In this fascinating book, Seymour (Sy) Gitin recounts his life's journey, from his childhood in 1940s Buffalo, New York, to a storied career as an archaeologist working and living in Israel.

Over the course of his life, Sy served as a rabbi in Los Angeles and as US Air Force Chaplain, starred in an Israeli movie, trained as an archaeologist, and eventually became the Director of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, an institution he led for thirty-four years. As an archaeologist, Sy encouraged American participation in the archaeology of ancient Israel, fostered the development of the Palestinian archaeological community, and conducted valuable field work at Tell Gezer and Tel Miqne-Ekron. His tale is full of entertaining vignettes involving the people that he encountered along the way, including many of the pioneers in the field-W. F. Albright, Nelson Glueck, Yigael Yadin, Benjamin Mazar, and Trude Dothan, as well as current protagonists William G. Dever, Israel Finkelstein, and Amihai Mazar.

Readers will enjoy Sy's humorous and engaging stories: rationing out seder wine on a military base following the great Alaskan earthquake only to learn that soldiers were threatening to use it to brush their teeth, encounters with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and US Ambassador Thomas Pickering, and the many colorful experiences he had with fellow scholars through the years.

An engaging and entertaining recounting of a remarkably lived life, The Road Taken is a revealing look at being Jewish in America and Israel from the 1940s through today and an eye-opening look at the often controversial development of biblical archaeology.

In this fascinating book, Seymour (Sy) Gitin recounts his life's journey, from his childhood in 1940s Buffalo, New York, to a storied career as an archaeologist working and living in Israel.

About the Author

Seymour (Sy) Gitin is Dorot Director and Professor of Archaeology Emeritus at the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. He is the author or editor of more than two hundred books and articles, including the new "ceramic bible" for archaeologists, The Ancient Pottery of Israel and Its Neighbors and Confronting the Past: Archaeological and Historical Essays on Ancient Israel in Honor of William G. Dever, the latter also published by Eisenbrauns.

Reviews

"Sy Gitin reinvented American archaeology in the Middle East. A uniquely talented raconteur, scholar, and Mensch, he transformed the sleepy American archaeological school in Jerusalem into an engine propelling meaningful collaboration across daunting divides. Here's the account-filled with remarkable scientific, political, diplomatic, and above all human surprises, and not a few great stories-of a pioneer in scholarship without borders. The result is a manual for thinking about any historical field from the actual ground up."

-Baruch Halpern,author of The First Historians: The Hebrew Bible and History

"There is no bombast, and fulsome gratitude is expressed to many who helped or worked with him. The tone strikes me as one of satisfaction, contentment, and gratitude at a job well done and a life well lived--and that is appropriate."

-H.G.M. Williamson Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

"The Road Taken will be an essential resource for the history of archaeological research in Israel. It is a laudable monument to Sy Gitin's contribution to our field. We can all be thankful for his efforts, as will future generations."

-David Ilan Review of Biblical Literature

Book Information
ISBN 9781646021345
Author Seymour (Sy) Gitin
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Eisenbrauns
Publisher Pennsylvania State University Press
Weight(grams) 476g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 23mm