The Glory: A Novel [Paperback]

Herman Wouk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2002

Like no other novelist at work today, Herman Wouk has managed to capture the sweep of history in novels rich in character and alive with drama. In "The Hope," which opens in 1948 and culminates in the miraculous triumph of 1967's Six-Day War, Wouk plunges the reader into the story of a nation struggling for its birth and then its survival. As the tale resumes in "The Glory," Wouk portrays the young nation once again pushed to the brink of annihilation -- and sets the stage for today's ongoing struggle for peace.

Taking us from the Sinai to Jerusalem, from dust-choking battles to the Entebbe raid, from Camp David to the inner lives of such historical figures as Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, and Anwar Sadat, these extraordinary novels have the authenticity and authority of Wouk's finest fiction -- and together strike a resounding chord of hope for all humanity.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In Wouk's newest work, you'll meet Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, and Henry Kissinger, along with the second generation of the military family in his recent New York Times best seller, The Hope. A Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild alternate selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

This is the sequel to The Hope (1993), which dramatized the unlikely course of modern Israel's history, ending with its smashing victory over the Arabs in 1967. As in previous sagas of Woukian dimensions, The Winds of War to name one of a dozen, ordinary people become heroic figures against a turbulent backdrop of war, death, and love. As emotional encapsulations of this century's ghastly and glorious Jewish experience, Wouk's epics have been automatically popular, regardless of their schmaltzy, made-for-TV texture. Here he places a dozen military characters and their families in crucial roles in the post-'67 fighting: the Barak family has a military attach{‚}e in the Washington embassy and a son on a gunboat; the Luries fly fighters; and the Pasternaks lurk in the Mossad's shadows. From such vantage points, they fight along and over the Suez Canal and fend off disaster in the Yom Kippur War, pull off the exhilarating Entebbe rescue, and bomb Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981, an endpoint that leaves out the less triumphant '80s. Wouk humanizes these intense events with scenes of passage (affairs, weddings, funerals) and mixes in real Israeli leaders such as Golda Meir, Dayan, Sharon, and Rabin, who consult with his characters. While action-minded readers await a possible televised adaptation, this spacious panorama of battle should sustain their interest. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (June 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316953199
• ISBN-13: 978-0316953191
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Herman Wouk earned his living as a scriptwriter for Fred Allen before serving in World War II. His career as a novelist spans nearly six decades and has brought him resounding international acclaim. He lives in Palm Springs, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good look at the last 50 years of Israeli life/history, April 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Glory: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

In "The Hope" & "The Glory", Wouk portrays the birth of the State of Israel, its turbulent coming of age and its development as America's staunchest ally in the Middle East, warts and all. Real people populate the books as well as Wouk's fictitious characters. For those of us who have never been to the Holy Land or who never experienced the Holocaust firsthand, you can't help but walk away from these books with a better understanding of why Israel is so important to Jews around the world. The reader also develops a working knowledge of the behind-the-scenes machinations of the Israeli and American leaders during the many Middle East crises of the last 50 years. I have been a fan of Wouk's for 40 years and was amazed at the lack of publicity these two books received when first published (I came across them by accident while browsing in a bookstore)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The human dimension brings any good story to life, August 16, 2009

By 

Nina M. Osier (Randolph, ME USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Glory: A Novel (Paperback)

In his historical notes at this book's end, Herman Wouk tells his readers that The Hope and The Glory started as one book and wound up being written as two. He knew how he wanted to end this story - another Wouk epic! - from the beginning, with an event in Israel's history for which he was present. As a writer, I find that interesting. As a reader, I thoroughly enjoyed both books and found that they do, indeed, tell one story. The Glory picks up that story in 1967, and concludes it in 1988 - 40 years after the War for Independence in 1948, where The Hope began.

Wouk understands what makes his characters tick, and their growing and changing processes unfold naturally. That's what makes both books a pleasure to read. He brings the events of modern Israel's history to life by experiencing them with his characters, and his depictions of real people (people like Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, and Menachem Begin) ring true for a reader who remembers watching those events and those real people move across the world's stage during the years that The Glory covers. It's hard to believe his fictional creations are not just as real. He even gets the women right, exactly right for the context of their times. Too much like a "movie of the week," as some reviewers state? Maybe. But it's the human dimension that brings any good story to life, and at doing that Wouk excels.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 EPPIE winner REGS

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Has a "made-for TV" feel to it, August 30, 2002

By 

doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Glory: A Novel (Paperback)

The Glory,Wouk's sequel to The Hope, picks up where The Hope ended - in the aftermath of the 1967 War. The story is a tale of three families living through the turbulent 70's: the Yom Kippur War, Entebbe, the bombing the Iraqi nuclear reactor. I can only give it 3 stars because he punctuates the book with star-crossed lovers and familial relations that are almost as complicated as those between Near East nations. I found this distracting from the story he was telling. Wouk also tends to simplify Israeli relations with the wider world and presents only the Israeli perspective on events.

Yet this is historical fiction, so he is due a little slack. To Wouk's credit, he accurately describes the lbehind-the-scenes political manoeverings of men of state, the maddening lack of action on critical intelligence and the frustrating (and burdensome) Israeli bureaucracy. His account of Israeli drivers is also frighteningly close to the mark. An entertaining read.