Customer Reviews

Masada: The Last Fortress

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gloria Miklowitz has written an interesting work of historical fiction, that will leave young readers awed at the Zealots courage, and disgusted with the Roman resolve to conquer all. The author uses several devices to keep young adults both male and female reading including the friendship/conflict between the young narrator and John, the rising military leader for the Jews and their struggles in loving the same young woman. Alternating voices of the young Jewish narrator and the commander of Roman forces are easily distinguished and insightful. Adults and young adults will have plenty to discuss and think about. Not recommended for ages ten and under, for the mass suicide at the end would be both frightening and difficult for younger children to comprehend.

Though I wouldn't recommend this book for younger audiences because of the violence and references to camp harlots, it was a compelling drama. Besides the political and religious aspects of the story, there is the underlying love story of unrequited love between Simon and Deborah, who is pledged to his best friend, John. It is the story of courage and hope despite overwhelming odds. By writing from the Roman general's point of view also, we get a look at his insights into the situation as well as political greed, corruption, honor, and cruelty. The themes in this novel are universal.

This book held my interest from the first pages. It's told from the Roman commander's viewpoint and the son of the Jewish leader who wants to be a physican and succeeds just at the time when he must kill those he loves. The last chapters had me in tears. It really brings alive the people and problems of the period. Imagine the Romans, surrounding the fortress, having to haul in water and supplies for months in the desert heat, and the Jews - trying to stop the building of the ramp which would let the Romans use their battering ram to break into their fortress. Don't have to be Jewish to find the book fascinating

This book helped me put names, faces, and personalities to the people of Masada. Nobody knows exactly what happened or how, of course. We can imagine that the people would have wanted us to know their story. The author takes the facts that we do know and weaves them into a story of the way it might have happened. That is helpful as we weigh those ideas with those of other sources before formulating our own ideas.

Even for those of us who are Christians living in America, just hearing 'Masada' evokes strong thoughts and feelings. It stirs up questions about who these people were and what their lives must have been like during the Roman army's siege against them. How terrified they must have been! We wonder what we would have done.

When I visited Masada last year, we sat outside looking at the view of the Dead Sea. I wondered how many times the people of Masada sat staring at that same view, hearing the noises of the soldiers camped out below them, maybe smelling the pots of food cooking, pondering the fate that awaited them, hoping that other options would save them, knowing that time was growing short and they would not be able to live out the dreams they had for the future. Our tour guide handed us two items that had been found at Masada, a coin and a woman's ring. These were obviously copies, of course, but everyone got very quiet as we transitioned from viewing the 'place' and the 'event' into thoughts about the individual people who held a coin like that in their hands, who wore that delicate little ring. I tried to imagine the person who wore that ring. Was it her wedding ring? Was she young, or old? Did she have children? Did she agree with the decisions that were made? Did she have a voice? What were their lives like during those days?

I looked over the landscape below. As I visited the various rooms and buildings, I tried to picture them bustling with people both before the Romans arrived, and after. I tried to picture them preparing for those last moments, trying to preserve valuable scrolls. I 'saw' them leaving stores of food rather than destroying it so the Romans wouldn't have it. This was evidence that they didn't make their decision because they were out of food or water, but because they chose death over slavery, abuse and mistreatment, and what was essentially a slow death, the only other option available to them and one that was unacceptable to them.

I read Masada, The Last Fortress, to help me put personalities into the very sketchy historical records. In fact, I found a video here on Amazon, but before viewing it, I wanted to read this and another book because the video can't describe thoughts and feelings the way a book can. I want to be able to process and compare the ideas from several sources, including Flavius Josephus' account before forming my own personal ideas about the people who experienced this event.

There was much that I did not know about Masada, including what had happened before they arrived there and the amount of time they spent with the Roman army camped out at the base of that 'rock' called Masada. This book may have been designed for young people, but I found it to be appropriate for adults as well.

My wife recently took a trip to Israel and commented that she only wished she had read this book before the trip.

MASADA! THE very name resonates with unbowed pride and desire for religious and political freedom--in an era when Roma mastered the world with ruthless might. Masada---the site where a thousand Zealots chose mass suicide rather than endure slavery and humiliation as prisoners of the Tenth Legion. The rocky fortress in the Judean wilderness--once the glorious refuge of King Herod--stood massively aloof, complete with
a hanging palace, cisterns for rain water, and walled ramparts. Masada--a thorn in Rome's side, where the last remnants of Jewish resistance held out for almost 7 years.

At the foot of this forbidding plateau General Flavius Silva planned his triumphal entry into the last stronghold of Middle Eastern resistance, albeit subtly undermined by his conniving subordinate, Marius. Yet when Silva finally obtained his objective and marched through the last of the defensive wallw, he was not destined to savor the spectacle of Jews in chains paraded through Rome to reflect his military glory. He was met only by a handful of survivors: an old woman, a middle-aged woman and a few children. Nothing was left to loot and only a little food--to prove that the people had not succumbed to starvation.

Alternating chapters in first person narratives between the Jewish viewpoint (indicated by a sketch of a menorah) and that of the Roman commander (indicated by the Roman mounted Eagle) the author presents sympathetic accounts of both sides--an impressive literary feat. Although the outcome of the unequal siege is obvious, readers gain insight into the mentality of the youthful Jewish protagonist, Simon, and the middle-aged general--each with their respective personal goals. Simon comes of age during the last 7 months of his life, as he struggles with his new career, jealousy towards a former best friend, forbidden desire for Deborah, and gradual admiration for Salome. Were their fictionalized internal battles in vain? What unwritten message does Masada represent for all nations; what does it proclaim in an age when it was the victors who wrote the history books? What great sacrifice was made so that the truth about Jewish resistance might be known down through the centuries?

This book is okay, I had to read it in school. I've read better books before but if you are a person who likes to read historical books. then this book might be the type you're looking for. It's told from the point of views of 17year old Simon and the Roman Commander, Flavis Silva. it's Interesting how you get to know what's going on both sides of the 'war' During the last few months before the Romans won