Stranger in a Strange Land: Searching for Gershom Scholem and Jerusalem.

On this spiritual journey, writer Prochnik (The Impossible Exile: Stefan Zweig at the End of the World) traces the intellectual and mystical arc of Gershom Scholem, the German-born Israeli philosopher who advanced theories of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. In this complex and intricate narrative, the author attempts to sort through the contradictions and paradoxes of Scholem's (1897–1982) philosophy while also explicating Scholem's journey and relationship with Israel and mystical Judaism. Prochnik's own sojourn to Israeli in the 1990s resulted in his coming to terms with the increasing consumerism and tense politics that informed that decade. Ultimately, he returned to the United States, disillusioned with a society that he perceived as increasingly right-wing.Verdict Recommended for specialized readers drawn to Jewish mysticism and Jewish messianism and those interested in Prochnik's peregrinations in the footsteps of Scholem, Sabbatai Zevi, and Theodore Herzl.—Herbert E. Shapiro, Lifelong Learning Soc., Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton