Product Description
A novel. Book was published especially for the First Edition Society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outstanding
From what I understand, the inspiration for this book came out of Leon Uris' research for the novel, "Trinity".

It's a pity that this book is out of print.It is an excellent photographic journal -- Jill didthe photography, and Leon wrote the narrative.It gives a very realportrait of Ireland, and how this moment in history has arrived.You willnot find these pictures in any travel brochure -- they are quiteremarkable.

sensitive portrayal with outstanding photographs of all clas
sensitive portrayal with outstanding photographs of all classes of Irish people ... Read more

Book Description
In eleven novels written over four decades, Leon Uris has chronicled the unceasing fight of dedicated individuals against the forces of oppression, in particular fascism, communism, and imperialism. In the tradition of the historical novel, Uris sets his work during times of crisis (World War II, the founding of Israel, the Irish fight for independence), providing his plots with both political and social tensions as well as personal conflicts. Uris's themes include the indomitability of the human spirit, the power of patriotism, and the restorative capacity of romantic love. Through an exploration of these plots, themes, and characters, this study recognizes Leon Uris as a writer whose examination of good and evil in the context of contemporary history raises important issues that have confronted us all. This study is the first full-length examination of the work of Leon Uris. Following a biographical chapter that discusses his work in light of his personal history, the study devotes a chapter to his place in the tradition of the historical and political novel. Each of Uris's novels is discussed in an individual chapter: Battle Cry (1953), The Angry Hills (1955), Exodus (1958), Mila 18 (1961), Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin (1963), Topaz (1967), QB VII (1970), Trinity (1976) and Redemption (1995), The Haj (1984), and Mitla Pass(1988). Each novel is analyzed for plot structure, characterization, and thematic elements. In addition, Cain defines and applies an alternative critical perspective from which to read each novel. A complete bibliography of Uris's writing, along with a listing of secondary sources and critical reviews of his work completes the study. ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 3565. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Light of a new dawn
Exodus is the story of the greatest miracle of our time : the rebirth ofa nation. It tells the story of Jews coming back after centuries of abuse , torture and murder, to carve an oasis in the sand with guts and with blood"

That was how Leon Uris describes his famous novel Exodus about the re-birth of the State of Israel. In Exodus Revisited , he returns to the places and people that first inspired Exodus.

In this pictorial essay , first published in 1960 , and illustrated with over 250 photographs by Dimitrios Harissiardis , Uris examines the vibrant young nation, with an ancient andglorious but often tragic past.

As a land of contrasts , from the deserts of the Negev to the lush valleys of the Galil , from the tough and wonderful young Sabras to the ultra-Orthodox Jews of Jerusalem and Safed , Uris takes us on a journey through Israel's glorious past , hopeful present and divine future.

"The dispersed Jews , destroyed as a nation, suffered unspeakable persecution in most of the world. They never stopped looking towards their ancient homeland , with the prayer that ended , 'Next year in Jerusalem".

From the remains of Hazor , an ancient city that was conquered by Joshuah , to the fortress of Masada, where 286 Jews held back the might of Rome for three years , until , betrayed they all perished : men , women and children. The Jewish nation was destroyed and the Jews dispersed to the four corners of the earth.

To the battlegrounds where the poorly armedJewish community of 'Palestine' held off the armies of five Arab nations in the War of Independence , and where to this day the people of Israel have lived in the sights of Arab hate and violence , longing only for the day when their children can live in peace.

It portrays the brave young soldiers of Israel whose determination is that 'We shall not perish again'.



It is a digest of Jews living as a free people in their own land , the State of Israel, re-risen like a phoenix from the ashes of the holocaust

To Israel's most precious possession of all. Her beautiful , bright eyed and inquisitive children.

It is important to see the beauty of Israel, at a time when the media do not portray all that is wonderful about this land and it's people , choosing instead to engage in prejudice and hate-filled invective , unfairly demonizing the Children of Israel , in the same way Hitler and Goebbels did.



