Galilee Flowers, or Flowers of Galilee (Paperback)

by Israel Shamir (Author)
Key Phrases: New York, Middle East, Tel Aviv (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (September 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419613510
• ISBN-13: 978-1419613517
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #823,450 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This man loves the holy land, October 21, 2006

By	P. BENNETT (Glendale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With every word, every phrase, Israel Shamir displays his love
of the holy land. I've read lots of books on the Middle East,
but this is - by far - the most compelling. I really cannot
express how important this book is to me, so I'll include a
quote from Nick Pretzlick, which I agree with wholeheartedly:

"Israel Shamir is in love with the Holy Land. He has a
passion for the land and its people; he believes the
two are umbilically linked. For him there is only one
viable solution to the conflict that has ravaged the
region for so long and that is the one state solution.
Shamir is a humanist and although he is scathing about
Palestine's enemies - the Jewish elite - he takes
pride in and writes lovingly about the courageous
Jews, who resist Israeli crimes.

Flowers of Galilee is a collection of essays, so full
of affection - such an elegy of love - that, reading
it for the first time, I felt impelled to delay the
turning of pages, preferring instead to linger over
images - to savour the sentiments.

Shamir does not pull any punches. He challenges
conventional thinking, but he does so with honesty,
affection and such thorough understanding and
knowledge that his outspokenness is reasonable and
rational. Flowers of Galilee is an eye opener - a
learning experience. It is also enchanting."

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rarest of Poetic Geniuses Who Writes in Prose, March 9, 2006

By	seekerotruth "seekerotruth" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

It's books like this that remind you some things definitely need to be put into book form to be properly appreciated. I remember reading it sitting outside of a Starbucks several nights in a row and having revelation after revelation alter my perception of the world - and for the better, I knew as one who experiences an epiphany.

The beautiful essays in this book show the heart of someone who truly loves Palestine and its people and makes the reader share that love. I'm ashamed to think of how I used to fall for the portrayal, by "the masters of discourse," of the Palestinians. Shamir, through this book, most certainly helped wise me up.

Shamir has been accused of being anti-Semitic, but actually this formerly Jewish convert to Orthodox Christianity is not against any innocent people, be they Jewish or non-Jewish. He is against the ideology of Judaic Supremacism, and God bless him for that.

Reading this book is so rewarding that I can't even come up with words to explain how I feel about it. Divinely inspired, for the most part, I scarcely think are words of hyperbole.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rich and deeply felt examination..., October 27, 2006

By	Michael Santomauro "What sort of Truth is it ... (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A rich and deeply felt examination...

Details life in the Occupied Territories with sensitivity, insight and a fine eye for moral ambiguities. Highly recommended!