""Gilbert is a first-rate storyteller."" --The Wall Street Journal

""Fascinating and admirably readable . . . unmatched for sheer breadth of acutely observed historical detail."" --Christopher Walker, The Times (London)

""Most noteworthy for its richness of letters, journals and anecdotes . . . the major events of this century come alive in eyewitness accounts."" --The New York Times Book Review

""Extraordinarily vivid glimpses of Jerusalem life."" --Atlanta Journal Constitution