Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The little-known story of Leonard Cohen's 1973 tour of Israel during the Yom Kippur War, including previously unpublished writings by Leonard Cohen
Who by Fire is a stunning resurrection of a moment in the life of Leonard Cohen and the history of Israel. It's the story of a young artist in crisis and a young country at war, and the powerful resonance of the chord struck between them.
A beautiful, haunting book full of feeling. --Nicole Krauss, author of To Be a Man
In October 1973, the poet and singer Leonard Cohen - 39 years old, famous, unhappy, and at a creative dead end - traveled to the Sinai desert and inserted himself into the chaos and bloodshed of the Yom Kippur War. Moving around the front with a guitar and a pick-up team of local musicians, Cohen dived headlong into the midst of a national crisis and met hundreds of fighting men and women at the worst moment of their lives. His audiences knew that his songs might be the last thing they heard, and those who survived never forgot the experience. And the experience transformed Cohen himself, recharging his sense of purpose, career, and family. Instead of leaving music and his family behind, he returned to Hydra to have a second child with Suzanne and began touring again. Cohen's war tour was an electric cultural moment, one that inspired some of his greatest songs - but a moment that only few knew about, until now. In Who by Fire, Canadian-Israeli journalist Matti Friedman gives us a riveting account of what happened during those weeks. With access to never-before-seen material written by Cohen himself, along with dozens of interviews and rare photographs, Friedman revives this fraught and formative time, presenting an intimate and unforgettable portrait of the artist, and of the young people who heard him sing in the midst of combat. Who by Fire brings us close to one the greatest, most brilliant and charismatic voices of our times, and gives us a rare glimpse of war, faith, and belonging.
Synopsis
The little-known story of Leonard Cohen's concert tour to the front lines of the Yom Kippur War, including never-before-seen selections from an unfinished manuscript by Cohen and rare photographsIn October 1973, the poet and singer Leonard Cohen--thirty-nine years old, famous, unhappy, and at a creative dead end--traveled from his home on the Greek island of Hydra to the chaos and bloodshed of the Sinai desert when Egypt attacked Israel on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur. Moving around the front with a guitar and a group of local musicians, Cohen met hundreds of young soldiers, men and women at the worst moment of their lives, who knew that his songs might be the last thing they heard. Those who survived never forgot the experience. And the war transformed Cohen. He had announced that he was abandoning his music career, but he instead returned to Hydra and to his family, became the father of a second child, and released one of the best albums of his career. In Who by Fire, Canadian-Israeli journalist Matti Friedman gives us a riveting account of those weeks in the Sinai, drawing on Cohen's previously unpublished writing and dozens of interviews to create a stunning, kaleidoscopic depiction of a harrowing, formative moment for both a young country at war and a singer at a crossroads.
Synopsis
"An expedition into the troubled soul of one of the world's greatest songwriters."
--Haaretz "Not only is a hidden side of Cohen revealed but so too a hidden side of Israel." --David Bezmogis
The little-known story of Leonard Cohen's concert tour to the front lines of the Yom Kippur War, including never-before-seen selections from an unfinished manuscript by Cohen and rare photographsIn October 1973, the poet and singer Leonard Cohen--thirty-nine years old, famous, unhappy, and at a creative dead end--traveled from his home on the Greek island of Hydra to the chaos and bloodshed of the Sinai desert when Egypt attacked Israel on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur. Moving around the front with a guitar and a group of local musicians, Cohen met hundreds of young soldiers, men and women at the worst moment of their lives. Those who survived never forgot the experience. And the war transformed Cohen. He had announced that he was abandoning his music career, but he instead returned to Hydra and to his family, had a second child, and released one of the best albums of his career. In Who by Fire, journalist Matti Friedman gives us a riveting account of those weeks in the Sinai, drawing on Cohen's previously unpublished writing and original reporting to create a kaleidoscopic depiction of a harrowing, formative moment for both a young country at war and a singer at a crossroads.