"Israel is the light of a new dawn. As in ancient days , she is again a bridge from the world of darkness to the world of light.

Exodus Revisited
I found an old copy of this in the library, but the library no longer has it.(They sell old books from time to time).Leon Uris returned to Israel with a Greek photographer.It is basically an album of black-and-white photos with some interesting history.
I liked the book, since I like Jewish and Israeli history, and I really appreciate "old" photos.Most of the information seems to come from people with whom he spoke, so I doubt the accuracy of all the history.For example, one person he photographs comes from--if I remember this right--the only family that has lived in Jerusalem since maybe the Roman destruction.
The photos though are priceless.I know the book is out of print, as is the case with many books on Israeli history.Too bad. ... Read more

Book Description

Fifty years after his first novel, Battle Cry, took the world by storm, Leon Uris returns to the topic that first inspired him to write books that captivate, educate, and thrill -- the Marine Corps.

In the years following the Civil War, first-generation Irish-American Zachary O'Hara, son of a legendary Marine and a force of a man in his own right, finds himself playing a critical role in the very future of the Marines. If he can persuade the Secretary of the Navy that the Marines are more crucial than ever to America's safety and security -- all the while hefting a heavier secret weight in his heart -- he'll save the corps and make his career.

But there's an obstacle in his path that this warrior had not planned on. Amanda Blanton Kerr, the daughter of a ruthless industrialist, is a woman on a mission of her own; passionate, obstinate, and whip-smart, she's an heiress poised to blaze a trail for her sex.

O'Hara's Choice is the story of the inevitable collision of these two handsome, fighting spirits. Getting their souls' desire could jeopardize everything they -- and their parents before them -- scraped and struggled to achieve.

Duty to country, love of family, and a tormented passion intertwine in this latest epic by Leon Uris, international bestselling author of such classics as Exodus, Trinity, and Battle Cry. A riveting, sweeping tale in inimitable Uris style, O'Hara's Choice is this master of the historical novel at his most brilliant.

Customer Reviews (13)

Promising....Then Falls Flat
Having always heard great things about Uris's writing I was excited to read this work about the US Marine Corps.And while it started out well the book falls flat with sappy interludes and silly situations.I had hoped for a story of the United States after the Civil War though the development of the Corps.Unfortunately what I got was a implausible love story told in flowery overemotional language that more suited a Romance novel.

I would definitely not recommend this book.

Shows Uris' Declining Professionalism
Unfortunately, old age (or laziness) finally caught up with Leon Uris.His final two novels, "A God in Ruins" and "O'Hara's Choice," rank as the two poorest novels that I have read in the past 5 years. Not only were the plots sketchy and improbable, but the main characters were contrived, stereotypical and forgettable. His attempt to push a certain modern political agenda through his books conflicted with events of those times - and in the process alienated many of his faithful readers who enjoyed his previous agenda-neutral historical novels. You would be best served to read all of his earlier works - which I found masterful and riveting - and forget these two books that only show the sad decline of a once-great author.

Bad Ending Ruins Whole Book!
Trinity may not be Leon Uris's best book, but personally it's my favorite book.That being said, I'm not out to trash Uris, but O'Hara's Choice is a waste of time.I'll leave character development and plot intracacies to other reviewers, my focus is the story itself.As the book unwound, I was reasonably well captivated.I wondered along the way how much actual Marine history played into the story, in terms of the fight to keep the Corps alive. (Interested enough to research that later.)The problem is that the story wasn't compelling enough to have an ending that wasn't supported by the events that lead up to it.390 pages of showing someone's emotions progressing in one direction so the reader can be tricked with a "Gotcha!" at the end.Well that's fine, if the 'gotcha' seems plausible, but in this book it absolutely didn't.

SLIGHT SPOILER - The ending reminded me of 'The Partner' by Grisham, which had the same problem.I don't read Grisham anymore, because to me that was a big let down.The last two pages were not reasonably supported by the first 390 or so, and to me, that makes for a bad book.

