The Human Scale Audiobook By Lawrence Wright cover art

The Human Scale

A Novel

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Human Scale

By: Lawrence Wright
Narrated by: Peter Ganim
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.30

Buy for $24.30

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

In this sweeping, timely thriller, a Palestinian American FBI agent teams up with a hardline Israeli cop to solve the murder of the Israeli police chief in Gaza—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower and The End of October.

"A layered tale of intrigue and betrayal."—Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March and Horse

Tony Malik, a half-Irish, half-Arab FBI agent based in New York, specializes in tracking money from drug and arms deals. His life takes a dramatic turn when a long-term relationship ends and his job hangs in the balance. Amid personal turmoil, Malik becomes intrigued by his Palestinian father's past. He decides to visit his ancestral homeland for his niece's wedding, accepting a seemingly simple FBI assignment along the way.

Upon arrival in the West Bank, Malik's world is upended when the Israeli police chief is murdered. Initially a suspect, Malik's investigative prowess soon earns him a place in the Israeli investigation. At the heart of the story is Malik's complex relationship with Yossi, the hardline anti-Arab Israeli police officer leading the case. They must learn to trust each other because, as they move closer to solving the case, they realize there is no one else they can trust on either side.

Lawrence Wright populates the novel with richly drawn characters: Yossi's daughter studying in Paris, Malik's niece whose wedding is shattered by violence, her peacenik fiancé with ties to Hamas, and a cast of religious leaders, corrupt cops, and militants on both sides. Through these intersecting lives, Wright weaves an intricate tapestry that culminates in the devastating Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

More than a thriller, Wright's novel explores the complex history between Israel and Palestine, revealing the tragic human scale of this long-standing conflict and offering a nuanced perspective on a tragedy that continues to shape the region and the world.

©2025 Lawrence Wright (P)2025 Random House Audio
Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Middle East Crime Murder Exciting

Critic reviews

"In this lacerating novel, Wright draws on years of experience in Israel and Palestine to forge a layered tale of intrigue and betrayal. It is a novel of hard truths; a bitter indictment of the corrupt, cruel leaders on both sides who have caused immeasurable suffering."—Geraldine Brooks; Pulitzer Prize winning novelist

"Wright’s The Human Scale, set in Hebron, is a furnace of conflict between Israeli settlers and Palestinian terrorists but also between ordinary Israelis and ordinary Palestinians, an unsettlingly relentless suspenseful portrait of terror, intolerance and cruelty on both sides, on all sides, tempered by humanity, family and love, packed with knowledge and facts, a ticking bomb of a book that explodes in Hamas’s October 7 slaughter—this is the first October 7 novel."—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem

"The loss of a single life — the murder of Jacob Weingarten, an Israeli police chief in a West Bank settlement — sets in motion Lawrence Wright’s gripping new novel. . . . Wright’s characters represent a wide variety of histories and perspectives. . . . The politics in this book are impossible to ignore; indeed, they’re the point. . . . Given the passions raging around the current war in Gaza, Wright’s audiobook is a gutsy one to write. To fail as a novelist and become a partisan of one side would read as a betrayal not only of the opposing side, but also of what the best literature does: It both asserts and reconciles our humanity through perspectives that may be far from our own. Wright succeeds in this complex, deeply felt work. He shows that if it is possible to save mankind one life at a time, as the Talmud and Quran affirm, then maybe it is also possible to save our humanity, one story at a time." —Elliot Ackerman, The New York Times Book Review

Riveting Thriller • Historical Detail • Balanced Perspective • Strong Characters • Relevant Storyline
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
America has the pleasure of not knowing - The awareness the author brings into his story is great.

Hopeless

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

Brilliant novel. Takes you into the minds of the people on both sides. Some are fanatics and some are just trying to live their lives. Brings much understanding but little hope.

Want to really understand the Israel - Palestinian war?

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

I enjoyed listening to this book. It is a book that every Jew and Muslim should read it!!

Incredible story

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

The truth of this story . Difficult read . Shows the insanity of the extremist on both sides. The evil of the powers that rule both sides

Understanding more

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

good balance. good story...heartbreaking. when will there be an end to this warning fractions. Great narration, easy to follow.

great perspective between Israel, Palestine and Hamas

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

Great writing. No surprise from this Pulitzer Prize winner and historian. And, the narrator is fabulous!

A History Lesson within a Mystery/Thriller

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

great historical info; silly plot and caricature characters. one of my favorite authors. but seems “made for tv”

potboiler with strong historical detail hidden among the plot twists.

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

I love the improved understanding and timeliness of this book. I am now going to look up what else this author had written.

reality

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

The story is highly relevant to the current state of affairs in the Middle East!

Excellent and timely!

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

This novel The Human Scale is a riveting look at the Israeli Palestinian conflict in the Middle East. The story has strong characters and is set against many historical backdrops. Religion is ever-present but Lawrence Wright presents it in a neutral manner. We conclude that hatred on both sides is so extreme that peace is unlikely. Sad but true.

Exceptionally well researched and moving story

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

See more reviews