The Source

When I was in fourth grade I saw the book Hawaii by James A. Michener; it was the biggest book I had ever seen. I started to read it (I was a precocious child), but I couldn't get past the italics, you know the whole section that was the geological history of the islands. It was many years later before I picked up that book again. Then I discovered The Source! It is my favorite Michener book and it is even bigger than Hawaii. (The book not the state).

The Source is the story of an archeological dig in Israel. It starts in May 1964, describing who will be working at Tell Makor and why they are there. The archeologists are from all over the world and arrive with various specialties that will help decide and define who lived at Tell Makor and what those lives were like. It starts with a bullet casing from a British rifle circa 1950. The last artifacts discovered are five sharpened flints from 9811 B.C.E.

What makes this book so special to me is Michener tells the story of each person that uses the artifacts discovered. He makes the science of archeology up close and personal, it is about the people and their stories. I got the feeling that people really haven't changed over the centuries, we all want the same things and it seems we enjoy fighting to get them, okay maybe not enjoy, but it is much harder not to fight and hate than it is to be peaceful, kind and honest.

If you like a good big story with lots of Holy Land history you will certainly enjoy The Source.