A Promising Series Cut Short
Uris' death, three months prior to this book's publication, not only cut short the career of a great novelist, but also another sequel.

I loved his novels Trinity, Redemption and QBVII.They were great stories spun in the tradition of historical novels.His story-telling ability and character creation communicate the humanity of the age and culture about which he writes.

O'Hara's Choice is no exception. Patriotic Duty and family loyalty duel in this tale set in the Gilded Age that followed the U. S. Civil War.Leon Uris was a great writer.He had the ability to create characters who communicate the age and times in which Uris set his novels.

The worst part of coming to the end of this book is the nagging awareness that this is the last Uris novel the reader will read.

"O'Hara's Choice" Is a Poor Choice
Perhaps I was spoiled by Leon Uris' fine work, Trinity, and expected too much from a novel dashed off late in his writing career.Whatever the reason, I came to O'Hara's Choice with high expectations, too high as it turned out.The novel is little but a high-class "bodice ripper," a modern romance with no well developed theme and poorly justified actions.The characters appear flat as well, leaving the novel very much as they entered it with little discernible character development en route.Let's take a look first at the strong points of the book.Unfortunately, this will not take us long.

Uris does have a fine command of the language and has produced 394 pages without allowing trite, overused phraseology to weaken either description or dialogue.At rare times, the writing does flow at a rapid clip, carrying the reader along almost effortlessly, and I offer the description of the battle of Bull Run (to become known as the first battle of Manassas) as a welcome example of this.The early sexual tension between Zach and Amanda is also handled adroitly although elsewhere it sometimes mimics the "bodice ripper" genre. The inter-service jealousy and derision between the Navy and the Marine Corps is realistically portrayed but becomes tedious and repetitious after a while. Horace Kerr's internal dichotomy between his progressive thoughts toward the recently-freed Negroes and his culturally learned biases against non-white races comes to the fore several times, but some of his explosions are not well supported by earlier thoughts and actions and appear artificial and contrived. So much for the strong points.

Uris' introduction of the various characters strikes me as poorly accomplished.It is as though one is watching a disconnected slide show (or, for our younger readers who may never have seen a slide show, let's call it a PowerPoint presentation).Characters pop up rather unexpectedly, and the reader has a poor idea of what their relationship may be to the other characters until much further along in the reading.Fortunately, Uris begins each chapter with the date and location of the action. These "stage directions" do help keep us somewhat oriented as to where and when we are, but we must be careful top pay attention to them or risk significant confusion.

Several "red herrings" crop up here and there with no particular contribution to the story line.For instance, Horace Kerr, Amanda's rich industrialist father, is set up to lose his life in a storm at sea but survives with a few bumps and bruises.Later he is equally foreshadowed to suffer a debilitating if not fatal stroke, but that coup de grace never comes after all.

Then there is Emily, Amanda's older sister, who is mentally unbalanced and is generally stored away out of sight in the unfrequented north wing of the mansion.I suppose she functions fairly well as one of several skeletons in the Kerr family closet, a fact that is strongly underscored once the reader finally learns the horrible secret that explains her insanity.Still, she never plays even a strong supporting role in the Amanda - Zach relationship, which is the unifying thread throughout the book, and the reader is left to wonder whether her character might have been more fully developed--or omitted.

Is there even an identifiable theme in this novel?Basically we find two young lovers, one torn between her duty to carry on the family fortune and power and her desire to marry her Marine lover; the other torn between his love (or lust) for Amanda and his "marriage" to the Marine Corps.The latter problem is exacerbated by a dreadful secret that Zach carries with him concerning his Marine-hero father.None of these conflicts ever finds satisfactory resolution.There is no denouement.The lovers are conflicted to begin with and are equally conflicted when the novel ends.Their situation, while at times compared with that of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, never reaches the tragic level of those more famous lovers, whose position as the symbols of unachievable love remains unassailed by Uris' novel. ... Read more