Old New Land

Kind of a sad book to read in the 21st century. Herzl had a really sweet vision for a peaceful, western, advanced country. The main interest in reading this is naturally comparing what he planned with what actually happened.

As a novel, I wouldn't say it's particularly well-written. If not for my interest in Herzl's opinions, there's no way I would have read it from beginning to end. Most of the plot is no more than an excuse to show what he feels can and should be done through the Zionist movement, so obviously the literary value suffers.

I'll say - if you're interested in Herzl and his original plans for Zionism - you'll probably enjoy this very much. Otherwise - I wouldn't recommend it.

Hertzl had meant to compose an instructive poem. Some will say it contains more poetry than instruction. That it has more instruction than poetry is the veredict of others.