To Jerusalem and Back

A powerful, stimulating testament, To Jerusalem and Back is a rigorous attempt to come to grips with Israel’s history and future. Immersing himself in the landscape and culture of this “small state in perpetual crisis,” Bellow records the opinions, passions, and dreams of Israelis of varying viewpoints—Yitzak Rabin, Amos Oz, the editor of the largest Arab-language newspaper in Israel, a kibbutznik escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto—and adds his own reflections on being Jewish in the twentieth century. Saul Bellow’s journey is not merely an exploration of a very beautiful and very troubled city; it is a major literary work, and an urgently important one.