Sacred Geography: A Tale of Murder and Archeology in the Holy Land - Softcover

Fox, Edward

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9780805071887: Sacred Geography: A Tale of Murder and Archeology in the Holy Land

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805071881 ISBN 13: 9780805071887

Publisher: Holt Paperbacks, 2002

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Biblical archeology has for centuries been subject to the manipulations of adventurers, generals, and statesmen, all seeking to further their own aims. Now more than ever, digging into the Holy Land is a weapon as two rival nations seek to prove their claims to ownership. The most puzzling casualty in this tug-of-war is Albert Glock, a prominent American archeologist, who devoted his life to helping Palestinians find evidence of their historic roots and was shot dead in the West Bank. Edward Fox investigates Glock's unsolved murder and its background in the explosive cultural politics of archeology. Fox reveals the strange subdiscipline of biblical archeology and pursues the various suspects-Islamic zealots, Jewish extremists, and rival archeologists-only to find himself caught in an expanding labyrinth of deceit.

A lively history and a riveting mystery, Sacred Geography is also the tragic story of a man who dedicated himself to a cause that ultimately destroyed him.

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About the Author:

Edward Fox lives in London and contributes to The Independent, The Sunday Telegraph, and The Times (London). His first book published in the United States, Sacred Geography was chosen by The Economist as one of the best books of 2001.

From Publishers Weekly:

In 1994, British writer Fox, whose pieces appear in the London Times and other leading papers, stumbled upon a reference to an obscure incident in a footnote to an article in the Journal of Palestine Studies: On Jan. 19, 1992, Albert Glock, an American archeologist excavating in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, had been shot to death by an unknown assailant. The note's suggestion that Glock's death had come at the hands of an Israeli hit squad raised deep questions for Fox: Why would an Israeli hit squad kill an American archeologist? Why was an American teaching at Palestinian Birzeit University? Did his apparent Palestinian sympathies have anything to do with his death? Fox thus begins an investigation that takes him not only to the heart of the Israel-Palestine struggle, but also to the very contentious field of archeology. Fox discovers that early in his career, Glock had decided not to use excavations as a way to confirm biblical history like much of the archeological establishment but instead to aid Palestinians in recovering their antiquities. Glock was thus viewed with suspicion by his professional colleagues as well as by Palestinians, many of whom believed that this outsider had come to steal their valuable relics. Fox interviews both Israeli and Palestinian officials as he searches for clues about Glock's murder. In the end, he knows little more than he did when he began, and to date, the murder remains unsolved. But Fox presents a spellbinding detective story, a fascinating account of the contentious nature of archeology in the Holy Land, and a sad but compelling look at Israeli-Palestinian relations. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Nov. 6) Forecast: Holt will promote this in the religion press and will shoot for national media appearances and widespread reviews. Handselling will help this first-rate whodunit as will the hot topic of archeology in the Middle East.

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