Settlers — Meyer Levin

From the acclaimed author of Compulsion comes the saga of a Jewish family that flees Russia to become settlers of the nascent state of Israel.

Proclaimed “most significant American Jewish writer of his time” by Los Angeles Times, Meyer Levinturns his journalistic eye for character and detail to an epic tale of the founding of Israel. At the turn of the twentieth century, Feigel and Yankel Chaimovitch are among the many Russian Jews caught up in the burgeoning revolution. To escape the pogroms, they flee with their children to their ancient homeland, Eretz Yisroel.

Though Eretz Yisroel is a place of unparalleled beauty, these pioneers face innumerable hardships: poverty, disease, grueling physical labor, and violent tensions with their Arab neighbors. There are even conflicts within their own ranks, especially between new arrivals and established settlers. And as World War I escalates, each family member -- from second-oldest son Gidon, who struggles through the disastrous Gallipoi campaign, to Leah, who awaits the return of her fickle Moshe -- struggles to build their future.