Dune

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which noble houses, in control of individual planets, owe allegiance to the Padishah Emperor, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose aristocratic family accepts the stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis. As this planet is the only source of the oracular spice melange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe, control of Arrakis is a coveted—and dangerous—undertaking. The story explores the multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.^[7]

1965 Chilton Books hardcover first edition book cover of Dune by Frank Herbert, with art by John Schoenherr.

I was looking for a book to read.  There wasn't an excellent opportunity to go to the library, and I couldn't think of a public domain book that I wanted to view, so I checked out the library's app.  I was surprised at the number of ebooks that were available.  The first one to pop up was Dune.  Dune is a sci-fi literary classic, but I had never read it.  

Dune is a beautiful novel.  Herbert must have had a significant influence on George Lucas.  Aspects of Paul translate directly over to Luke.  And Arrakis and Tatooine could be the same planet.  The 'worms' of Arrakis are repeated in the 90's movie Termors. (Does this give Frank Herbert a Bacon number?)

Dune is now one of my favorite novels.  Not just sci-fi, but beloved of all fiction novels.  Herbert developed all the characters thoroughly with a dept that would only be revealed later.  His choice of language and foreshadowing rivals literature's greats.  The book is long, but with good reason.  There is no word filler.  Herbert's words are well chosen, and nothing can be skipped.

Dune is not in the public domain, but most libraries have a copy in the stacks; some like mine may have a digital copy to check out.

Exodus

Exodus is an international publishing phenomenon--the towering novel of the twentieth century's most dramatic geopolitical event. Leon Uris magnificently portrays the birth of a new nation in the midst of enemies--the beginning of an earthshaking struggle for power. Here is the tale that swept the world with its fury: the story of an American nurse, an Israeli freedom fighter caught up in a glorious, heartbreaking, triumphant era. Here is Exodus --one of the great best-selling novels of all time.

"Passionate summary of the inhuman treatment of the Jewish people in Europe, of the exodus in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to Palestine, and of the triumphant founding of the new Israel." -- The New York Times

This book was recommended to me since I enjoy historical fiction.  I found the book enjoyable.  Uris created a great set of characters to tell the Jewish story of the formation of modern Israel.  Other reviewers that I have read have taken great issue with Uris portrayal of these events solely from the Jewish perspective.  Uris, being Jewish, has a far more significant relationship with the Jewish understanding then of an Arab knowledge.  In my reading of this book, the Palestinian Arabs are not portrayed as evil or antagonistic.  In his writing, only the British and outside Palestine Arabs are described as antagonizers.  I am confident that another book could be written from a Palestinian Arab viewpoint of the same events and be as engaging.

I am disgusted that I was not made aware in my history education of the details of the Jewish immigration into Palestine following World War II.  The story makes clear the evil behind the colonial rule.