By James Michener

It was pretty odd timing for me to finish this book just as the centuries-old turmoil in Israel began to boil over yet again last week. The Source opens at an archaeological dig in Northern Israel and through a series of stories built around the objects found at that dig, tells the history of the Jewish people beginning with the pre-historic clan that inhabited a nearby cave and ending with the mid-century battle for a new Jewish state.

This is the typical Michener style, and it works especially well in this setting--the crossroads of so much cultural and religious intermingling and conflict. He traces the beginning of monotheism and the sweep of successive cultures through the area: the Canaanites, the original Israelites, the Babylonian Diaspora, the Hellenistic period, the Romans, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Ottomans, the origins of Hasidism, and the Zionist impulses to rebuild a new Israel.

There is a lot of artistic license going on here as well. The characters, since they act as thematic representatives of entire cultures, are often little more than caricatures; the events portrayed are neatly shoe-horned into the grand events of each age; and everything seems just a little too conveniently arranged to fit in the overall metaphor. Aside from this stereotyping (especially his negative portrayal of the Arabs), the historical accuracy seems pretty solid. This is to say, most of the stories are tragic--paralleling much of Jewish history.

My parents read this book prior to their tour of Israel early this year, and I can think of few better introductions to the wide and varied history of the region. It covers a lot of ground, but is incredibly readable and provides a crash course in the rich and varied history of the region.