
Who by Fire
Leonard Cohen in the Sinai
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $21.05
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Matti Friedman
-
Andrew Polk
-
By:
-
Matti Friedman
"An expedition into the troubled soul of one of the world’s greatest songwriters."—Haaretz
"Not only is a hidden side of Cohen revealed but so too a hidden side of Israel."—David Bezmozgis
The little-known story of Leonard Cohen’s concert tour to the front lines of the Yom Kippur War, including never-before-seen selections from an unfinished manuscript by Cohen and rare photographs
In October 1973, the poet and singer Leonard Cohen—thirty-nine years old, famous, unhappy, and at a creative dead end—traveled from his home on the Greek island of Hydra to the chaos and bloodshed of the Sinai desert when Egypt attacked Israel on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur. Moving around the front with a guitar and a group of local musicians, Cohen met hundreds of young soldiers, men and women at the worst moment of their lives. Those who survived never forgot the experience. And the war transformed Cohen. He had announced that he was abandoning his music career, but he instead returned to Hydra and to his family, had a second child, and released one of the best albums of his career.
In Who by Fire, journalist Matti Friedman gives us a riveting account of those weeks in the Sinai, drawing on Cohen’s previously unpublished writing and original reporting to create a kaleidoscopic depiction of a harrowing, formative moment for both a young country at war and a singer at a crossroads.
Featuring a full-length rendition of the song “Who by Fire” performed by Leonard Cohen.
©2022 Matti Friedman (P)2022 Spiegel & Grau by Spotify AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"WHO BY FIRE is a stunning resurrection of a moment in the life of Leonard Cohen and the history of Israel. It’s the story of a young artist in crisis and a young country at war, and the powerful resonance of the chord struck between them. A beautiful, haunting book."—Nicole Krauss
"With remarkable insight, discipline, heart, scope, stunning reporting, and sometimes quite beautiful writing, Friedman has recreated those days of war and music, regeneration and humility, that freed Cohen to create some of his greatest works of art."—Mother Jones
"Compelling… [Friedman] beautifully ties together ideas about the author’s craft, identity, and connection to Israel…. A brief, audacious, thorough book turning … a dream world unconventionally and surprisingly real."—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
People who viewed this also viewed...









PS One doesn’t need to be a huge Leonard Cohen to enjoy this book!
Excellent account of a little-known history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
if you don't weep through its telling, check to ascertain that your soul is intact.
powerful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A gem of a book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Deep and moving book about the singer and the war
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a beautiful book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Matti did a great mitzvah
I highly recommend
well worth every minute
Well done!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful in every way
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Redemptive
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant account of Leonard Cohen's time at war.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story of the Sinai and Leonard Cohen
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.