Who by fire Leonard Cohen in the Sinai

Journalist Friedman (Spies of No Country) 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. "Sometimes an artist and an event interact to generate a spark far bigger than both," Friedman writes. As he shows here, that alchemy happened in the midst of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Cohen left his home to give spontaneous concerts to Israeli troops at the front lines in the Sinai desert. Drawing on excerpts from an unpublished manuscript Cohen wrote about his experiences as well as interviews with those who were there, Friedman brilliantly constructs a vivid account humanizing the young soldiers (When Cohen plays "Suzanne," Friedman writes, "The men are quiet. They hear about a place that doesn't have blackened tanks and figures lying still in charred coveralls") and the singer, who, after contemplating retirement at age 39, was revitalized by the trip and went on to write his best-known works, including "Hallelujah." Friedman also underscores how Cohen's visit transformed the nation's music and "spiritual life," leading the country to abandon "the militant secularism of the founders for an openness to the old wisdom." This demonstration of the power of song will stun fans of the legendary artist. (Mar.)

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 Friedman includes a previously unpublished manuscript, "livid and obscene," that Cohen wrote after his trip to his "myth home," as Cohen called it.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. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.