Who by Fire
Leonard Cohen in the Sinai
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Narrated by:
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Matti Friedman
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Andrew Polk
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By:
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Matti Friedman
About this listen
"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Fire, journalist Matti Friedman gives us a riveting account of those weeks in the Sinai, drawing on Cohen’s previously unpublished writing and original reporting to create a kaleidoscopic depiction of a harrowing, formative moment for both a young country at war and a singer at a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...
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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
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The four spies at the center of this story were part of a ragtag unit known as the Arab Section, conceived during World War II by British spies and Jewish militia leaders in Palestine. Intended to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage and assassinations, the unit consisted of Jews who were native to the Arab world and could thus easily assume Arab identities. In 1948, with Israel's existence in the balance during the War of Independence, our spies went undercover in Beirut, where they spent the next two years operating out of a kiosk....
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Absolutely brilliant
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By: Matti Friedman
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Symphony for the City of the Dead
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- By: M. T. Anderson
- Narrated by: M. T. Anderson
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
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In September 1941, Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history - almost three years of bombardment and starvation that culminated in the harsh winter of 1943 - 1944. Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized, and commemorated his fellow citizens - the Leningrad Symphony.
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An Eye-Opening, Emotional Tale
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Code Talker
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- By: Joseph Bruchac
- Narrated by: Derrick Henry
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
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Although the mission school bans all that is Navajo, Ned secretly clings to his native language and culture. Proudly joining the U.S. Marines in 1943, he becomes a top-secret Navajo Code Talker. During bloody battles for Japanese islands, Ned and his brave band of code-talking brothers save thousands of lives using Navajo encryption the enemy never cracks.
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Terrible audio
- By Amazon Customer on 02-13-18
By: Joseph Bruchac
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All the Gallant Men
- An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor
- By: Donald Stratton, Ken Gire
- Narrated by: Mike Ortego
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
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An unforgettable and moving story of tragedy, heroism, resilience, and redemption that is sure to become an enduring document of American history, All the Brave Men is a sailor's moment-by-moment eyewitness account of the Japanese surprise attack that decimated the US Pacific Fleet in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, and his inspiring return to active duty to carry on the Allied fight in the Pacific.
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Absolutely wonderful book!
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By: Donald Stratton, and others
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Swansong 1945
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- Narrated by: Eric G. Dove, Christine Williams
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
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Swansong 1945 chronicles the end of Nazi Germany and World War II in Europe through hundreds of letters, diaries, and autobiographical accounts covering four days that fateful spring: Hitler's birthday on April 20, American and Soviet troops meeting at the Elbe on April 25, Hitler's suicide on April 30, and finally the German surrender on May 8.
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Important, Tragic, Poignant...
- By Amazon Customer on 07-31-15
By: Walter Kempowski, and others
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The Lion's Gate
- On the Front Lines of the Six Day War
- By: Steven Pressfield
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
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June 5, 1967: The fearsome, Soviet-equipped Egyptian Army and its 1000 tanks are massed on Israel's southern border. Meanwhile, the Syrian Army is shelling the much smaller nation from the north. And to the east, Jordan and Iraq are moving brigades and fighter squadrons into position to attack. Egypt's President Nasser has declared that the Arab world's goal is no less than "the destruction of Israel."
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As close to being there as you can get
- By Andy from FL on 07-13-14
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Here I Am
- The Story of Tim Hetherington, War Photographer
- By: Alan Huffman
- Narrated by: Alan Robertson
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
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Tim Hetherington (1970-2011) was one of the world’s most distinguished and dedicated photojournalists, whose career was tragically cut short when he died in a mortar blast while covering the Libyan Civil War. Tim won many awards for his war reporting, and was nominated for an Academy Award for the critically acclaimed documentary Restrepo. Hetherington’s dedication to his career led him time after time into war zones, and unlike some other journalists, he did not pack up after the story had broken.
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2nd time around
- By Brandon on 06-04-17
By: Alan Huffman
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The Shattered Lens
- A War Photographer's True Story of Captivity and Survival in Syria
- By: Jonathan Alpeyrie, Stash Luczkiw
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
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Capturing history was Jonathan Alpeyrie's job, but he never expected to become a news story himself. For a decade, the French-American photojournalist weaved in and out of over a dozen conflict zones. But, during his third assignment to Syria, Alpeyrie was betrayed by his fixer and handed over to a band of Syrian rebels. For 81 days, he was bound, blindfolded, and beaten. Over the course of his captivity, Alpeyrie kept his spirits up and strived to see, without his camera lenses, the humanity in his captors.
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Everyone should read this
- By Magdoll on 11-14-18
By: Jonathan Alpeyrie, and others
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The Good Soldiers
- By: David Finkel
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
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It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it "the surge". "Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences," he told a skeptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic Army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers.
