| Exodus | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 158 reviews)
Sales Rank: 72614
Category: Book
Author: Leon Uris
Publisher: Bantam
Studio: Bantam
Manufacturer: Bantam
Label: Bantam
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 608
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7 x 1.7 x 1.3
ISBN: 0553258478
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780553258479
ASIN: 0553258478
Publication Date: November 1, 1983
Release Date: October 1, 1983
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Exodus is an international publishing phenomenon--the towering novel of the twentieth century's most dramatic geopolitical event.Leon Uris magnificently portrays the birth of a new nation in the midst of enemies--the beginning of an earthshaking struggle for power.Here is the tale that swept the world with its fury: the story of an American nurse, an Israeli freedom fighter caught up in a glorious, heartbreaking, triumphant era.Here is Exodus --one of the great best-selling novels of all time.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 153 more reviews...
 two books stands above others July 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Two books stand above others. One is THe pillar of the earth from Ken Follet and the other one is Exodus. Both great historical fiction with characters you can live and dream. I highly recommend.
Birth of the Modern Jewish State May 9, 2008
This is my favorite Leon Uris, unless I just read Armageddon. The story of the birth of Israel is given while telling the story of Ari Ben Cannan, a Jewish soldier who once served in the British Army and an American nurse called Kitty Fremont who meets him while serving Jewish orphans from Europe after World War II.
Uris provides a great background to modern Israel and how the Jews who emigrated there in the 19th and 20th centuries took back the land of milk and honey.
The brutal struggle for a Jewish homeland is bitter sweet, telling of the horrors the Jews endured both during World War II and their war of independence.
As always, Uris's characters are flawed, but likeable even more because they are. This is a beautiful story and one that is important today because Israel is still fighting for its right to exist and the Palestinians do not have the homeland they were promised as part of the UN mandate as well.
Rebirth of a nation April 16, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In the same manner that Herman Wouk's "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" took us through the vast event that was WWII, as seen through the eyes of a family of beloved fictional characters -- so does Leon Uris' "Exodus" carry us through the labor pains and birth of the modern State of Israel, as told through the lives of a family of fictional figures in that resurrected nation.
The story is huge in scope and Uris covers a lot of territory. He takes us from the Jewish displaced persons camps of post-war Europe, through the Zionist immigration into Palestine (much of it illegal) under the British mandate, then through the rebuilding of the land and the growing skirmishes leading to all out war for survival as the British withdrew (as prescribed by the UN) and the State of Israel was birthed - and immediately and overwhelmingly attacked by the surrounding Arab nations. Miraculously, Israel overcame their attackers, survived, and even thrived.
As best I can judge from the comparison to other sources, the historical sequence of events as described by Uris is accurate. The information is highly educational. More subjectively, Uris was Jewish and writes from a Zionist perspective. He depicts the Hebrews as noble, resourceful and courageous. Generally, the Arab elements are portrayed as cruel, deceptive, cowardly, and not given to playing by the rules. The British are painted as anti-Semites. I'll leave it to the reader to root out the truth of the matter. (If there is an epic novel championing the opposing viewpoint, I am as yet unaware of it).
Uris does not neglect the spiritual aspect and the acknowledgemant of the supernatural provisional and protective hand of God . . . the God of the Hebrews. Uris employs this sometimes by intimation and sometimes very directly.
The author did masterful research and presentation relating to the historical facts. However (at least in this early novel), his character development and continuity, and dialogue, is not on par with other 20th century master novelists (Herman Wouk again for comparison). Some chacterizations are overstated, others are fluid and changing, some are borderline silly. Also, Uris could have given us a little better peek at the personalities, quirks, foibles, etc. of the historical political and military figures of the era (David Ben Gurion is barely mentioned).
Still - this is an epic piece of modern historical fiction. If you deeply love or hate Israel, this is worth the read and highly recommended.
 An insult to any thinking human being April 7, 2008
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
Of all the ineptly written books in the world, this one is amongst the top five. What's worrying is not that Exodus is badly written propaganda, it's that it's badly written propaganda that's still in print several decades after it was first unleashed on the general public. Why does this book have such a large (and growing) band of followers? I've seen/read comic books with more depth.
Every disgusting stereotype about Brits and Arabs was beaten to death.
Another issue I had was with the (lack of) character development; every character (with the exception of Ari Ben Canaan) was just flat and boring. Other characters that Mr. Uris could no longer be bothered with were suddenly killed off (e.g. Ruth and Sharona). Every gentile character was a stooge, half-wit, coward, barbarian, or any combination of the above. How does this get categorised as historical fiction? Aren't books in that genre supposed to be remotely balanced? The real story is not as black and white as is portrayed here.
This book had only one redeeming quality: the stories of characters escaping persecution in Europe. The stories of Dov and Karen before they got to Cyprus were interesting. However, I would seek recommendations on the million other well-written books that deal with that topic.
With regards to Mr. Uris' writing style, he clearly thought that every other sentence was so important that it warranted the use of an exclamation mark! This book was so painfully offensive that I finally put it down at page 238! I read it because someone I love asked me to, but I had to return it! No more! No more!
A Beautiful and Tragic Epic February 28, 2008
This tragic and beautiful epic has changed my life and my appreciation for the Jewish people. It is a fictional documentation of the establishment of Israel, but there is so much more to its history and Uris delivers it flawlessly. The main players are introduced through separate narratives throughout the first half of the book: the angelic Karen whose life is saved by a family in Denmark, the wily Dov Landau who survives the Polish ghettos and the horrific Auschwitz, and most importantly, the heroic Ari Ben Canaan and his family who established and shaped the land. Another interesting perspective comes from the American nurse, Kitty Fremont, who finds herself involved in the plight of the Jews and becomes a foster mother to young Karen.
It seems an impossible feat for a race that is hated throughout the world to migrate to a desert wasteland surrounded by Arabs and other hostile forces and THRIVE. Additionally, I had never realized the role the British had in screwing the Jews over in their attempt to live peacefully in Palestine after World War II. There are so many different layers to the story that by the time I finished the book, I had almost forgotten about the initial planning on Cyprus and the blockade of the Exodus. Through nothing short of a miracle (and sheer determination and hard work), the land was reclaimed, the British were intimidated, and immigration began full force. The work these people put in to turning the desert into farmland and the cooperation and equality in which they ran their communities was inspirational. The Arabs remained a constant threat, but Israel was determined to be recognized as an independent nation, and they fought to victory against all odds. The world was forced to acknowledge the fledgling nation and was amazed at its success. So was I.
I was deeply moved by this book. It was both tragic and triumphant. I am amazed at the hardships the Jewish people faced, not only to establish their nation, but throughout history. But through it all, they stand united and truly seem blessed by God.
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