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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
“Atrocities on both sides”
“Arab-Israeli conflict”
Even when this book was written it was genocide.
I learned a lot of Jewish history though!
“Arab-Israeli conflict”
Even when this book was written it was genocide.
I learned a lot of Jewish history though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Genocide, War
Just a note that I am not rating this a 3 because of the content. The ideas provided by Harvey are really interesting, and the history, while not always as robust as I might have hoped, was a decent primer. I would like to have heard more about Harvey's change of mind- that seemed like it was going to be the crux of the book, but more time was spent on the history, rather than with Harvey.
However, the images in this book were so hard to read. There were entire pages where I have to cover up the pages to read the text because there was so much going on in the design of the pages and the details, very little of which actually meaningfully contributed to the ideas or narrative presented. I also feel like it was a very strange choice to frame the story as the day they went to a book store and a library and talked about making this book together. Feels a bit like a cop-out.
tldr: Great ideas. Pretty good history. Weird frame. Awful visuals.
However, the images in this book were so hard to read. There were entire pages where I have to cover up the pages to read the text because there was so much going on in the design of the pages and the details, very little of which actually meaningfully contributed to the ideas or narrative presented. I also feel like it was a very strange choice to frame the story as the day they went to a book store and a library and talked about making this book together. Feels a bit like a cop-out.
tldr: Great ideas. Pretty good history. Weird frame. Awful visuals.
A graphic novel, cool! Explores the history of Israel and Jews as they move in and out of the Middle East and this movement’s relationship with current-day policy and attitudes.
So this book stands at a solid four star rating for me.
It was like revisiting my modern history lessons in University; which were some of my favourite courses.
This book follows the renowned artist Harvey Pekar and his views towards the modern day Israel and the god given claim to land. It was an interesting take since Pekar never visited Israel himself. Growing up with staunch Zionist parents, the book discusses the shifts in his own beliefs and give analytical and insightful arguments about the current day state of Israel. It’s packed with information and history so I will be going through it again.
It was like revisiting my modern history lessons in University; which were some of my favourite courses.
This book follows the renowned artist Harvey Pekar and his views towards the modern day Israel and the god given claim to land. It was an interesting take since Pekar never visited Israel himself. Growing up with staunch Zionist parents, the book discusses the shifts in his own beliefs and give analytical and insightful arguments about the current day state of Israel. It’s packed with information and history so I will be going through it again.
This book was Harvey Pekar's last. It documents his feelings about Israel. As his wife states in the epilogue, he was proudly Jewish but not nationalistic. I was very taken with the illustrations and contributions of JT Waldman. The book probably gave me more Jewish history that I could absorb, but the scenes with Harvey always shine. I will miss his perspective on the world.
Nice introduction to the nature and history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for novices, with the added bonus of Harvey Pekar's dry/realist humor.
One part history lesson, one part one man's changing perspective on Israel. An interesting read.
I'm not a big fan of Pekar but this book is superb. It leads us through the history of the zionist state and also Harvey's relation to it. The artwork is fantastic and the story is approachable. I have a few quibbles with his characterizations of early Eastern European history but overall it's a solid, informative, important read. Great use of comics as a medium full of potential
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Really good overview on Jews, Jewish history & Israel. Not as good as explaining why some of what’s happening is problematic.