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Honest opinion folks
- By james on 11-06-11
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Vanished
- The Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War II
- By: Wil S. Hylton
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
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In the fall of 1944, a massive American bomber carrying eleven men vanished over the Pacific islands of Palau, leaving a trail of mysteries. According to mission reports from the Army Air Forces, the plane crashed in shallow water - but when investigators went to find it, the wreckage wasn't there. Witnesses saw the crew parachute to safety, yet the airmen were never seen again. Some of their relatives whispered that they had returned to the United States in secret and lived in hiding. But they never explained why.
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A fabulous History
- By Cynthia on 05-15-14
By: Wil S. Hylton
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War Letters
- Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars
- By: Andrew Carroll
- Narrated by: Joan Allen, Tom Brokaw
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
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War Letters presents historic, dramatic, personal accounts of both World Wars, the Civil War, Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War, Somalia and the Balkans, revealing in vivid detail what the servicemen and women of America have experienced and sacrificed on the front lines. Read by an all-star cast, including Joan Allen, Tom Brokaw, Rob Lowe, Noah Wyle, and more.
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One of the best...
- By Chris on 01-14-03
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Double Ace
- The Life of Robert Lee Scott Jr., Pilot, Hero, and Teller of Tall Tales
- By: Robert Coram
- Narrated by: Barry Press
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Robert Lee Scott was larger than life. A decorated Eagle Scout who barely graduated from high school, the young man from Macon, Georgia, with an oversize personality used dogged determination to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a famed fighter pilot. First capturing national attention during World War II, Scott, a West Point graduate, flew missions in China alongside the legendary "Flying Tigers", where his reckless courage and victories against the enemy made headlines.
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Tiger Fan
- By Robert M. on 12-23-17
By: Robert Coram
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One of the best-known experimental novels of the 1960s, Beautiful Losers is Cohen's most defiant and uninhibited work. As imagined by Cohen, hell is an apartment in Montreal, where a bereaved and lust-tormented narrator reconstructs his relations with the dead. In that hell, two men and a woman twine impossibly and betray one another again and again. Memory blurs into blasphemous sexual fantasy - and redemption takes the form of an Iroquois saint and virgin who has been dead for 300 years but still has the power to save even the most degraded of her suitors.
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What listeners say about Who by Fire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Grace M-T
- 04-06-22
A gem of a book
I heard about this book on Bari Weiss’s podcast, Honestly (April 6, 2022). Both podcast and book are well worth a listen, whether you’re a Leonard Cohan fan, interested in history, or just want to get away from the clickbait of current events. The narration is excellent (and I don’t always say that about a book read by the author!) My only complaint is that even while I admire the way Friedman balances all the elements in his narrative, the book felt too short; I needed to listen to it all over again, just to let the experience sink in
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- Marcus James
- 12-18-22
Well done!
great narrator.
Matti did a great mitzvah
I highly recommend
well worth every minute
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- Julie Zuckerman
- 09-12-22
Excellent account of a little-known history
I listened to this audiobook with my heart in my throat. Matti Friedman has done a wonderful job reporting on Leonard Cohen’s visit to the Israeli troops during the Yom Kippur War. From interviews with the soldiers who heard him perform, Cohen’s own writings (published and unpublished), and accounts of specific bases in the Sinai, Friedman does a masterful job weaving together Cohen’s journey with that of the young nation in crisis. One phrase that will stay with me is the soldier who said Cohen gave off an “aura of good-heartedness and unusual humanity.” A compelling, intense read (particularly on the eve of Yom Kippur) with excellent narration by the author.
PS One doesn’t need to be a huge Leonard Cohen to enjoy this book!
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- nikkia628
- 07-28-24
powerful
amazing journey of one of the greatest poets born of woman.
if you don't weep through its telling, check to ascertain that your soul is intact.
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- Signort
- 06-21-22
Highly recommended
Wonderfully conceived, crafted, and delivered. An inspiring and moving reflection on a great artist and on a painful turning point in one nation’s history.
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- Lucy
- 09-12-22
Fantastic!
Portrait of a modern day prophet. Anyone who likes Leonard Cohen lyrics and music will be moved. Anyone who has worked to find the spiritual in Judaism will be blown away.
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- Jonathan D. Feldman
- 08-26-22
Deep and moving book about the singer and the war
Matti Friedman wrote a very engaging book about a broken artist who pulls himself back together through a very challenging war.
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- Emmon S.
- 10-04-23
What a beautiful book
I am not Jewish, and know little to nothing about Israel, but to me, this book is so well-written, with so much life in it, and so much that is meaningful and profound. War, tragedy, sadness, but also beauty and poetry and love and history. I think this author’s caring for the story comes through in his narration.
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- R. Witten
- 01-07-23
Wonderful in every way
Movingly narrated, brilliantly crafted. One of the most unique and wonderful stories you could imagine.
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- Mary Ann Lewis
- 11-17-23
Redemptive
Powerful story of the power of the Yum Kippur War which changed Leonard Cohen’s life. Beautifully read.
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