Say the word 'Israel' today and it 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 draining the swamps and making the deserts bloom: the legendary kibbutznik. Chasing Utopia draws readers into the quest for answers to the defining political conflict of our era. Leach chronicles the controversial decline of Israel's kibbutz movement and witnesses a renaissance of the original vision for a peaceable utopia in unexpected corners of the Promised Land.
A 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).
The 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 Utopiais an entertaining, enlightening portrait of a divided nation where hope persists against the odds.
"An informative history... laced with interviews with Jewish and Palestinian activists." -
Publishers Weekly
"Upon 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
"Exceptionally 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
"Leach 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 & Quire
