Chasing Utopia

A mix of memoir and history offering "e;a nuanced, unflinching look at the Israeli dream of the kibbutz and its demise . . . darkly comic . . . utterly engrossing"e; (Ayelet Tsabari, author of The Art of Leaving). The word "e;Israel"e; today sparks images of walls and rockets and a bloody conflict without end. Yet for decades, the symbol of the Jewish State was the noble pioneer making the desert bloom: the legendary kibbutznik. So whatever happened to the dream of founding a socialist utopia in the land called Palestine? In this book David Leach revisits his raucous memories of life as a kibbutz volunteer and returns to meet a new generation of Jewish and Arab citizens struggling to forge a better future together. Crisscrossing the nation, he chronicles the controversial decline of the kibbutz movement and witnesses a renaissance of its original vision in unexpected corners of the Promised Land. Chasing Utopia is an entertaining, enlightening portrait of a divided nation where hope persists against the odds. "e;An informative history . . . laced with interviews with Jewish and Palestinian activists."e; Publishers Weekly "e;Upon his return to Israel twenty years later, now a middle-aged father with children, Leach found enormous changes not only to [Kibbutz] Shamir, which had embraced privatization in the mid-2000s and listed its Optical Industry on NASDAQ, but the whole kibbutz system. . . . Leach's report is both affectingly personal, delving into many intimate stories of visionaries, and a sound historical study."e; Kirkus Reviews "e;Exceptionally well-researched and beautifully written . . . readers wondering about the allure and challenges of utopian communities will find a probing examination that takes them to lesser-known corners of Israel and the West Bank."e; -Jessamyn Hope, author of Safekeeping "e;Leach maintains a neutral stance when discussing the conflict that is tearing Israel apart, and writes with great empathy for all sides . . . He is at times funny and self-effacing, but he is also keen-eyed and generous in his observations . . . a stellar achievement."e; -Quill & Quire