FURNACE OF THE LORD

If the world of religious books really and truly needs still another travelogue, cum spiritualibus, of Jerusalem, then Miss Elliot's book is probably superior to most other applicants for the job. For one thing, she writes well. For another, she has an eye for the ""human interest"" element that keeps her fonding and ooh-ing and aah-ing over eternal truths (""The first Christians were nearly all Jews."" And those are Miss Elliott's italics.) from destroying her completely. Through the lady-author gush, one sees, clearly at times, Jerusalem as it is--not as ""the Golden, with milk and honey blest,"" but as a city of struggle and compromise and as a city of people. One of the best sections of the book is that which discusses what a Jew is, and how the Holy City fits into the metaphysical as well as the physical structure of modern Israel. All of this, obviously, is intended for the Gentile. Most Jews will find it about as exhilarating and informative as a New Yorker would a Grey Line tour of Brooklyn.