This collection - published here in English for the first time - brings together a number of political, personal and literary pieces by Israel's most celebrated novelist and litterateur. Topics covered include: an examination of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a dispute between 'right and right'; reflections on the character of Zionism, on the concept of 'homeland', and on the nature of the kibbutz; the meaning of socialism in the Israeli context; and portraits of several Jewish writers and thinkers whose ideas and themes in one way or another have proved influential or determinative for Amos Oz himself. These essays, which put a unique perspective on the author's own experiences and development, reveal a complex and humane figure of practical political influence as well as of significant literary stature. They will win for Oz new readers, while delighting those who will recognise here the qualities evident in his other writings.

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction; Events and books; Under This Blazing Light; 'Man is the sum total of all the sin and fire pent up in his bones'; 'A ridiculous miracle hanging over our heads'; The State as reprisal; A modest attempt to set out a theory; The meaning of homeland; The discreet charm of Zionism; A. D. Gordon today; Thoughts on the kibbutz; The kibbutz at the present time; How to be a socialist; Munia Mandel's secret language; Pinhas Lavon; The lost garden; An autobiographical note; An alien city; Like a gangster on the night of the long knives, but somewhat in a dream; Notes; Publication history; Index.