Aleppo Codex A True Story of Obsession Faith & the Pursuit of an Ancient Book

A true-life thriller about the journey of one of the worlds most precious manuscripts—the 10th century annotated Hebrew Bible known as the Aleppo Codex—from its hiding place in an ancient Syrian synagogue to the newly-founded Israel. Using his research, including documents which have been secret for 50 years and interviews with key players, AP correspondent Friedman tells a story of political upheaval, international intrigue, charged courtroom battles, obsession, and subterfuge.

“A masterful account of a major religious document. . . . Friedman delivers an atmospheric, tense story.”
       —Publishers Weekly [starred review] Jonathan Safran Foer

“The Aleppo Codex could be read as a thriller. It could also be read as a history of the Jewish people, or as a meditation on history and myth. This great book comes closer to containing everything than any book I’ve read in a long, long time.”
       —Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer

“Through the Levantine haze and a millennium of safekeeping, a carefully paced narrative of purloined Judaica.”
       —Kirkus Reviews Publishers Weekly

“Friedman has done a remarkable job—finding sources and digging through archives—of getting [this] fascinating story out of the shadows and into the light.”
       —Booklist [HC starred review] AudioFile

“Friedmans account of how the Codex was taken from Syria in the 1940s, later to resurface in Jerusalem, although no longer complete, is full of betrayals, controversy and surprises—and raises larger questions about the ownership and preservation of historical treasures.”
       —Jewish Week Boston Globe

“Friedmans excellent descriptions set the stage for the stops along the way, and Simon Vances smooth British accent puts listeners on the scene. As Friedmans investigation unfolds, Vance embodies the authors outrage at ‘the tragedy of human weakness responsible for the loss of some of the great work.”
       —AudioFile The Christian Science Monitor

“A thrilling, step-by-step quest to discover what really happened to Judaisms most important book.”
       —Boston Globe The Wall Street Journal

“Friedmans clear writing and dogged pursuit of some otherwise overlooked assumptions read more like a detective novel than history. . . . An important account in accessible, gripping prose.”
       —The Christian Science Monitor Jewish Book World

“A superb work of investigative journalism that reads like a detective thriller.”
       —The Wall Street Journal DWD - ' - s Reviews

“Friedman shines as a magnificent and thoughtful storyteller. . . . The Aleppo Codex might be an unintentional thriller but it is a great one nonetheless.”
       —Jewish Book World

The intriguing story of the quest to recover the missing pages from one of the worlds most important holy texts: the 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible known as Aleppo Codex.

Matti Friedman’s first book, The Aleppo Codex, won the Sami Rohr Prize, the American Library Association’s Sophie Brody Medal, and the Canadian Jewish Book Award. It was selected as one of Booklist’s top ten religion and spirituality titles in 2013 and received second place for the Religion Newswriters Association’s 2013 nonfiction religion book of the year. The book was published in Israel, Australia, Holland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, and South Korea. Friedman has worked as a correspondent in the Jerusalem bureau of the Associated Press news agency, where he specialized in religion and archaeology, and reported from Lebanon to Morocco, Cairo, Moscow, and Washington, D.C., as well as Israel, the Palestinian territories, and the Caucasus. In addition to the AP, his work has appeared in the Atlantic and the New York Times, among other publications. Friedman grew up in Toronto, moved to Israel as a teenager, and served three years in the Israeli military. Today he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and three children. He lectures frequently in Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States.SIMON VANCE is a prolific and popular audiobook narrator and actor with several hundred audiobooks to his credit. An Audie® Award-winner, Vance was recently named "The Voice of Choice" by Booklist magazine.