Herzl

by Amos Elon

Overview

Born in Budapest to a well-to-do assimilated Jewish family, Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) and his family moved to Vienna when he was 18. He studied law before he began writing plays and pieces of journalism. Herzl became the Paris correspondent for Vienna�s leading newspaper, the Neue Freie Presse, and covered the Dreyfus affair, which shocked and galvanized him to write The Jewish State: An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question, published in 1896. After the first Zionist congress of 1897, Herzl wrote in his diary: �In Basel I founded the Jewish state. If I said this aloud today, I would be answered by universal laughter. Perhaps in five years, and certainly in fifty, everyone will agree.�

�A great dramatic biography.� � Alfred Kazin, The New York Times

�Any reader familiar with the sources can appreciate the brilliance, restraint and fidelity of Elon�s narrative... the excitement of events and the quality of their prime mover come through admirably.� � The New Republic

�You could not put the book down without admiring Theodor Herzl�s courage and practical achievements � his romance turned into a Congress, a bank, a diplomacy.� � Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker

�A quite astonishing portrait... positively rewarding� � Kirkus Reviews

�Elon�s 1975 biography of Herzl... vividly portrayed the man with all his quirks, inventiveness and shortcomings� � Lawrence Joffe, The Guardian

�considered one of the best biographies to date of Zionist founder Theodor Herzl� � Benjamin Spier, Jerusalem Post

�arguably the best biography ever written of the founding father of Zionism, Theodore Herzl� � Tom Segev, Ha�aretz

�A fascinating book ... it has the fascination of a novel on the grand scale.� � Arthur Miller, Washington Post

�A skillfully written human look at the man whose life reads like a novel...� � Miami Herald

Product Details

BN ID:	2940150752078
Publisher:	Plunkett Lake Press
Publication date:	11/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	448
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Amos Elon (1926-2009) was one of Israel�s leading public intellectuals. Born in Vienna, he emigrated to Palestine with his family in 1933. He studied law, literature, and history at Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and Cambridge.

A secular Jew, he fought in Israel�s War of Independence in 1948 and later became a journalist. He began writing for Ha�aretz in 1954, and subsequently served as the newspaper�s Washington correspondent, European bureau chief, senior editor and columnist.

His eleven books include Founder: A Portrait of the First Rothschild and His Time, The Israelis: Founders and Sons and Herzl. A persistent and prescient voice for negotiation between Arabs and Jews. In 2004, he moved to Tuscany. He wrote frequently for English-language publications including Encounter, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books.