“The Source” by James Michener is one of my all-time favorites; it’s a book I go back to after years and years and it embraces me like an old friend who still has more tales to tell, despite my having visited it many times previously! It’s one of my personal bibles and stands up there with my absolute devotion for the likes of Pride and Prejudice, East of Eden and To Kill a Mockingbird. While one can debate whether its literary significance is as profound as the other titles that I listed, there can be no denying that the book does come back again and again with some hard-hitting questions, asking us to question what do we mean when we refer to our “God”, the right and wrongs and the journey of two races born of the same land, caught in a quest of independence over 2000 years.The Source begins with John Cullinane arriving at Makor, an archeological site in Israel to begin digging ostensibly for a Crusader’s castle but actually to find the very foundation of Makor which in old Hebrew means Source. He is joined here by Dr. Vered Bar-EL, Dr. Ilan Eliav and Jamail Tabari. As the excavations get underway, John tries to better understand the history of Jews and Israel and how both could not be taken as synonymous. With the archeologists finding artifacts after artifacts, the novel reverts through the earliest mankind when the cavemen walked on Makor and the family of Ur began a more settled existence with farms and house of mud replacing hunting and caves. As the family of Ur begins to gain more and more success in their endeavors whether its improvement of crops or weapons, the beginning of the concept of “God” and forces that are beyond man’s control start to take root in the family of Ur, thus beginning not only the way of live that would later evolve to modern world but also the concept of religion and fate, that is to grip mankind’s consciousness forever. The novel, in true Michener style, then moves forward by a couple of centuries and each chapter touches upon some of the greatest event in the history of the region, involving the Hebrews, the Cannans and later the Jews, Christians and Arabs – whether it’s the cult of El Shaddai, in the Bronze age or, the deportation of Jews to Babylon, the rule of King David and Herod, the Muslim conquest and the Crusade and finally the in twilight of the Ottoman Empire. All through the ages, the events are intertwined into the story of family of Ur and his descendants and interplay with the present day and the artifacts that are discovered at the site. The novel takes a sweeping look at the rise and fall of fortunes of the family of Ur as they struggled, converted, dispersed and again came together in land of Makor.To begin with it is a powerful story – in just over 1100 pages, Michener tries to tell the history of the torn land of Palestine/Israel from the point of view of the common man who lived through various ages of cathartic and tumultuous change. The book tries to explain Jewish history and at the same time clearly enunciate that to see Israel through the Jewish prism alone is a mistake, since this land has always been shared by the “Other” – Canaanites, Romans, Christians and Muslims. It is the blending of the two cultures that make the land so special and that is one of main thrusts of the tale. Besides being a sweeping historical saga, it also a very good yarn; each chapter is a complete capsule in itself that tell a gripping tale of not only religion but of everyday men and women, of their courage which may be overt or concealed and the choices they have to make, even the harshest ones for the greater good. The book shows men and women in all their glory, strength, and caprice and constantly touches upon the infinite ability of men to survive even when all hope is gone. What is perhaps an absolute marvel and a characteristic that goes to show the kind of caliber Michener had as a writer is the lack of judgment despite all the follies and failures of all the religions and cultures and the men and women, the book is written with great empathy and understanding – never pointing finger and always showing the white, black and the grey shades of lives as is, without any embellishments. Written in simple language, it is a massive read with several references to Jewish philosophy and a wholly new perspective on the Arab history during the crusades. Despite its volume, it is an easy read, because the tale just grips you right at the start and never lets you go.If I sound like lunatic ranting on, read the book and you will know what I mean!
The Source is another of James Michener's epic fictional histories. This one explores a part of northern Israel from the times of the pagans, through Jewish independence, Christian ascendance, Muslim conquest, resurgence of Judaism nationality, to the establishment of Israel.Note: some of the story does take place in Italy in the middle-ages as Michener relates the plight of Jews there and their decision to migrate to the Land of Israel.The story is told through an excavation of a site in norther Israel in which a great many cities have been erected and destroyed over the centuries. Through the artifacts found at the site, Michener takes us back to various ancient periods and explores the development of religion and monotheism.Naturally, much of his narrative is based on assumption and not on historical fact, but Michener expertly weaves the story with facts of the time to create a spellbinding novel.For anyone who is interested in Judaism and Jewish nationality, The Source is a book well worth reading. Regardless, it is simply a great novel.The beginning of the novel is a bit heavy, as Michener explains various terms and work methods of archaeology, but once you get through that, you're left with a page-turner which is rich with an entire range of emotions: love, happiness, loneliness, fear, anger, religious zeal and rapture.I loved this book and recommend it with all my heart.
What do You think about The Source (2002)?
This is typical Michener, and he went on the archaeological excavations at Hazor to research it. I really loved it when I read it in junior high, which I did partly to prove that I could read such long books. I reread it several times afterwards. Now, as an archaeologist who specialized in ancient Israel, I can say that it's a fun book to read, but the interpretations are sensationalist, overtly Zionist, and now out of date. On the other hand, it probably stirs up interest in my field, and it is fun to read.
—Abby
Not so easy to summarize a book like this in a few paragraphs.Basically this book gives a broad deep picture of the Jewish history from prehistoric times (naturally before Judaism) to the mid 1960's. The frame of the story is an archeological expedition digging in an imaginary site of an ancient town in the north of Israel. Using this framework the author goes back in time to various episodes in the history of the site and other places related to Jewish history (and related to the site in some way). A few observations on this book:The research was amazing. It is hard to believe that a person who did not live here achieved such deep understanding of the historical, cultural, religious and political issues related to the Jewish history.The scope is amazingly large. The book touches so many aspects related to Jewish history, Jewish religion and philosophy, Israeli history and Israeli/Jewish politics and much more. As an Israeli most of the issues were not new to me but the unusual way of presenting them was interesting and did help me understand my history better.It is interesting to be exposed to an external view of my history/culture/politics etc…. I am not sure I agree with all the points of view expressed in the book but they are generally accurate as far as I know, or at least accurate to the time they were written (about 50 years ago)The book is long… very long…..and longer. It is not a page turner and sometimes it took me time to get back into it and some parts required a bit of a struggle… It was worth it at the end and I do recommend this book (for people with time and patience).
—Ram
This book is long. A very good read but long. I would recomend reading another book alongside this one to keep from becoming burnt out. Still, this is a very good book, from one of the best authors of the day. This book tells the history of ancient isreal and its religions in a very interesting way. it begins with a group of archeologists that discover the remains of an old city in modern isreal. They begin to dig and as they get deeper come across artifacts of older and older civilizations. When they reach the oldest artifact, the book shifts its setting to when people used that artifact(caveman days), and proceeds to tell the story of those people, when man first discovered deity. The storyline follows one family in particular, and as the book begins to go through time towards modern days, it follows this family line and shows how the artifacts that the modern day archeologists dug up interact with this family line and the culture of the day. in overview, this book gives a greater apprieciation for jewish and isreal history, and puts great emphasis on religion and how it has effected man throughout time. it is a very deep read, with alot of underlying meaning. It is also heavy and frequently depressing. So, once again, I would recommend reading it in tandem with other books. But deffinitely a great book and a great read.
—Zach Judkins
