Who By Fire

An expedition into the troubled soul of one of the worlds greatest songwriters.HaaretzA fascinating and intense account of Leonard Cohens time in Israel during the 19-day Yom Kippur War of 1973. A must for any Leonard Cohen completist.Suzanne VegaAVanity FairBest Book of 2022 *Mosaic Magazine Best Book of 2022The untold story of Leonard Cohens concert tour to the front lines of the Yom Kippur War, including never-before-seen selections from an unfinished manuscript by Cohen and rare photographsIn October 1973, the poet and singer Leonard Cohenthirty-nine years old, famous, unhappy, and at a creative dead endtraveled to the chaos and bloodshed of the Sinai desert when Egypt attacked Israel on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur. Moving around the front with a group of local musicians, Cohen sang for hundreds of young soldiers, men and women at the worst moment of their lives. Those who survived never forgot the experience. And the war transformed Cohen, reigniting his creativity and inspiring him to compose some of his most memorable songs. Who by Fire provides a riveting account of those weeks in the Sinai, drawing on Cohens previously unpublished writing and original reporting to create a kaleidoscopic depiction of a harrowing, existential moment for both a young country at war and a singer at a crossroads.