The millions of people who learned the history of the founding of Israel from Leon Uris' book Exodus will be enthralled by the careful inspection of the story and its effects made by Silver (general studies, Max Stern College, Emek Ezreel). Silver notes that a number of books and essays have been devoted to the historical mistakes in Exodus which are many, but that the ways in which it affected particularly Americans has not been explored. He argues that the creation of Ari ben Canaan was Uris' attempt to create a counter image to the Jew as victim and that the introduction of a Christian love interest, Kitty, reflected American assimilation more than Israeli reality. Silver also contrasts the book with the film in terms of message. He concludes that Exodus has become passé, too black and white, anti-Arab and reflective of Cold War politics. Among many other interesting points, Silver notes that the themes of Exodus were an inspiration to Russian Jews long after its popularity waned in the rest of the world. This is an excellent, multi-layered explanation of how fiction can create history. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)