Israel Rising by Doug Hershey

Israel Rising by Doug Hershey ISBN-13: 9781496457745 Hardcover: 209 pages Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Released: November 3rd 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
A unique visual story of Israel's miraculous journey from unforgiving desert land to thriving nation.

Thousands of years ago, the prophet Ezekiel foretold a future time in which the arid land of Israel would come alive for its people. Now this breathtaking book documents the fulfillment of this vision, from the hills of Shiloh where shepherds once roamed, to the booming city of Tel Aviv, founded on sand dunes, to the stellar beaches of Caesarea, transformed from a small village into one of Israel's most stunning coastal cities and finally Jerusalem, the Eternal City of Peace, where in ancient times the power of worship resounded from the Temple. Here, rarely seen photographs taken between the 1880s and the 1940s juxtaposed with contemporary images of the same locations illustrate the region's biblical history as a place of monumental battle, celebration, worship, and awesome resilience.

Whether by helicopter or on foot, on their own or with the aid of locals, author Doug Hershey and photographer Elise Monique Theriault negotiate the terrain to access the vantage points required to match the original photos, from the rooftop of Israel's National Museum of Science, Technology and Space in Haifa, to Jaffa Port's breakwater, and much more.

Israel Rising looks at what exactly Ezekiel prophesied and explores the historical accounts from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim eyewitnesses of what the land and region has experience and endured. With more than 175 photos, Israel Rising will depict the transformation of Israel as it celebrates its 70th anniversary.


My Review:
Israel Rising compares black and white photographs of Israel taken between 1880 and the 1940s with full color photographs taken in 2016 from the same locations. The author started by talking about the prophecy in Ezekiel about Israel blooming again and then provided quotes from travelers from around 70 AD until the mid-1900s describing how desert-like and desolate the land had become. The modern pictures show a land full of green and people, the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophesy. The author also included some accounts about the people they encountered as they took the pictures throughout Israel. If you like then-and-now photography books, then you'll enjoy this interesting book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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