Eric Gartman is the author of Return from Zion: The History of Modern Israel. He will be blogging here all week as part of the Visiting Scribe series on The ProsenPeople.
History is a source of continued fascination for all peoples. History tells us where we came from, who we are, and offers answers to how we should live and what may happen in the future. It is therefore no surprise that as “the People of the Book,” Jews are enamored by history at least as much as any other people, and probably more so. Despite this interest in our past, and the myriad of books that come out annually, too many histories are stolid and laborious, lacking the emotions and atmosphere that dominated the lives of those who came before us. Why is this so? The biggest single reason is that those who are professionally tasked with writing history are tied to a system that deliberately discourages making those books easy and interesting to read. Academia demands professors write heavily-footnoted, dispassionate analyses intended to move the field forward. These works are required for every historian who seeks tenure in an educational institution. While these are necessary and important, they are not intended for the general reader, nor are they suitable for the non-specialist seeking to learn more about a particular topic. To address this issue, academia issues textbooks. We are all familiar with these-large, hardcover bound tomes that cover large topics and come complete with maps, tables, charts, and photographs. While they are written in simple language for the general audience, they are never intended to be anything but informative. You will not learn what it was like to be a soldier in the trenches, a farmer in the fields, a witness to a riot. Textbooks will not explain the hopes and dreams of those who make history, who drive the process. While they are important, in my opinion, they are not enough.
Take a look at the best-sellers in history on any book list. You will not find academic treatises or textbooks. What you will find are well-written, stimulating tales that are both important and interesting. Authors like David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stephen Ambrose, or Jay Winik, to name a few, manage to tell us the stories of the past that are so important to our understanding of our world, and in a lively manner. These authors prove that history books can (and should) be both informative and interesting.
That was the approach I took in writing my forthcoming history of Israel, Return to Zion. It’s written in easy language, like I’m talking to the reader in a casual conversation. I’ve included eye-witness accounts of key events to give the reader a visual and visceral picture of what happened. There is some analysis as well, but it is not heavy-handed or laden with jargon. I’ve also included some information from newly-declassified documents not published elsewhere. It’s my hope that readers will find this style of writing engaging. We are the People of the Book, and I hope to have written a history worthy of our name.
Eric Gartman is an intelligence analyst for the United States Department of Defense who has lived and studied in Israel and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East.
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Eric Gartman is an intelligence analyst for the United States Department of Defense who has lived and studied in Israel and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East.