Bethlehem: biography of a town

When Blincoe visits Bethlehem his in-laws' home he sees a place carrying a far more tangled history than most Christians realize when singing Christmas carols about that little town. Weaving up-close personal experience into an extensively researched narrative, Blincoe limns the developments that transformed Bethlehem from an agricultural region supporting Bronze Age olive-oil merchants to a bustling twenty-first-century city filled with tourist guides and quarry miners. In this winding chronicle, the politics of conquest loom large: readers see how its location at the edge of Jerusalem and in control of its water supply has exposed Bethlehem to assaults by a long list of invaders the Seleucids, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, the British, and finally in 1967 the Israelis. As he peels away the layers of culture this succession of overlords has given Bethlehem, Blincoe illuminates the continuing relevance of each fascinating layer. Though some readers may resist Blincoe's sharp criticism of what he calls the Israeli occupation, all will leave these pages with a richer understanding of an iconic city.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2017 Booklist

Novelist, playwright, and screenwriter Blincoe is an Englishman married to a native of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. They divide their time between London and Bethlehem, so he is in a good position to introduce readers to this small town located on the West Bank. He employs apt images to help visualize a scene and historical comparisons to help understand particular events. While situating the historical Bethlehem in religious as well as Jewish and Roman history, the author also provides the flavor of the contemporary city. Similar to James Martin's Jesus, this is part travelog, part history, and part memoir. But Blincoe, who has produced two documentaries about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, shows more interest in current events and the political situation of Bethlehem (and Palestine generally). Using the Gospels, historical documents, archaeology, and his 1907 Baedeker, Blincoe weaves a tapestry of history, geography, and politics that illuminates this most famous of areas, here seen through the eyes of one who knows the place intimately. VERDICT Deftly written, this narrative has something to offer a wide variety of readers, whether interested in history, archaeology, religious connection, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.-Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, NJ © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

When Blincoe visits Bethlehem—his in-laws' home—he sees a place carrying a far more tangled history than most Christians realize when singing Christmas carols about that "little town." Weaving up-close personal experience into an extensively researched narrative, Blincoe limns the developments that transformed Bethlehem from an agricultural region supporting Bronze Age olive-oil merchants to a bustling twenty-first-century city filled with tourist guides and quarry miners. In this winding chronicle, the politics of conquest loom large: readers see how its location at the edge of Jerusalem and in control of its water supply has exposed Bethlehem to assaults by a long list of invaders—the Seleucids, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, the British, and finally—in 1967—the Israelis. As he peels away the layers of culture this succession of overlords has given Bethlehem, Blincoe illuminates the continuing relevance of each fascinating layer. Though some readers may resist Blincoe's sharp criticism of what he calls the Israeli occupation, all will leave these pages with a richer understanding of an iconic city. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Novelist, playwright, and screenwriter Blincoe is an Englishman married to a native of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. They divide their time between London and Bethlehem, so he is in a good position to introduce readers to this small town located on the West Bank. He employs apt images to help visualize a scene and historical comparisons to help understand particular events. While situating the historical Bethlehem in religious as well as Jewish and Roman history, the author also provides the flavor of the contemporary city. Similar to James Martin's Jesus, this is part travelog, part history, and part memoir. But Blincoe, who has produced two documentaries about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, shows more interest in current events and the political situation of Bethlehem (and Palestine generally). Using the Gospels, historical documents, archaeology, and his 1907 Baedeker, Blincoe weaves a tapestry of history, geography, and politics that illuminates this most famous of areas, here seen through the eyes of one who knows the place intimately. VERDICT Deftly written, this narrative has something to offer a wide variety of readers, whether interested in history, archaeology, religious connection, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.—Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, NJ