In this concise book, Beryl Ratzer who is a veteran Israeli tour guide, aims to give the reader a brief tour of Jewish history while bringing it to life. I must admit, having being convinced to buy this book with that in mind, I had high expectations, thinking it would be a book that I would be unable to put down. In my mind it would have more of a feel of a story being told, which is what the history of the Jewish people is about. While very interesting and readable, it felt less life-like and more factual at times. If that would have been how the book was initially advertised, it certainly would have fulfilled its purpose as it gives a brief but very succinct synopsis of Israel and its different periods during its fascinating history. The book is arranged chronologically over 12 different eras culminating in a chapter on the State of Israel where all the wars Israel has had to endure for survival are covered up until up until “Operation Cast Lead”.

Through Its succinctness, Ratzer arguably comes into her own, by managing to condense 6000 years of history into 160 pages while at the same time providing the reader with plenty of information to digest. The book is made colourful and ‘user-friendly’ by its numerous illustrations, tables, maps and period quotes which the author attempts to use to bring the book into life. In particular, the clear and informative tables along with the majority of the maps being colour-coded, enable the reader to focus on the narrative more easily.

The photographs of the historical sights along with the accompanying text add an extra dimension to the book for those interested in visiting the places concerned. Although not a travel guide, it is indeed a valuable resource to take along due to the brief but informative synopses of events outlined by Ratzer that have taken place around the land of Israel. ( )

Trying to write a historical overview of anything covering prehistory to the present is daunting, to be certain. To create such a history of an area of the world like the 'Holy Land,' central as it has been to so much of human history, and the core of development for three of the largest religions, and to do so in under 200 heavily illustrated pages? May perhaps be sufficiently daunting as to make it an unwise project.

I was most surprised to note that the same number of pages (30, from 125-155) are taken up with the history of Israel from 1917 to the present (with fully 18 devoted to the State of Israel after WWII) as are given to the entire period from the beginning of Islam around 633 to 1917 (pp. 89-124). This timeframe reflects a period which includes not only the rise and spread of the first Islamic empires, but also the Crusades, the Mameluke era, and the entire Ottoman Empire. Such an imbalance suggests the author is rushing through the earlier periods because he cannot avoid them, rather than giving them care and attention equal to that given to the modern State of Israel.

The level of detail in some of the earlier sections seems to be very much in keeping with this impression. The details of, for example, the Constantinian era are scanty at best. And the section dealing with the Crusades (an area in which I have some small expertise) are outright inaccurate, based on shallow and outdated ideas which have long been superseded. Having diagnosed such flaws in the sections about which I do have broad knowledge, even though I cannot speak with similar authority on the sections on the ancient periods or those after the Crusades, I am afraid I have little confidence in the accuracy of any of the work.

In her introduction, the author attributes the varying length of different chapters to the "varied amounts of written sources for each period and to the fact that, while sometimes this area was a major player on the stage of history, at others it was desolate and unimportant—not even a minor role!" Again, I have less thorough knowledge of certain periods myself, but I cannot take seriously the claim that the entirety of the seventh through nineteenth centuries have neither enough source material nor historical significance to be covered in the same depth as the modern era, nor with appropriate accuracy.

The history of this region is intensely complicated, and in every era, terrifically important to the development of culture throughout the world. While I find this work to be a noble effort, and something I would love to see done well, this example seems to have fallen well short of its goals. ( )

Beryl Ratzer. A Historical Tour of the Holy Land. Gefen, 2010. 160 pp. $16.95.

Color pictures and maps! This book covers a lot of history in a small amount of space.

Traveling through time from the prehistoric Stone Age to the present day, this reference book provides a wealth of information about Israel:

- Charts and maps depicting the change in ownership of land including possession by the twelve tribes of Israel, the Greek Empire, Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, and British Mandate with details of the Jewish immigration until 1948 when the current state of Israel was born

- References to biblical stories pointing out landmarks with photographs of historical sights from both the Old Testament and the New Testament

- Details about the Crusades, wars and conflicts, and specifics about the ongoing Palestinian dispute

"A Historical Tour of the Holy Land" is an excellent travel guide. My only complaint is that it is a mere 160 pages. It is astounding that such a small geographical area of the world could hold so much treasured history. It is an impossible task to document all the details of the history of the holy land in any one publication. This book gives just enough information to whet the appetite for further research. And if one is fortunate enough to visit Israel, Ratzer’s guide enhances the intimate view of the exalted, sacred, holy land. ( )

This is a sufficient book for those planning to tour Israel and Palestine. Of particular usefulness are the chronology of the historical periods, maps, noted geographical distances, and the bibliography. Key historical events and sites are concisely highlighted. The numerous color photographs fail to capture the beauty and richness of this region though. This book is not intended to be in-depth, but is well suited as an overview or travel souvenir. ( )