Jerusalem, Jerusalem : how the ancient city ignited our modern world

Jerusalem: the ancient City on a Hill, a place central to three major religions, a transcendent fantasy that ignites religious fervour unlike anywhere else on earth.

James Carroll's urgent, masterly Jerusalem, "Jerusalem" uncovers the history of the city and explores how it came to define culture in both the Middle East and America.

Carroll shows how the New World was shaped by obsessions with Jerusalem, from Christopher Columbus' search for a westward route to the city, to the fascination felt by American presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan. "Heavenly Jerusalem" defines the American imagination - and always the earthly city smoulders.

Jerusalem fever, inextricably tied to Christian fervour, is the deadly - unnamed - third party to the Israeli-Palestinian wars.

Understanding this fever is the key that unlocks world history, and the diagnosis that gives us our best chance to reimagine peace.