A fascinating and intense account of Leonard Cohen’s time in Israel during the 19-day Yom Kippur War of 1973. A must for any Leonard Cohen completist, with excerpts from his unpublished manuscripts from that time. Soulful and thoughtfully done.”—Suzanne Vega
“Who by Fire is a stunning resurrection of a moment in the life of Leonard Cohen and the history of Israel. It’s the story of a young artist in crisis and a young country at war, and the powerful resonance of the chord struck between them. A beautiful, haunting book.”—Nicole Krauss
“A short, symphonic book of remarkable stories of yearning, love, and war, whose leitmotif is a haunted artist bearing secret chords that enchant the world.”—Rabbi David Wolpe
“Matti Friedman excels at finding the great significance in forgotten things: forgotten manuscripts, forgotten wars, forgotten spies. In this account of Leonard Cohen’s forgotten concert tour during the Yom Kippur War, not only is a hidden side of Cohen revealed but so too a hidden side of Israel. Who by Fire is a book about the change that happens when you come through the flames.”—David Bezmozgis
“Although he could not have anticipated it when he was researching and writing, the symbolic timing and importance of Matti Friedman’s latest book, Who by Fire, is particularly poignant. . . . [A] beautifully intimate portrait.”—Quillette
“A revealing and absorbing account of those few short weeks when the fate of Israel was at the precipice, but its revelations will stay with the reader for much longer than it takes to read the slim volume. . . . Friedman’s compelling narrative of a pivotal war that left an indelible mark on a nation, the Jewish people and one musician draws readers in and doesn’t let go of us until the last page has been finished.”—Jewish Journal
“Friedman illuminates in this fascinating tale an extraordinary chapter in the career of singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) that left a lasting impact on the state of Israel. . . . This demonstration of the power of song will stun fans of the legendary artist.“—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Compelling . . . Cohen fans will savor this little-known footnote in the singer’s life.”—Kirkus
“With remarkable insight, discipline, heart, scope, stunning reporting, and sometimes quite beautiful writing, Friedman has recreated those days of war and music, regeneration and humility, that freed Cohen to create some of his greatest works of art.”—Mother Jones
“Compelling . . . [Friedman] beautifully ties together ideas about the author’s craft, identity, and connection to Israel. . . . A brief, audacious, thorough book . . . A dream world unconventionally and surprisingly real.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“A word-of-mouth treasure . . . Offers vital insight into Cohen’s trajectory as a songwriter and the scope of his work.”—City Journal
“An important hybrid work of music and war reporting.”—Mitchell Kaplan, Boca Magazine
“Matti Friedman’s impeccably researched and exquisitely written account of Cohen’s unlikely foray into the front lines of a nightmarish war answers the never quite explicated question—just what in the hell did the reluctant scion of a prominent Montreal rabbinical family think he was doing on an Israeli warfront? . . . Who by Fire offers Cohen aficionados a welcome opportunity to get lost in their own longings.”—Hadassah Magazine
“Fascinating.“—Times Literary Supplement
“Who By Fire passed the most stringent test for readability of any book I can recall in the last two decades. . . . Beautiful, haunting, and profoundly memorable.“—Mosaic Magazine
“Artfully crafted . . . Friedman’s chapters are like little drawings in black and white, each one an exquisitely designed artistic unit in itself. He has sensitively portrayed a libidinous man, conflicted, but a poet, a priest, and perhaps even a prophet.”—Jerusalem Report & Post
2021-12-24
A famous singer brings joy and hope to beleaguered Israeli troops.
In October 1973, Syrian and Egyptian forces attacked Israel, starting the Yom Kippur War, and the “strange appearance” of a Leonard Cohen tour at the time has “lived on as underground history.” In this compelling book, award-winning journalist Friedman, a winner of the Sami Rohr Prize, among others, recounts in detail the desert war from the Israeli perspective and Cohen’s role in it. The singer was 39 when he traveled to Sinai, in the grip of drugs, anger, and frustration and disgusted by the music business. Friedman includes a previously unpublished manuscript, “livid and obscene,” that Cohen wrote after his trip to his “myth home,” as Cohen called it. “Cohen’s manuscript about the war tends to raise more questions than it answers,” writes the author. “He’s unwilling to explain directly what he was thinking.” Amid the fighting, it’s unclear exactly where and when the improvised concerts took place, but his first performance took place at Hatzor air base, where he wrote and performed “Lover Lover Lover.” At the time, Cohen wrote “Perhaps I can protect some people with this song.” Friedman includes many emotional reminiscences from soldiers who fought and attended the concerts, describing how much they appreciated the presence of Cohen, who asked them to use his Hebrew name: “ ‘Leonard’ was a foreigner. ‘Eliezer’ was a sibling.” Cohen sang “Suzanne” often—a version of it was then circulating in Hebrew—and he slept on the floor and ate combat rations like everyone else. One soldier said he “gave off an aura of good-heartedness, of unusual humanity.” Cohen told a reporter that he “came to raise their spirits, and they raised mine.” The brief tour wound down with stops at Gen. Ariel Sharon’s desert headquarters, the Sharm el-Sheikh airfield, and a spot outside Suez City. An engaging historical resurrection, the book also includes rare photos.
Cohen fans will savor this little-known footnote in the singer’s life.
