In the first volume of a series chronicling the birth of the state of Israel, the lives of a diverse array of characters collide and intertwine as the British prepare to withdraw from Jerusalem in 1948 Jerusalem Vigil is the first novel in a planned Zion Legacy series that will chronicle three millennia of Jerusalem's history. Authors Bodie and Brock Thoene, whose Zion Chronicles and Zion Covenant Series have sold more than 6 million copies, write with the suspenseful flair of Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, and convey the historical knowledge of authors like James Michener and Herman Wouk. Jerusalem Vigil unfolds over a period of five days during the British withdrawal from Jerusalem in 1948. Its Jewish, Christian, and Arab characters (including Holocaust survivors, British military officials, and Arab insurgents) find themselves drawn into a mysterious and violent tangle of events that can only be understood in reference to ancient prophesies, particularly those of the book of Isaiah. The historical detail of this book is impressively deep, and its use of Scripture is always clever and surprising. First came the "Zion Chronicles," then the "Zion Covenant" series. Now the Thoenes launch an explosive new series that begins with the creation of Israel's statehood in 1948. For five brutal days, Arabs and Jews fought to establish territorial lines following the British withdrawal from Jerusalem. Men, women, and children were slaughtered on the basis of where they lived, how they dressed, who they worshiped. As Moshe Sachar leads a band of Jewish freedom fighters into the deadly streets of Jeru-salem, his wife Rachel greets the first boatload of Jewish immigrants who've come to fight or die in their new homeland. This remarkable adventure based on historical fact is required for all collections. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. The perennially popular Thoenes, long a fixture in Christian publishing, cross over to a mainstream commercial house with this compelling, Michener-like tale of Israel in 1948. As the British pull out and David Ben-Gurion consolidates power, Arab forces attempt to rout Jews from the Holy City, while the poorly armed, nascent Jewish army, composed of almost every nationality, schemes to break through Arab defenses and bring aid to their starving compatriots. Meanwhile, a great convoy, besieged at every turn by snipers and Egyptian jets, struggles to bring food and weapons from the coast. Though the Thoenes are highly partisan and their Israelis are all in varying degrees noble, they manage at least a credible job of portraying the various factions of Egyptians, Syrians, and Jordanians, even quoting from the Koran at times. They are the most adept in evoking the desperation of Jewish immigrants, vividly rendering the wartime sufferings of Poles, Germans, Italians, and English, the sum of which all but force Israel into existence. Lori and Jacob Kalner, who have been apart for most of their eight-year marriage because of Jacob's German internment, are representative. They have been ashore only a few hours when the Israeli army dragoons Jacob into the service and impresses Lori as a nurse. Though the Thoenes seldom can match the seamless, irresistible prose of Michener at his best, they have his ability to synthesize great dollops of history around appealing, though broadly drawn characters. They've turned in a rousing performance in this opener for the Zion Legacy series. John Mort Bodie and Brock Thoene, with Ph.D.s in creative writing and history, respectively, are the authors of thirty-two novels that include the bestselling series The Zion Chronicles and The Zion Covenant . Together they have won eight Evangelical Christian Publishers Gold Medallion awards.