The Key to Zion (Zion Chronicles) - Softcover

Is this the hour of destiny promised by the ancient prophecies or the time of destruction?

Rabbi Lebowitz of Jerusalem's Old City has waited a lifetime for this moment. No Jew has held the key to the Gate of Zion since AD 70. Yet on May 14, 1948, the day of Israel's statehood, the British will turn that key-the symbol of his hope for the nation-over to him.

But even before the British evacuate, full-scale fighting breaks out between the Arabs and Jews. Five Middle Eastern nations gather around the tiny country to divide it up among themselves. Caught in the middle, the native Palestinians flee, clogging the roads in front of the incoming armies.

Is there any hope for peace? for stopping the bloodshed? Haganah leader Moshe Sachar must make a bold move-one that could cost him his life but means life or death for his people.

When Moshe rescues an injured Arab girl, Rachel, his wife, must decide: Should she risk revealing the secrets of her past to reach an enemy's heart? Especially one who says she hates all Jews?

Special Feature: Study questions suitable for individual use or group discussion.

Born in Bakersfield, California, to a family of Irish and Jewish heritage, the fiery little redhead claimed from an early age she wanted to be a writer. Bodie's goal seemed impossible, however, when midway through grade school it was discovered that she had dyslexia, a learning disability that made it difficult for her to read. Her mother refused to accept that this was a problem they couldn't overcome, and together they worked with a young teacher until at last Bodie could read at grade level and above.

"Both my parents instilled their can-do outlook on life. Reading opened the world to me. I began to write stories of my own."

By the young age of fourteen, Bodie had a job as a stringer reporter for The California Newspaper. "They paid me fifty cents an inch for one article a week. The most I ever made was twelve dollars, but I felt rich!"

Bodie continued her college education as a Journalism-Political Science major in San Jose, California. She covered the Bay-area political unrest of the Vietnam era as an associate for U.S. News and World Report. Her career as a journalist seemed assured, but she says, "I thought to myself that there has to be more to life than writing about riots and peace marches."

Bodie married Brock Thoene during their sophomore year in college. They settled in Waco, Texas, where Brock attended Baylor University. It was here that Bodie began to write fiction out of the stories she gleaned from old Texas cowboys. The birth of their first child did not stop her from writing. "I held her with one arm and typed with the other!"

Publication of The Fall Guy catapulted Bodie into national attention and acclaim. Shortly after that she went to work for John Wayne's Batjac Productions and ABC Television as a writer and researcher, working with the top writers in the motion picture industry. Among those who work with her, she is known as one of the finest character and action writers in the business. Her work is currently featured in American West, Saturday Evening Post, and Smithsonian magazine, as well as other national publications.

Bodie's interest in Israel, which culminated in THE ZION CHRONICLES, stems from her days as a student. In 1978 she spoke to John Wayne about her hope to one day write a novel about the exciting events surrounding the rebirth of Israel. He encouraged her with his reply: "That's one you ought to do. It's the story of the Jewish Alamo!"

With the publication of the first book in THE ZION CHRONICLES The Gates of Zion she was awarded the Gold Medallion Book Award by the ECPA. size : 5.2 x 8