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Rating: 
Summary: In Hebrew, it's "The New Zionists", which is closer ...
Review: "Elvis in Jerusalem" is not a good title for this collection of reflections on present-day Israeli society. It is, in my opinion, a direction-less appendix to his more substantial (and more laudable) works: "One Palestine Complete", "The Seventh Million", and "The First Israelis." (I would love Segev to tackle the settler movement next, or perhaps secret relations between Israeli and Arab governments over the years, or maybe the complex and evolving identity of Palestinian citizens of Israel.)As for this piece, it is enjoyable but has a "snack food" quality to it. Anything Segev is better than your run-of-the-mill work by a journalist-cum-sociologist; nonetheless, I would have preferred this to be an outline for a meatier book on conflicts between Zionism, Modernism, Judaism and Americanization. Fascinating, and he's among the best, but this was an afterthought at best and a retread of covered ground otherwise.
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Summary: more a series of newspaper columns than a book
Review: I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but it only really works in the context of other reading on contemporary Israel. He focuses on the Americanization of Israel, a fascinating topic, but this is a book of essays not of scholarship. Furthermore, Segev assumes a fair amount of knowledge of Jewish and Israeli history. He's a good writer, and this is a fun read for someone who is familiar with trends in Israeli life. He doesn't, however, really set out to prove his thesis. Also, it would probably not be terribly interesting to someone with little or no background in the subject
Rating:
Summary: more a series of newspaper columns than a book
Review: I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but it only really works in the context of other reading on contemporary Israel. He focuses on the Americanization of Israel, a fascinating topic, but this is a book of essays not of scholarship. Furthermore, Segev assumes a fair amount of knowledge of Jewish and Israeli history. He's a good writer, and this is a fun read for someone who is familiar with trends in Israeli life. He doesn't, however, really set out to prove his thesis. Also, it would probably not be terribly interesting to someone with little or no background in the subject
Rating:
Summary: Not much Elvis here...
Review: I was disappointed with this one. No, I'm not a Graceland junkie, but I did expect at least a modest degree of accuracy from either the sensationalist title or subtitle. This is actually more of an academic essay that briefly discusses Zionism and its contingencies. Many different opinions are surveyed by the author, but there are very few "man-on-the-street" cultural observations and I didn't feel as if I knew any more about the "Americanization of Israel" after reading than I had before I began.
Rating: 
Summary: Tom Segev does not mythologize Israel
Review: Is VAPID Americanization bad for Israel? Is national unity a pejorative? According to Segev, social collectivism is dead, Americanism is thriving in Israel. Private parties now supplant group celebrations. If Paul Newman were to reprise his role as Ari Ben Canaan from the 1961 film, "Exodus," he might portray a capitalist in Ramat Aviv Gimmel, and not a committed Kibbutznik. Segev feels that more Israeli's pay homage to the Elvis statue at an Elvis Diner on the road to Jerusalem, than to a Herzl statue that stands outside of Herzliya, that beachside bastion of prosperous capitalism. Personally, aside from this post-Zionist's thesis, the book is worth reading if only for the bounty of tidbits of Israeli social history and the voices of Israel's scholars that are included. Segev smartly uses a recurring theme of statues, and the reader is left with a fresh look at the future of Israeli society.
Rating: 
Summary: A man with all the spirituality of cardboard.
Review: Segev believes that the media generates the revolutionary ideas that move Israel forward. With that kind of ego, it's hard to imagine that Segev hears anything above the din of his own voice. Segev gets the reader lost in the semantics of post Zionism or post-post Zionism but ultimately, he offers no poetic vision of a people returning to their land, but a dry programmer's like outlook of building a country like developers put up a strip mall.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and thought provoking
Review: The title of this book seems to be designed for American consumers. The Hebrew title is "The New Zionists". The book is about neither Elvis Presley nor Jerusalem.
The book tells of the "Americanization" of Israel in the recent past, symbolized by statues and a mural of Elvis Presley at the "Elvis Inn Jerusalem" in Neve Ilan, a few miles outside of Jerusalem. Mr. Segev writes, "This Elvis [statue] signals victory--the Bolshevism of the early Ben-Gurion years has been defeated. Israelis have chosen America."
The book is quite readable, assuming that the reader is well-versed in the history, the society and the culture of the Middle East. I found it to be an enjoyable book.
Mr. Segev is a journalist with Ha'Aretz, a leading Israeli newspaper and has published several books dealing with Israeli history and society.
Incidentally, for the tourist with a taste for the bizarre, the Elvis Inn Jerusalem is well worth the stop to see the place. (It was closed for rennovation when I was there -- late July, 2004 -- so I can not vouch for the food they serve.) Neve Ilan is located just off the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, and a detour to see this site will only take about fifteen minutes.
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Summary: Commentary at its best
Review: Tom Segev, PhD historian turned journalist, produces a series of fantastic commentaries for this extremely short work. Those familiar with Segev's other work will notice that Elvis lacks one of the trademarks of his previous works: extensive (almost mindnumbing) footnotes. After reading Segev's three other mammoth works (One Palestine, Complete; 1949: The First Israelis; and The Seventh Million), I was immediately struck by the simplicity of the book. Using his journalistic skills he produces a fascinating look into the changing society that is modern Israel. While his other works may have broken new ground with his theses, this book mostly rehashes many of the ideas he writes about in his other books. Nevertheless I found the book immensely interesting. He writes it almost as if it is a non-fiction black comedy, weaving in obscure stories into a rich history. As far as readability goes, this is probably Segev's best. It may not be for those who are beginners to the subject, but if you have already read a bit about Israel, the Palestinians, and the Middle East in general, it will give you a whole new insight into Israel.
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