Who by Fire

Starred review from December 20, 2021
Journalist Friedman (Spies of No Country) illuminates in this fascinating tale an extraordinary chapter in the career of singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) that left a lasting impact on the state of Israel. “Sometimes an artist and an event interact to generate a spark far bigger than both,” Friedman writes. As he shows here, that alchemy happened in the midst of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Cohen left his home to give spontaneous concerts to Israeli troops at the front lines in the Sinai desert. Drawing on excerpts from an unpublished manuscript Cohen wrote about his experiences as well as interviews with those who were there, Friedman brilliantly constructs a vivid account humanizing the young soldiers (When Cohen plays “Suzanne,” Friedman writes, “The men are quiet. They hear about a place that doesn’t have blackened tanks and figures lying still in charred coveralls”) and the singer, who, after contemplating retirement at age 39, was revitalized by the trip and went on to write his best-known works, including “Hallelujah.” Friedman also underscores how Cohen’s visit transformed the nation’s music and “spiritual life,” leading the country to abandon “the militant secularism of the founders for an openness to the old wisdom.” This demonstration of the power of song will stun fans of the legendary artist.