Jerusalem: Battlegrounds of Memory (Kodansha Globe)

Amos Elon's Jerusalem: Battlegrounds of Memory is a fascinating exploration of an enduring mystery: How did a small city that is inherently difficult to defend from attack, that lies far from key trade routes and vital bodies of water, and that has never boasted an essential commercial or strategic reason for being, capture the imagination of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for the past three millenia? The answers to this enigma unfold with brilliant style and lively erudition in the pages of a book reviewers have called a "sweeping and eloquent meditation" and a "masterful biography of a city."