The Hope

By: Herman Wouk

Narrated by: Mark Ashby

Starting in 1948 and reaching its climax during the Six-Day War of 1967, The Hope begins the story of Israel, a country fighting for its life - outmatched and surrounded by enemies. Zev Barak, Sam Pasternak, Don Kishote, and Benny Luria are all officers in the Israeli Army, caught up in the sweep of history, fighting the desperate desert battles and meeting the larger-than-life personalities that shaped Israel’s fight for independence. The four heroes, and the women they love - three Israelis and one American - weave a compelling tapestry of individual destinies through the grand social history of one nation’s struggle against the odds.

Their story - and Israel’s - is concluded in The Glory, which picks up from the Six-Day War and carries through to the hope for peace of the Camp David accords. In this two-part epic, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk brings out the passion, romance, and heroism of Israel’s struggle for survival - adding to his oeuvre yet another enthralling saga that’s impossible to put down.

About the Author: Herman Wouk is one of the most widely-read American authors in the world. His books have been translated into 27 languages, and many of his works have become best sellers. He is perhaps best known for The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, an exhaustively-researched two-part historical series telling the story of World War II from the perspective of two fictional families whose lives were irrevocably changed by the war and the Holocaust. Sixteen years in the making, the epic involved extensive archival research including travel for research to England, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Israel. The Winds of War and War and Remembrance were adapted for television in a 30-hour series that won the 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries and was, according to ABC, “the most watched television show in history.”

Born in New York City to Russian-Jewish parents, Wouk graduated from Columbia University and started out working as a comedy writer for Fred Allen’s radio show. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he joined the Navy, serving in eight Pacific invasions and earning several battle stars. During his service in the Pacific he had turned to writing, like Lieutenant Keefer in The Caine Mutiny, for an hour or two before dawn. After his discharge in 1946, Wouk finished his first novel, which became a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and he soon followed up with the international best sellers The Caine Mutiny, and Marjorie Morningstar.

Wouk won the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Caine Mutiny. He has also been awarded numerous academic honors, including a degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In January 2001, UC San Diego established the Herman Wouk Chair of Modern Jewish Studies, and in 2008 he was given the first Library of Congress Lifetime Achievement Award for the Writing of Fiction.

©1993, 2014 Herman Wouk (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of our best writers today - a modern Charles Dickens - is Herman Wouk… The Hope is not only a good read, but it also causes a good think.” (William Safire, New York Times)

An wonderful telling of this momentous story!

I love GOOD historical fiction and "the Hope" fulfilled every criteria of that qualification! Through the ages, history was preserved by the "story tellers" and this was a thrilling account of world changing events!
I'm ready for "the Glory"!

Great story

Good story of the 6 day war in Israel and the birth of a country

Mind blowing story

The writing is so clear it’s as if I’m watching a movie! The history is accurate and informative. The personal details are thrilling, and I loved every second of the book.

A historian’s novelist!

Herman Wouk manages to take historically accurate situations, occurrences, facts, people and places and tell those stories in ways that fire the imagination and engage the reader’s interest and at the same time inform snd educate...brilliantly. Now on to The Glory!

we well worth your time

it was wonderful very informative and interesting send very historical and more than informative very interesting side plots

Modern History

a brilliant story well researched and excellent. The narration could be better. worth a listen or a read.

the history

excellent story with accurate history. The story and characters move the story which highlights the history.

passionate Israelis

historical realism is best. the human factors that underpin the military necessities bring the novel and the characters to life

Incredible book by Mr. Wouk!!!

So so glad this was available on audio book!!

The performance is good, but was a bit slow for my taste. I found listening at speed 1.25 to be ideal.

Excellent Historic Fiction

Enjoyed getting to know the characters through which Wouk weaves this fascinating tale of Israel’s wartime history. He’s a master storyteller. Narration is good, especially with character voices and as a dialogue-driven narrative, that is key. Recommend.