The Changing Land

Book excerpt: Originally published in Hebrew in 1991, The Changing Land presents a unique aerial view of the changes in Israel's topography from the second decade of the twentieth century to the present. Aerial photographs taken during World War I of Israel by German, British, and Australian aviators, showed the topography of a land fought over for many centuries. Having examined and identified the WWI photographs preserved in German, Australian, Israeli, and British public archives and German private collections, Benjamin Z. Kedar gathered 70 of the photographs to form the book's core. Kedar then collected color aerial photos taken between 1930 and 1990 of the same 70 sites. The result is an unusual and fascinating record of the physical changes in the region during this period of modernization and urban expansion. Changing the Land is more than a topographical view of Israel. Glimpses of the hills, valleys, towns, and villages of Israel provide the reader with a compelling history that words alone cannot describe. This book offers a complete portrait of Israel for anyone who has traveled to the Holy Land or has studied any of its inhabitants.