Customer Reviews
Epic Account of the Birth of Israel - By: Gary Selikow, 17 Jun 2008 
This remarkable book documents the struggle to be born by the Jewish state of Israel by amongst others , holocaust survivors It IS byin large historically accurate (as historical novels go) And you get to know the characters intimately-the dashing soldier/hero Ari Ben Canaan who fallsin love with Kitty Fremont,the American nurse who reluctantly-despite her misgivings- works with the Jews & grows to change her condescending & slightly prejudiced attitude to a genuine love for these people There is the vivacious & beautiful Karen Clement-a young German Jewish girl who was raised by a Christian familyin Denmark-in order to escape Hitlers holocaust & Dov Landau who has lived through the worst horrors imaginable during the dreadful Nazi occupation of Poland .We live throught he trials & tribulation of those trying to set up a small homeland against overwhelming odds,violent Arab hordes & the bigotry of the British Empire This is a truthful account & also looks through the eyes of Arabs British & others It is a FACT that the Arabs did attack & destroy Jewish settlements from 1921 & that their leaders wanted to anhilate the Jews from the face of Palestine from the beginning,with any Arabs willing to reach an accomodation with the Jews slaughtered
A gripping story - By: Sancho Mahle, 26 Jan 2005 I read this book when I was fourteen, yet the story is still vividin my mind. Exodus is beyond a literary work. It is more than that. Historical sociological, philosophicalin range, it challenges the reader to confront stereotypes, to see reality with another man's eyes & to judge fairly.
Even though the book started slowly, the pace ,plot & challenges intensified with the introduction of the Palestinian Jews. Still I will say that Leon Uris deliberately did that since he was writing the book for the international audience.
The pogromsin Czarist Russia are told, the anti-Semitism that followed the Dreyfus affairin France & Western Europe , which prompted the emergence of the Zionist movement are clearly spelt out as the motivating factor for the creation of a Jewish state. Even holocaust is clearly unveiled as the final catastrophe that made the creation of a Jewish state inevitable.
The book gives a good picture of plight of the Palestinian Jews under the Ottomans & later their struggles against the Britishin the mandate. It shows the complicated nature of the different peoplesin the land, such as the alliances between Druses & Jews, understanding with Bedouin tribes & intra-Jewish differences. Israel's proclamation of independence & defiant victory against the Arab states seeking to annihilate is well writtenin this book. The characters that enriched the story are brought out to be so lively & natural. Ari Ben Canaan, his uncle Akiva, the rest of the Ben Canaan family, Kitty the American nurse who fellin love with a land & people she had not wanted to know, the angelic Karen, the rebellious, Dov, David & a host of other characters made the plot rich.
However, what struck me about this novel of close to five decades is the author's presentation of the Palestinian refugee problem. Their plight hasn't changed. Who is responsiblein a world where so much has changed? What is the solution? I think that while Israel must actin good faith for peacein the Middle East, the Arab States should accept responsibilities too for the refugee problem. The answer is approach. How to approach a tragedy with the intention to heal. I read DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE & was inspired by the people's approach to human disasters. South Africa is another good example.
I recommend DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, THE DA VINCI CODE
A Book That was Life-Forming - By: Mrs. S. A. Roberts, 31 Jan 2004 I first read Exodus backin 1972 when I was 15. It made the biggest impression ever on me - I am half-Jewish (on my father's side) so was not brought upin the faith. However, reading this book made me feel a connection to my roots which will stay with me for the rest of my life & made me hold firmly to the Zionist cause.
It is more & more important when anti-semitism & anti-Israeli feeling is becoming rife that people read this book & see the sheer guts & determination that brought this proud people to their Homeland.
OUTSTANDING! - By: , 29 May 2002 Leon Uris takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions as he tells of the birth of Israel & the history of some of its citizens. Whilst a fictional book he draws heavily from fact & leaves the reader with a fairly accurate over view of the events that led to the creation of a Jewish state & the situation that it finds itselfin today.
If I was only allowed to read one book againin my life it would be this one!
A Work of Art having been slightly smudged in the background - By: , 21 Aug 2001 
Leon Uris has written a thrilling,addictive,and passionate book.It is a work of art,the content can be disgusting yet it can be very intresting it can be romantic as well as being very cold hearted. But it has a problem to being bias to the Isralies & all so it loses track of some characters i.e Mark the reporter & Mandria the sympathizer. This is still a good read & worth buying
