One of my favorite books ; "The Source" by James Michner

The Source is a historical novel by James A. Michener, first published in 1965. It is a survey of the history of the Jewish people and the land of Israel from pre-monotheistic days to the birth of the modern State of Israel. The Source uses, for its central device, a fictional tell in northern Israel called "Makor" (Hebrew: "source"‎). Prosaically, the name comes from a freshwater well just north of Makock, but symbolically it stands for much more, historically and spiritually.
Unlike most Michener novels, this book is not in strict chronological order. A parallel frame story set in Israel in the 1960s supports the historical timeline. Archaeologists digging at the tell at Makor uncover artifacts from each layer, which then serve as the basis for a chapter exploring the lives of the people involved with that artifact. The book follows the story of the Family of Ur from a Stone Age family whose wife begins to believe that there is a supernatural force, which slowly leads us to the beginnings of monotheism. The descendants are not aware of the ancient antecedents revealed to the reader by the all-knowing writer as the story progresses through the Davidic kingdom, Hellenistic times, Roman times, etc. The site is continually inhabited until the end of the Crusades when it is destroyed by the victorious Mameluks (as happened to many actual cities after 1291) and is not rebuilt by the Ottomans.

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Article from The Guardian: "The Super Rich: Six Things to Know "

America's super rich: six things to know Our new series, Big Money , is investigating the social and political clout of the super-rich. Natalie Jones and Alastair Gee in San Francisco, California I s America an oligarchy? That was the conclusion of a 2014 study by two prominent US political scientists , who argued that the influence of economic elites and big business far outstrips that of ordinary citizens. In their view, America is less a bastion of representative democracy than a nation trammeled by the desires of the hyper-wealthy. Others have suggested that their vision is too bleak. But the outsize economic, social and political clout of the super-wealthy in America is beyond debate - and ripe for scrutiny. That’s why we’ve launched our newest series, Big Money. Radical inequality The three richest people in the US - Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet - own more than the bottom half of the country combined. ...

Article from "The New York Times" Madagascar and Vanila plantations Photographs and Text by FINBARR O’REILLY AUG. 29, 2018

Comment: I once found a bag near a shopping Mall in Paris .... It looked like a girl owned it because it was full of makeup bits and pieces and there were a lot of cards in it , one of which belonged to a buisness school and this had her name on it. The student was from Madagascar and i was sighing to myself when i called the school and the receptionist wasnt helpful in finding the person i was looking for. I went to the consolate or Embassy one morning , spending money on a Taxi in order to give the bag to a safe person working there. The consolate reminded me of consolates or embassies representing very poor countries ... .... where is all the money and wealth going ? SAMBAVA, Madagascar — Bright moonlight reflected off broad banana leaves, but it was still hard to see the blue twine laced through the undergrowth, a tripwire meant to send the unwary tumbling to the ground. “This is the way the thieves come,” sai...

mish mash (and work in progress) for a story

Immigration and The Everyman editions (starting in 1906) was one of the first books i remember in my parents library; it reminds me of "Everywoman" and Every hu"man"i have ever known. I was born from my mother who was an amazingly beautiful woman who had married for "attraction", to my father who was her first cousin. They had grown up in the same community in South India. My mother was the main personality of our family mainly because she was energetic and ambitious and rather aggressive. My father (even tho full of testosterone looks and behavior) was dominated by my mother who was probably much more energetic than him. They did have traumatizing arguments about money partly because he was living by the philosophy that each man or woman should act according to his or her talents (and not roles). She made more money and didn't want to spend it. While he loved to stay at home after o...

Life and Opinions of an Artist ; "A Time For Dreamers"

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