Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World by James CarrollMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fascinating comprehensive worldview, with Jesuitical logic in a broad sweep that links religion in a circular way to violence and the solution to violence. The author shows a great command of history and religion, with extensive endnotes to support or expand upon most of his claims; however, some sweeping indictments will certainly be resisted by the more fundamentalist People Of The Book (that is, the Abrahamic religions). A core symbolic thread is Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac on Mt.Moriah, the supposed site later called Jerusalem -- the author deftly cites that scene throughout the many centuries since the original event, demonstrating the human tendency to misinterpret that near-sacrifice in order to rationalize our own tendency to violence and scapegoating.
I started the book in audio form, but found it unlistenable -- the author's carefully complex sentences are difficult to follow by ear. On the page, and better yet, on a real codex page where I can flip back to previous declarations or flip forward to the endnotes in order to follow his arguments, it is much more appropriate to read. This would be great material for a book club, or a course, though I'm not sure what the title of the course could be as this ranges over so many disciplines. Much of the book is Not about the history of Jerusalem per se; rather, the concept of Jerusalem, the City on the Hill, and now Jerusalem of Gold. Much of his story of the last hundred years in Jerusalem is correct, though he glosses many details. I was especially taken with his description of the British effort in 1917 to give the world "a Christmas present" of Jerusalem itself, as a symbolic win in the middle of a horribly long war, even though Jerusalem was of little military value. The author correctly identifies the hopelessness of the current Israel/Palestinian conflict, offering only a vain plea for mutual recognition that might bring peace to that troubled city and land.
I started the book in audio form, but found it unlistenable -- the author's carefully complex sentences are difficult to follow by ear. On the page, and better yet, on a real codex page where I can flip back to previous declarations or flip forward to the endnotes in order to follow his arguments, it is much more appropriate to read. This would be great material for a book club, or a course, though I'm not sure what the title of the course could be as this ranges over so many disciplines. Much of the book is Not about the history of Jerusalem per se; rather, the concept of Jerusalem, the City on the Hill, and now Jerusalem of Gold. Much of his story of the last hundred years in Jerusalem is correct, though he glosses many details. I was especially taken with his description of the British effort in 1917 to give the world "a Christmas present" of Jerusalem itself, as a symbolic win in the middle of a horribly long war, even though Jerusalem was of little military value. The author correctly identifies the hopelessness of the current Israel/Palestinian conflict, offering only a vain plea for mutual recognition that might bring peace to that troubled city and land.
Today I read a NYTimes opinion piece by Maureen Dowd that cites a poem that should have been headlined by author James Carroll: The Second Coming, by W.B.Yeats. The rough beast slouching towards Bethlehem surely approaches Jerusalem as well, yes?
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