Nine Quarters of Jerusalem (eBook)

Highly perceptive and readable ... combines millennia of Jerusalem's history with insightful interviews with its residents, weaponising that unusual approach to present a subtle portrait of the current reality at the heart of the world's most intractable and divisive conflict ... fascinating

As labyrinthine as the city it describes ... a curious, offbeat biography that comes alive through the many gathered voices

Engaging ... Teller is an informed, enthusiastic guide to one of the most contested sites in the world

A lyrical and electric book, rich and intensely evocative (with a twist of cumin), as the author shares his life-long obsession for one of the most over-documented and misunderstood cities on earth. This is not another biography but an altogether more important book, about the human tapestries that could, possibly, weave together a new Jerusalem

Stand out

Captivating. Teller's language flows lightly but his feelings run deep and it is difficult to pull away from his descriptions of the Old City.

A highly original exploration of Jerusalem's cultural diversity

There has been no book like this written in the last twenty years ... Matthew Teller has resurrected this city

This book peels away the layers of deception to debunk the myth that the Old City is composed of four distinct quarters - a notion that continues to plague the city and underpins the assumption that present-day conflict comes down to age-old hatred between religions ... Teller takes the reader on a trip that reveals the Old City of Jerusalem better than any other book written about the city

For any other city, a book that tells the stories of its residents might be unremarkable - but for Jerusalem, so often weighed down by ancient history and the politics of occupation, Teller has produced a book that is borderline radical in its focus on the people who live there

Exploding the myths about age-old hatreds between religions, this must-read book lays bare the role of arrogant British colonialists and missionaries in shaping Jerusalem's Old City according to their vision. It challenges the misleading maps that serve the Israeli narrative and encourages visitors to see beyond the facade. A must-read exposé

Illuminating and deeply researched ... there is a wealth of stories here

The Old City of Jerusalem has found an inspired, imaginative, and iconoclastic biographer. Teller set himself the modest task of telling stories. The end result, however, is a highly readable book, a vivid portrait, and a fresh perspective on this infinitely complex city

Vivid ... as much about the present as the past

A love letter to the people of the Old City

Acute social analysis ... an engrossing travelogue ... vibrant

Original and engaging

Teller writes with affection and compassion for Jerusalem's wide variety of peoples but a sharp-eyed lack of deference for a city whose past and present he explores with insight, sensitivity and wry humour

A marvel. Teller deftly braids the historical, the political and the experiential. His book is at once universal in scope and intimate

A delight ... one cannot help but be impressed by the interviewees' energy, resourcefulness, originality, persistence, and accomplishments against the odds, as well as by the author's depth of historical knowledge, his mastery of linguistics and choice of subjects.