Jerusalem

City of the Book

by Merav Mack; Benjamin Balint

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Pub Date May 14 2019 | Archive Date Jun 06 2019

History | Nonfiction (Adult)

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Description

A captivating journey through the hidden libraries of Jerusalem, where some of the world’s most enduring ideas were put into words

In this enthralling book, Merav Mack and Benjamin Balint explore Jerusalem’s libraries to tell the story of this city as a place where some of the world’s most enduring ideas were put into words. The writers of Jerusalem, although renowned the world over, are not usually thought of as a distinct school; their stories as Jerusalemites have never before been woven into a single narrative. Nor have the stories of the custodians, past and present, who safeguard Jerusalem’s literary legacies.

By showing how Jerusalem has been imagined by its writers and shelved by its librarians, Mack and Balint tell the untold history of how the peoples of the book have populated the city with texts. In their hands, Jerusalem itself—perched between East and West, antiquity and modernity, violence and piety—comes alive as a kind of labyrinthine library.

A Note From the Publisher

Merav Mack is a historian and scholar of contemporary religion affiliated with the Harry S. Truman Research Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the German Protestant Institute for Archaeology at Augusta Victoria. Her current research focuses on Christian minorities in the Middle East. Benjamin Balint is a writer and translator based at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. His previous books include Running Commentary and Kafka’s Last Trial.

Merav Mack is a historian and scholar of contemporary religion affiliated with the Harry S. Truman Research Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the German Protestant Institute for...

Advance Praise

“The three great monotheisms of the world share an obsession both with sacred texts and with Jerusalem. Seizing upon this double passion, Mack and Balint had the brilliant idea of exploring the city though its libraries. With the help of Frédéric Brenner’s haunting photographs, they have created a riveting chronicle of holy bibliomania.”

—Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

“An unforgettable journey through the world of books in Jerusalem, and an unparalleled portrait of one of the world’s great cities.”

—Matti Friedman, author of The Aleppo Codex

“For those who love Jerusalem, Jerusalem: City of the Book will be a welcome treat. But all those interested in what religions share, and how they may co-exist, will also learn a great deal from this lively, and often surprising book.”

—Miri Rubin, Queen Mary University of London