Chasing Utopia (Booktrack Edition) cover art

Chasing Utopia (Booktrack Edition)

The Future of the Kibbutz in a Divided Israel

Preview

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Chasing Utopia (Booktrack Edition)

Written by: David Leach
Narrated by: Richard Clarkin
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $37.14

Buy Now for $37.14

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Chasing Utopia: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!*

Say the word “Israel” today and it sparks images of walls and rockets and a bloody conflict without end. Yet for decades, the symbol of the Jewish State was the noble pioneer draining the swamps and making the deserts bloom: the legendary kibbutznik. So what ever happened to the pioneers’ dream of founding a socialist utopia in the land called Palestine?

Chasing Utopia: The Future of the Kibbutz in a Divided Israel draws listeners into the quest for answers to the defining political conflict of our era. Acclaimed author David Leach revisits his raucous memories of life as a kibbutz volunteer and returns to meet a new generation of Jewish and Arab citizens struggling to forge a better future together. Crisscrossing the nation, Leach chronicles the controversial decline of Israel’s kibbutz movement and witnesses a renaissance of the original vision for a peaceable utopia in unexpected corners of the Promised Land. Chasing Utopia is an entertaining and enlightening portrait of a divided nation where hope persists against the odds.

*Booktrack is an immersive listening experience that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music and sound effects. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2016 David Leach (P)2018 ECW Press
Biographies & Memoirs Ideologies & Doctrines Middle East Political Science Politics & Government Travel Writing & Commentary Israeli-Palestinian conflict Utopian
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What the critics say

“Leach reveals an imaginative and sharply inquiring mind, a gift for capturing the social complexity of the Israeli kibbutz and the troubled society beyond through humorous, moving, and often thrilling anecdotes. Lively, unsentimental, yet deeply empathic, Chasing Utopia is a new classic in kibbutz scholarship, a vibrant story with real heart and intellect.” (Ranen Omer-Sherman, author of Imagining the Kibbutz: Visions of Utopia in Literature & Film, endowed chair in Judaic Studies, University of Louisville)

What listeners say about Chasing Utopia (Booktrack Edition)

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 1 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very annoying background music.

Having shared the experience of volunteering on a kibbutz, I enjoyed the book. I think the author presented many aspects of life in Israel today, from the kibbutznik to the Druze, from the idealist to the capitalist. The author barely hit upon the irony of the diasporic citizens of Israel and the myopic reality they created for the citizens of Palestine.
The persistent whining music in the background was so distracting, I had to stop listening on several occasions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!