ie They are NOT coming from overseas !!
A LONG WAY TO SHILOH
- By Lionel Davidson -
Original Dustjacket iIllustration by Frank Wood.
ISBN:-
Publisher: Reader's Book Club/Victor Gollancz, London, UK
Published: 1966
Binding: HARDcover with Dustjacket 248 pages
Condition: UNread & displayed condition! HERE in MELBOURNE! A retired display
copy as illustrated!
Edition: FIRST Readers Book Club Edition: 1st printing 1968
TIGHT, SCARCE HARDCOVER WITH dustjacket ~ IN MELBOURNE ...
WHY do ebayers buy from US?
Because you KNOW what you're getting. My close up photos are of the actual item!!
Remains UNread - it was the display copy instore . It is tight, clean and neat, with no inscriptions or manmade marks within - age toned pages only. Appears as in my photos - this is the exact copy!! A nicely preserved copy - superb!
No discernible shelf wear to the sky blue cloth boards, the interior is tight and spotlessly clean with 248 pages. THIS copy is the First Readers Book Club Edition: Only printing from 1968 - the UK publishing by Reader's Book Club/Victor Gollancz, London.
The original dustjacket - designed by Frank Wood. A lovely black and white author portrait illustration on back panel.
SCARCE title - this is an UNread copy!!
In original sky blue cloth boards HARDcover binding with red title panel to spine, BOTH publisher's covers are in excellent condition.
(Stored with 2021!)
Measures approx. 7½ x 6¾ inches or 18½ x 12½cms
SYNOPSIS ....
Originally published under the title "The Menorah Men".
Casper Laing, the young, fiery and brilliant Professor of Semitic Languages, is asked to decipher an ancient parchment found in Israel. Piecing together its mysterious fragments, his translation soon reveals directions to a shrouded location. Believed to be the secret hiding place of the True Menorah, an ancient and priceless Jewish candelabrum, the Jordanians and Israelis begin a frantic race to claim the prize. Surrounded by violent and treacherous rivals, Casper is enjoined on a deadly adventure deep into the burning Negev desert.
A Long Way to Shiloh (1966), Lionel Davidson's third novel, was a Book Society Choice and won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award as well as the Crime Critics' Award for Best Thriller of the Year. Published in the USA as The Menorah Men, it was a no. 1 bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic.
It further cemented his reputation as one of the pre-eminent genre writers of his generation, and was described by the Guardian as 'first-rate' and by the New York Times as 'a supple delight in which learning, wit and style are beautifully integrated'.
About the Author
Lionel Davidson was born in 1922 in Hull, Yorkshire. He left school early and worked as a reporter before serving in the Royal Navy during World War II. His first novel, The Night of Wenceslas, was published in 1960 to great critical acclaim and drew comparisons to Graham Greene and John le Carre. It was followed by The Rose of Tibet (1962), A Long Way to Shiloh (1966) and The Chelsea Murders (1978). He has thrice been the recipient of the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award and, in 2001, was awarded the CWA's Cartier Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award.
Very Entertaining read!
Reviews
Well worth the journey … This is Davidson at his finest. A breathtaking roller coaster of a story full of thrills, violence, excitement, history, humour, sex, and a religious treasure hunt. I did not want it to end and I loved all the characters. Read it, I urge you. You will be well rewarded.
Brilliant, compelling thriller with some laugh-out-loud moments …
I love Lionel Davidson! This one is great - better than the Night of Wenceslas but not as fabulous as Kolymsky Heights. Gripping detective story set in Israel with the usual type of excessively-drinking, excessively-smoking anti-hero.
FASCINATING read! ... The book is a Pure Joy ! Witty, Intelligent & a genuine THRILLER! The construction is superb, taught & pacey ! It has become firmly established as my Favourite novel !!
FIVE STARS!! … I love the language of this book, A good story, the personalities and occasional laugh out loud humour make it an excellent read.
Still one of the greatest thrillers of all time …. Reread it after40 years. Still one of the greatest thrillers of all time. A little bit sexist by modern standards though.
BEST book by this author that I have read - Excellent!!
A most enjoyable story .... It gathered steam nicely and was very entertaining. I liked the archeological aspect of the mystery and the locale (the Holy Land). Quite enjoyable, nice when you go in with little to no expectations..
Wonderful ... When a fragment from one of the Dead Sea Scrolls is discovered by Israeli archaeologists, Casper Laing is brought to decipher the hidden message. Now, it's Laing's mission to hunt and retrieve the True Menorah, the great seven-branched gold candlestick stolen from Solomon's temple in 70 A.D., and return it to its rightful home in Israel.
I like Lionel Davidson's books. ... Generally I like thrillers from the 50s and 60s or earlier (Eric Ambler), because of the rather refreshing old fashioned, clipped & concise English usage and pared down plots. Sometimes the occasional unreconstructed male approach to sex can grate but you can forgive that for the time and in many ways it's again quite refreshing. But this genre of thrillers are sometimes diamonds in the rough and this is a good example of that.
SUPERB!!! ... A Long Way to Shilo starts with a fascinating opening chapter that sets up the plot. Without giving too much away, the action takes place in Israel and Davidson's vivid descriptions read more like a travelogue than a vehicle for the plot. Written in 1966, its very much of its time, dialogue falls occasionally flat along with characterisation. But not a patch on his previous works. It does though give a taster of what is to come when his writing truly takes off in Kolmysky Heights.
Great Read! ... First published in the Sixties and the style reflects that fact. Short on violence and what sexual encounters there are are low key and not described in detail. That doesn’t detract from the story however which is written intelligently and with respect for the reader.
Great adventure story. ... This one is old-style thriller. Pace is intentionally slowed down for the sake of side-quests so to speak - like romance between a main character and soldier woman tasked with protecting him or constant verbal battles between main character and his academia opponents - and this has a direct effect on the story itself.
If you like slow paced thrillers that takes time to give you background on a society (be it England or Israel) then this is book for you.
Action scenes are frenetic and very realistic. I truly enjoyed them, just wished there was more actual action than talk.
All in all highly recommended to all fans of great adventure story.
Marvellous Reading!
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