Book Review: The Holy Land

A while back I received a copy of Fr. Mitch Pacwa's The Holy Land An Armchair Pilgrimage.  The book is essentially a tour of the Holy Land in pictures and commentary.  It's really a beautiful book that will leave you wanting to visit the Holy Land to see all of these amazing places in person.

Throughout the book you'll find loads of full color photographs of places and artwork found in the Holy Land.  Fr. Mitch's commentary gives the reader background on the historical significance of the place that is being visited as well as scriptural tie ins.  Throughout the book you will also find many prayers that will allow for further reflection. In short, the book is just really well done.  His experience of having led many tours of the Holy Land shines through in this book.

The book is filled with beautiful and inspiring photographs all of which tie in nicely with the text and the scriptural accounts that are presented alongside them.  I only wish that this book contained more photos.  There were several sections where I would have liked to have seen more pictures of an area that was being presented.

The book takes you on a tour by region and is separated into the follow eight sections:

• Bethlehem and Ein Karem
• Jerusalem Old City
• Mount of Olives
• East of Jerusalem
• Mount Zion
• North of Jerusalem
• Western Galilee
• The Sea of Galilee

The sections of the book are broken down into chapters, the number of which varies by region.  In all, there are thirty chapters of beautiful pictures, art, commentary, and scriptural and historical background.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.  I initially read this book over the course of several weeks last year during Lent and I felt like it offered a lot of opportunities for reflection.

I was provided with a review copy of The Holy Land by the publisher, Servant Books, in exchange for my honest review.  You can learn more about this title or purchase a copy at Amazon.