Melting Point: Family, Memory and the Search for a Promised Land
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Melting Point: Family, Memory and the Search for a Promised Land
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Narrated by:
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Henry Goodman
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Rachel Cockerell
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By:
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Rachel Cockerell
About this listen
'A truly radical book; radical in subject, radical in form. For the most tragic reasons, it could not feel more immediate; and yet it's a fluid, fast-paced, hugely enjoyable and engaging read.' - Andrew Marr
''Unforgettable... Non fiction will be different as a result.' - Jonathan Freedland
'This is an extraordinarily original way of writing memoir, history and truth. An enthralling book and a wonderful new writer.' - Laura Cumming
'So fascinating, so enjoyable, and beautifully told through diaries, memoirs, speeches and newspapers'. - Simon Sebag Montefiore
'a remarkable book' - Robert Macfarlane
On June 7th 1907, a ship packed with Russian Jews sets sail not to Jerusalem or New York, as many on board have dreamt, but to Texas. The man who persuades the passengers to go is David Jochelmann, Rachel Cockerell's great-grandfather. It marks the beginning of the Galveston Movement, a forgotten moment in history when 10,000 Jews fled to Texas in the lead-up to WWI.
The charismatic leader of the movement is Jochelmann's closest friend, Israel Zangwill, whose novels have made him famous across Europe and America. As Eastern Europe becomes infected by anti-Semitic violence, Zangwill embarks on a desperate search across the continents for a temporary homeland: from Australia to Canada, Angola to Antarctica. He reluctantly settles on Galveston, Texas. He fears the Jewish people will be absorbed into the great American melting pot, but there is no other hope.
In a highly inventive style, Cockerell uses exclusively source material to capture history as it unfolds, weaving together letters, diaries, memoirs, newspaper articles and interviews into a vivid account of those who were there. Melting Point follows Zangwill and the Jochelmann family through two world wars, to London, New York and Jerusalem - as their lives intertwine with some of the most memorable figures of the twentieth century, and each chooses whether to cling to their history or melt into their new surroundings. It is a story that asks what it means to belong, and what can be salvaged from the past.
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What listeners say about Melting Point: Family, Memory and the Search for a Promised Land
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Polly
- 30-05-24
Excellent audiobook
The scholarship involved in piecing together this extraordinary family history is remarkable - and given the verbatim testimony by which the account is meticulously constructed, listening to this well-produced audiobook has been a wonderful experience. I wasn't sure whether to buy it as a hardback but think it was probably more enjoyable to listen to Henry Goodman's voice encapsulating different characters. I loved it and will be recommending Melting Point to anyone who is interested in history especially Jewish history. It is a fascinating account of the early Zionist movement and the various attempts to find a homeland for Europe's Jewish communities.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- TonyZ
- 19-05-24
Illuminating insights about the origins of Zionism, friendships and migrations.
I listened to the well narrated Audible version. The book provides fascinating insights describing into some of the leading proponents of Zionism and the migration of Central European Jewry to escape from pogroms and prejudice. Towards the end of her book, I got the impression that the author expressed some ambivalence towards the way modern Israel was created, resulting in Palestinian refugees. That story is more complex and did not involve members of the author’s family or their friends and so has fallen outside the scope of this book. Rachel has threaded together strands from her family’s past letting us all learn so much about many aspects of modern Jewish history and culture. It’s an incredible melting pot.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- ella27
- 06-03-24
Living and breathing history - captivating
One of the best audiobooks I’ve ever “read.” I was worried the polyphonic style of the book might not translate to audio but it works beautifully - it’s like the voices of the past are speaking directly to you. I learned so much. Such an immersive experience and the narrator Henry Goodman poured his heart and soul into this. He has a beautiful voice and I never wanted the storytelling to end.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jackie
- 24-04-24
Intriguing and well researche
This provides so much information to digest as someone involved in genealogy. There were leads and so much more understanding of the atmosphere and the leaders while providing answers to some of my own family, many with the same root areas of the world.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John
- 04-11-24
without a doubt my Book of 2024
I thought I knew pretty much everything worth knowing about this topic but this book is so packed full of amazing discoveries. You read almost open-mouthed.
Herzl meeting Joe Chamberlain, and being somewhat surprised at the latter’s lack of knowledge about the colonies he was Minister for; the incredible history of the New Playwrights Theatre of NYC, and its Medici-like patron; Rachel’s father Michael’s cousin’s diary of her trip to London to meet her cousins for the first time in 1950.
This book gives and gives, and I loved it from cover to cover.
Rachel has an interesting foreword in which she acknowledges her stylistic debt to WG Sebald and Rob MacFarlane, both of whose work I also, um, dig. I know what she means and she’s generous to acknowledge them. Yet she’s found something strikingly unique here. Her historical focus is wider even than Sebald’s, the sensitivities somehow deeper than Robert’s.
Almost none of the book is in Rachel’s own voice; and yet her voice comes across so clearly. It’s a remarkable feat. It's also beautifully read by Henry Goodman.
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