Reading Response # 5

First of all, I want to talk about a point we have repeatedly discussed in class. Each discussion we've had, we've been critical of where Armstrong is getting her information. Up until this point, however, I have not developed an opinion. After hearing everyone's remarks and reading the book (half of it, at least), I have come to the conclusion that Armstrong does in fact use multiple sources. If you turn to page 446 you can see the beginning of a multi-page Bibliography. I understand that the vast majority of these sources come from interviews Armstrong has conducted. In that sense, one may say that those aren't credible sources because they are just opinions, not facts. However, how else do we get information? Information regarding our history is passed on via word-of-mouth, period. When reading a history book, does one really believe the author knew everything about every event? No way. They obtain that information from stories that have been told; stories that have been passed on from generation to generation to generation. Karen does an awesome job of taking supposedly factual information, and putting it together to clearly convey the story of Jerusalem.

On a separate note, I also became frustrating while reading the text. Coming into this course I had no background on Jerusalem; I knew very little about the Israeli/Palestine conflict. Because of this, it is extremely difficult for me to retain information in regards to the names and places discussed. Through the first 10 chapters there must be 100+ names/places discussed. I would really appreciate it, if, as a class, we created a timeline/chart of characters and their significance. It would be beneficial for all of us and may even help us with our projects (depending on what we have chosen).

Reading chapter 10 was enjoyable due to the fact that there were multiple images. It was inspiring to see such sacred geographic locations. In particular, The Western Wall was a beautiful picture. Physically being able to see what Karen is discussing makes the book easier to follow and also gives my mind a foundation to process so much information. I think it would be helpful to google image search the people and geographic locations Armstrong talks about in order to paint a more clear picture in my mind.