Tongue of the Prophets

Fascinating story of a man who persevered through many hardships for an idea: to make Hebrew the official language of a not yet formed Jewish state. How his dictionary got written and financed was especially interesting.

This book is thorough in its coverage and brings to life the amazing story of Ben-Yehuda. While reading you cannot help being in awe of his steadfast determination and prophetic vision of the future. The author of the biography is also a big fan of Ben-Yehuda. It did feel that while factually the biography was probably quite accurate, the heated debates and controversies surrounding Ben-Yehuda's life received rather one-sided coverage.

For any interessted in Jewish history, or of the language of Hebrew itself. An excelent recount of the man who 're-discovered' the language of Hebrew. This book is full of adventure and real life drama. It follows all the ups and downs of his rediscovery of the Hebrew language and the fierce opposition against him. Does not read like a regular biography, very easy to read, could not put down ! I would recommend this book to anyone!

This is the biography of a Jewish man named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda who made it his life's work to revive the Hebrew language and help return his people to their homeland of Israel. He persevered through a terminal illness, the death of his first wife and several of his children and constant financial trouble. He was misunderstood and criticized by many of his own people, yet he began a movement which brought many Jews home to Israel and helped unite them with a common language. I think one of the most amazing things about this true story is that, in reviving the Hebrew language, Eliezer actually had to create many words himself. Because the language had been "dead" for so long, there were no words for things such as airplanes, automobiles or concerts. He had to hunt through the existing language to find words that he could combine or slightly modify to make new words. He also spent weeks and months hunting through old literature to find lost Hebrew words. This is the most interesting biography I've ever read. Eliezer's passion and perseverance were inspiring.