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Customer Reviews of Exodus

The Ode to Promise Land
One of the most powerful books of the last century, Leon Uris "Exodus" (1960) is an exiting and deeply moving novel which was written by a talented and passionate man. The best, the most inspirational parts of the book are the depictions of the historical events dealing with the origins of ghetto system, pogroms in Russia, the long and fascinating journey of two brothers from a small Russian town to Palestine by foot, the ideas of Theodor Herzl, the birth of kibbutzes in Palestine, and enormous labor of kibbutznicks to make the land fertile, to grow plants and trees where the desert, rocks, and swamps had been. Uris was also able to find the compelling words, images, and characters to reflect on the tragedy of European Holocaust, on the dramatic story of United Nations voting for partition of Palestine in 1947 and on the war of the infant state of Israel against its multiple and hostile neighbors for the right to exist and be an independent country. I took the book with me in my trip to Israel a year and a half ago and reading it while be able to see the places it describes with such passion and love, to see the land that is called "promised land" or "Holy land" WAS one of the most emotional and unforgettable experiences in my life.

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Rebirth of a Nation
In the same manner that Herman Wouk's "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" took us through the vast event that was WWII, as seen through the eyes of a family of beloved fictional characters -- so does Leon Uris' "Exodus" carry us through the labor pains and birth of the modern State of Israel, as seen through the eyes of a family of fictional figures in that resurrected nation. <
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>The story is huge in scope and Uris covers a lot of territory within the allotted pages. He takes us from the Jewish displaced persons camps of post war Europe, through the Zionist immigration into Palestine(much of it illegal) under the British mandate, then through the rebuilding of the land and the growing skirmishes leading to all out war for survival as the Britsh withdrew (as prescribed by the UN) and the State of Israel was birthed - and immediately and overwhelmingly attacked by the surrounding Arab nations. Miraculously, Israel overcame their attackers, survived, and even thrived. <
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>As best I can judge from comparison to other sources, the historical sequence of events as described by Uris is accurate. The information is highly educational. More subjectively, Uris was Jewish and writes from a Zionist perspective. He depicts the Hebrews as noble, resourceful, and courageous. Generally, the Arab elements are portrayed as cruel, deceptive, cowardly, and not given to playing by the rules. The British are painted as anti-Semites. I'll leave it to the reader to root out the truth of the matter. <
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>Uris does not neglect the spiritual aspect and the acknowledgment of the supernatural provisional and protective hand of God . . . the God of the Hebrews. Uris employs this sometimes by intimation and sometimes very directly. <
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>The author did masterful research and presentation relating to the historical facts. However (at least in this early novel), his character development and continuity, and dialogue, is not on par with other 20th century master novelists (use Herman Wouk again for comparison). Some characterizations are overstated, others are fluid and changing, some are borderline silly. Also, Uris could have given us a little better peek at the personalities, quirks, foibles, etc. of the actual historical political and military figures of the era (David Ben Gurion is barely mentioned just a couple of times). He didn't. A shame. <
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>Still - this is an epic piece of modern historical fiction. If you deeply love or hate Israel, this is worth the read and highly recommended. <
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Great historical fiction takes you back to birth of Israel
I bought this book because I've enjoyed numerous other books by Uris, and always felt he tried to do right by his historical subject. Given the turmoil that's marked Mid East history seemingly forever, I thought this would be an intersting way to learn a piece of history about which I knew little. Just how did the modern state of Israel come into existence? The answer may surprise you. Most of us know it came on the heels of the Holocaust, but how many readers are aware that England endorsed the formation of a Jewish state thirty years earlier, then reversed itself out of fear over losing favor with the Arab oil sheiks? They actually gave aid and comfort to the Arabs while trying to squash the flegling Israeli army. The US was then and now their only true ally. Even still, real assistance from the rest of the world came mostly in the form of private donations of money and supplies. Outnumbered 100:1, the fact that Israel prevailed in it's war for independence was nothing short of a miracle. <
>Understandably, no one should take any book at 100% face value whether sold as non-fiction or a novel. There is another side to the story. But you should come away asking some serious questions.