Top ten list of Israel Travel Books

Looking for more information on Israel travel to start formulating ideas about your next Israel trip? Take a look at this top ten list of good Israel travel books for the inquisitive traveler.

1. Lonely Planet – excellent basic travel guide for site information, basic historical background, costs, etc… I like Lonely Planet as because it's a guide to "Israel and the Palestinian Territories."
2. "The Israel Experience Book" by David Breakstone & Cindy Jochnowitz (Bloch Publishing).  It's dated (published in '77) but still an excellent resource for teens that includes text study, background, questions and opportunities for reflection.
3. Lawrence Hoffman's "A Spiritual Travel Guide" is more reflective and spiritual in approach.
4. Torah Aura's "Artzeinu: An Israel Encounter" by Joel Grishaver, Josh Barkin & Ethan Bair. This is an excellent text that covers the main cities & regions in Israel with a bit of history, historical & contemporary personalities, and some issues & challenges. Definitely worth a look.
5. Galia Doron's "Traveling with the Bible" is a beautiful, though less-known, book. It focuses on text as it takes the reader through Israel. But it is written as a tour book and walks you through many of the sites.
6. "Kids Love Israel, Israel Loves Kids: a travel guide for families" by Barbara Sofer is another good guide book. This one focuses on family-friendly sites and activities in Israel.
7. Another excellent book is "Israel: A Traveler's Literary Companion" edited by Naomi Seidman & Micfhael Gluzman. This volume includes 16 short stories by well-known Israeli authors. Stories address sites, history and politics.
8.  For the independent traveler, a good book to read is "Let's Go Israel: The Student Travel Guide." This is produced by the Harvard Student Agencies and is a decent guide for younger audiences"
9. "Fodor's Israel" is a general guide for those who want upscale travel.
10. When you are trying to see a country as a native, the customs and etiquette of the country must be examined. "Israel - Culture Smart!” will give you an insider’s view of this aspect of Israel.