{"product_id":"b01exbfmao","title":"Chasing Utopia: The Future of the Kibbutz in a Divided Israel","description":"\u003cp\u003eA mix of memoir and history offering a nuanced, unflinching look at the Israeli dream of the kibbutz and its demise . . . darkly comic . . . utterly engrossing (Ayelet Tsabari, author of  The Art of Leaving ).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe word Israel today sparks images of walls and rockets and a bloody conflict without end. Yet for decades, the symbol of the Jewish State was the noble pioneer making the desert bloom: the legendary kibbutznik. So whatever happened to the dream of founding a socialist utopia in the land called Palestine? In this book David Leach revisits his raucous memories of life as a kibbutz volunteer and returns to meet a new generation of Jewish and Arab citizens struggling to forge a better future together. Crisscrossing the nation, he chronicles the controversial decline of the kibbutz movement and witnesses a renaissance of its original vision in unexpected corners of the Promised Land.  Chasing Utopia  is an entertaining, enlightening portrait of a divided nation where hope persists against the odds.\u003cbr\u003e\nAn informative history . . . laced with interviews with Jewish and Palestinian activists. — Publishers Weekly\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUpon his return to Israel twenty years later, now a middle-aged father with children, Leach found enormous changes—not only to [Kibbutz] Shamir, which had embraced privatization in the mid-2000s and listed its Optical Industry on NASDAQ, but the whole kibbutz system. . . . Leach's report is both affectingly personal, delving into many intimate stories of visionaries, and a sound historical study. — Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExceptionally well-researched and beautifully written . . . readers wondering about the allure and challenges of utopian communities will find a probing examination that takes them to lesser-known corners of Israel and the West Bank. ―Jessamyn Hope, author of  Safekeeping\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLeach maintains a neutral stance when discussing the conflict that is tearing Israel apart, and writes with great empathy for all sides . . . He is at times funny and self-effacing, but he is also keen-eyed and generous in his observations . . . a stellar achievement. ― Quill \u0026amp; Quire\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ANT","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":52855429759192,"sku":"YSL83980","price":10.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/3356\/2072\/files\/81g8aXKveUL._SY1500.jpg?v=1793419165","url":"https:\/\/www.bookmebay.com\/products\/b01exbfmao","provider":"BookMebay","version":"1.0","type":"link"}