For Jerusalem: A Life

“The affectionate and enthusiastic memoirs of the Israeli politician, and, since 1965, mayor of Jerusalem.” — The New York Times Selection of the Best Books of 1978

 

“Mayor Teddy Kollek’s relation to Jerusalem is not merely that of an elected official to his community; not only that of a Jew the city of his fathers. The connection is intensely symbiotic. Jerusalem without Teddy is as inconceivable as Israel itself would be without Jerusalem. The high‐energy brightness with which he sparkles is the result of this symbiosis... His auburn hair works, heavy and winglike, as he hurries about the city. You see him everywhere. His record is one of construction, reconciliation, improvement. He deals justly, he is enlightened and he does good left and right. Such is the image. Such is, to an extent to be more exactly defined, also the fact. His autobiography, written with the assistance of his capable son, Amos, is called, For Jerusalem: A Life. The title tells it all; life and Jerusalem are for Teddy inseparable.” — Saul Bellow, The New York Times