evangelical movement. So it seemed like I might be taking a chance on this book on Biblical history from the ABQ book mart.
This turns out to be a great read. Feiler, an American Jew, is interested in the relationship between the stories in the Bible, and the places where those stories took place, and the people who live there now. He has written two earlier books which look at Abraham and the first five books of the Bible, and the intersections between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. This book focuses on the prophetic texts of the second half of Hebrew testament, and follows his journeys to Israel, Iraq, and Iran.
At times the book reads like a journalistic adventure yarn, other times like a starter course in old testament theology or biblical archeology. Himself a fairly secular Jew, Feiler encounters people with deep faith and a strong connection to the places where the live and the history of those places.
The moments that made the strongest impact on me are the contrasts between his preparations for leaving for Iraq and Iran, and what he finds in both places. Given the danger for an American Jew in Iraq, Feiler doesn’t take his wife with him, and pens a “If you’re reading this I’m probably dead” note which he hides in case he doesn’t return. His wife does accompany him to Iran, and they both fall in love with the land and the people there. I found these portions especially eye-opening, as much of the history of this part of the world is mostly unfamiliar to most Americans.
I’ve decided to read the rest of these, although I’m a contrarian so I’ll read them in reverse order.