LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE ONE OF THE NEW STATESMAN'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE
OF THE SPECTATOR'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR ' A truly radical book radical in subject radical in
form. For the most tragic reasons it could not feel more immediate and yet it's a fluid
fast-paced hugely enjoyable and engaging read .' - Andrew Marr ' ' Unforgettable ... Non
fiction will be different as a result .' - Jonathan Freedland 'This is an extraordinarily
original way of writing memoir history and truth. An enthralling book and a wonderful new
writer .' - Laura Cumming ' So fascinating so enjoyable and beautifully told through
diaries memoirs speeches and newspapers'. - Simon Sebag Montefiore 'a remarkable book' -
Robert Macfarlane On June 7th 1907 a ship packed with Russian Jews sets sail not to Jerusalem
or New York as many on board have dreamt but to Texas. The man who persuades the passengers
to go is David Jochelmann Rachel Cockerell's great-grandfather. It marks the beginning of the
Galveston Movement a forgotten moment in history when 10 000 Jews fled to Texas in the lead-up
to WWI. The charismatic leader of the movement is Jochelmann's closest friend Israel Zangwill
whose novels have made him famous across Europe and America. As Eastern Europe becomes infected
by anti-Semitic violence Zangwill embarks on a desperate search across the continents for a
temporary homeland: from Australia to Canada Angola to Antarctica. He reluctantly settles on
Galveston Texas. He fears the Jewish people will be absorbed into the great American melting
pot but there is no other hope. In a highly inventive style Cockerell uses exclusively
source material to capture history as it unfolds weaving together letters diaries memoirs
newspaper articles and interviews into a vivid account of those who were there. Melting Point
follows Zangwill and the Jochelmann family through two world wars to London New York and
Jerusalem - as their lives intertwine with some of the most memorable figures of the twentieth
century and each chooses whether to cling to their history or melt into their new
surroundings. It is a story that asks what it means to belong and what can be salvaged from
the past.
