The Glory

Rating:
Summary: Both books are great!
Review: I first read The Hope when it came out years ago, and waited for The Glory to be released. I was not disappointed! This is a great book, one you will not be able to put down. It tells the history of Israel against the backdrop of real life. (love, hate, marriage, birth, death). I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to know more about the Middle East and the history.

Rating:
Summary: Rivetting Sequel to The Hope
Review: The Glory continues where The Hope left off and continues with the characters we have come to know in The hope as well as introducing us to the trials and tribulations of their grown up children: The new generation
We are taken through key pints in Israel's struggle for survival: The raid on terrorists in Beirut in retaliation for the massacre by PLO operatives of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics; the horror and sacrifice of the Yom Kippur War and the resultant political fallout; the heroic raid on Entebbe to rescue Jewish hostages ;the tense and prolonged negotiations at Camp David between Israel and Egypt and Sadat's visit to Jerusalem in 1978 and the raid of a key Iraqi nuclear terminal by the Israeli airforce in 1981 .
The novel ends with the 1988 celebration of Israel's 40th birthday
In addition to the detailed and interesting lives of the key characters we get to engage with real life figures like Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhac Rabin Ariel Sharon and Defence Force Chief of Staff Motta Gur

Rating:
Summary: Has a "made-for TV" feel to it
Review: The Glory,Wouk's sequel to The Hope, picks up where The Hope ended - in the aftermath of the 1967 War. The story is a tale of three families living through the turbulent 70's: the Yom Kippur War, Entebbe, the bombing the Iraqi nuclear reactor. I can only give it 3 stars because he punctuates the book with star-crossed lovers and familial relations that are almost as complicated as those between Near East nations. I found this distracting from the story he was telling. Wouk also tends to simplify Israeli relations with the wider world and presents only the Israeli perspective on events.

Yet this is historical fiction, so he is due a little slack. To Wouk's credit, he accurately describes the lbehind-the-scenes political manoeverings of men of state, the maddening lack of action on critical intelligence and the frustrating (and burdensome) Israeli bureaucracy. His account of Israeli drivers is also frighteningly close to the mark. An entertaining read.