Masada: The Last Fortress - Softcover

Miklowitz, Gloria D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802851681 ISBN 13: 9780802851680

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 1999

Synopsis

In the year 72 C.E., after a four-year war between Rome and Judea, only one fortress remains to be taken: Masada, high above the Dead Sea in what is now Israel. Two years later, the commander of the famous Roman Tenth Legion, Flavius Silva, marches toward Masada to capture or kill the 960 Jewish zealots who hold it.

In this eloquent and powerful novel, we meet 17-year-old Simon ben Eleazar, son of the Jewish leader of Masada. Apprenticed too Masada’s only physician, Simon learns to help victims of the enemy’s onslaught as he struggles with his love for Deborah, the intended of his best friend, and with the painful decision he must ultimately make.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

At first it appeared but a distant dust cloud, perhaps a sudden sandstorm, common for this season of the year. I remember now no sense of fear. Only vague awareness.

John turned and looked in the direction I was facing, and Deborah joined us on the parapet. Together we watched in silence as the cloud drew closer, and I felt my heart constrict when I recognized what it was. Deborah knew at the same instant, for her hands reached out for John's and mine.

On the stifling desert air came the dull thud of thousands of feet marching, advancing on Masada...

Review:

AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS
 Association of Jewish Libraries , Notable Books for Older Readers
Bank Street College, Best Children's Books of the Year
Booklist, Top Ten Religious Books for Youth
California Readers, California Collections - High School
Junior Library Guild, Selection
New York Public Library, Books for the Teen Age List
Sugarman Family, Award for Jewish Children's Literature

Publishers Weekly
"Simon lives his final days with hope and trust in the faithfulness of God, and readers may well be inspired by his example to live their own lives with purpose in the face of all obstacles." Booklist
"Miklowitz personalizes history in this account of the fall of Masada as seen through the eyes of a young Jewish man helping to hold the fort, and of the Roman commander who is trying to foil the Jews' last stand. . . The historical facts, a blend of the everyday and the dramatic, show how people can find hope, beauty, and even love in the midst of the most dire of circumstances — and how history is made up of real people, not so different from those reading about it. A powerful offering." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Readers get deeply involved in the paradoxical suspense of doomed characters who nourish their lives — including romance, marriage, friendship, and ambition — in the face of death. . . History is sometimes simply sad, and Miklowitz has asserted that sadness without sensationalizing it or apologizing for it."

About this edition

• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0802851681
• ISBN 13: 9780802851680
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 198