With Chanukah falling later this month, you still have time to order “The Desert and Cities Sing: Discovering Today’s Israel” (Chronicle Books) for the special people on your gift list — or even for yourself.
More than 500,000 Americans travel to Israel annually, and for the millions of others who are interested in learning about the Jewish state beyond the newspaper headlines, this insightful, educational, and gorgeous boxed set by Lin Arison and Diana C. Stoll is a must-have.
Arison is the widow of Ted Arison, the Israeli businessman who co-founded Norwegian Cruise Lines in 1966 and founded Carnival Cruise Lines in 1972. She divides her time between Miami and Israel.
Arison is the author of “Feast for the Senses: A Musical Odyssey in Umbria,” as well as “A Love Story in Mediterranean Israel” and “Travels with Van Gogh and the Impressionists.” Together with her late husband, she cofounded the National Young Arts Foundation in 1981 and the New World Symphony orchestra in 1987 with artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas.
In 2010, Arison produced a documentary called “Strangers No More,” about a Tel Aviv school where kids from 48 countries play and learn together. The film won the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary in 2011.
After the critical and popular reception of the film, Arison and her friend, writer and editor Diana C. Stoll, decided to collaborate on a book that sheds light on other good things happening in Israel, including how people of different faiths and ethnicities are working together to improve Israel and the world.
Over the course of six years, the writers’ vision for the project morphed from one book into four, each dedicated to a different aspect of Israel’s creative achievements and innovations. The books explore four fundamental realms of Israel: “Solutions from the Land” (agriculture); “Eat Sleep Play” (cuisine, nightlife, and hotels); “Tales of Innovation and Enterprise” (technology, medicine, and education); and “Arts & Design.”
The set- — which is packaged like a suitcase— — includes not only the four books but four documentary films, including Arison’s inspirational “Strangers No More”; a flash drive full of animation highlighting Israel’s innovations; 25 frameable photographs by Neil Folberg; and a limited-edition scarf created by Israeli designers Frau Blau.
Retailing for $125, “The Desert and Cities Sing” can be ordered through local booksellers, Chronicle Books (chroniclebooks.com), and on Amazon.
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