Beautiful photos enhance this appealing title, which is part of the "Food and Festivals" series. Starting with a map of Israel, with shaded areas appropriately captioned as "where government is shared between Israelis and Palestinians," the book progresses to the main types of foods raised and used in Israel--and thereupon to a category that had me stumped--grains and pulses. Pulses? Luckily, the glossary in the back supplied "the seeds of certain vegetable crops such as peas, beans, and lentils" so that my brain could go to "Oh yes! Chickpeas for the felafel, Israel's national food!" After that, the going was easy: an Arab family harvesting olives, kibbutzniks raising poultry ("Israelis eat more poultry per person than anyone else in the world"), a Bedouin woman making pita bread. Then on to the holidays! Passover, a Bar Mitzvah as well as a Bat Mitzvah, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah are featured, and there are customs and traditions along with menus and recipes. I particularly liked the inclusion of the tradition of cheese at Hanukkah, along with the usual latkes and doughnuts, to commemorate the story of Judith, "...a brave Jewish woman who fed lots of cheese to an enemy general. This made him thirsty, so he drank a great deal of wine. When he was drunk...Judith cut off his head" thereby creating a victory for her beleaguered people and the famed Maccabees. While many festivals are omitted, this is a very nice sampling and gives a colorful view of the "Many peoples, many foods" of this tiny but legendary nation.
Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.
Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13
We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.
What to exclude from your review:
Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.
Reviews should not contain any of the following:
- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation
Reminder:
- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend
Create a Pen Name
Welcome, penname
You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
