Finding Jesus in Israel
Through the Holy Land on the Road Less Traveled
by Buck Storm
Pub Date 01 May 2018
Worthy Publishing,Worthy Books
Christian| Travel


Netgalley and Worthy Publishing provided me with a copy of Finding Jesus in Israel:


Sailing the oceans, wandering the deserts, mountains, and valleys, and meeting people along the way shape us. Every traveler knows that the real journey takes place within.


The majority of Israel books have a political, theological, or social agenda. Some are simply tourist guides. Travel veterans, people with wanderlust, or individuals who just love good stories will enjoy Finding Jesus in Israel because it's not driven by agenda.


I give Finding Jesus five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Did not have the opportunity to finish, unfortunately. I do thank you for the opportunity and hope that many others have enjoyed this book.

Love, love, love this book.
A great introduction to Israel. Buck Storm takes us away from just the usual coach tour and gives us a deeper and clearer insight into the Holy Land. He is an American songwriter and guitarist so the book is light and easy to read. Buck not only describes the places but gives us his impressions and the history. While visiting the hippodrome he talks about the Saints that have gone before us and when a friend wants to be baptised he describes the two different venues - the one commonly used and the more probable one.
Very enjoyable whether you are going to Israel or not.
Highly recommended.
I was given this book by Netgalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary and impartial review.

Buck Storm is a well-seasoned travel. As a musician he does it a lot. As a Christian, he's made several trips to Israel, the holy land of his and a few other religions. In Finding Jesus in Israel, Storm takes the reader on a journey to several notable places and landmarks. That's all very interesting, but mostly his stories and encounters with other people are what drives the book. Israelis, Muslims, Palestinians, and many more cross his path across the country, adding in the perspective of the people who sleep, eat, work, and live in a place that is often only characterized in the West with violence. There are several moments of Storm going on preachy tangents, but that's expected in a book like this. Overall, I enjoyed the stories and the information.

If I ever talk my husband into visiting Israel, this is the way I want to do it. Off the beaten path, and connecting with the tour guide's friends. Until then, this book will suffice. A gifted writer, with a pastoral heart, so don't miss the lessons he works into the stories. I really liked this one!

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book to read- part travelogue and part memoir. The author takes the reader on an unexpected journey into parts of Israel that go beyond the typical tourist experience. He looks at history, at politics and into the experience of living there. His writing style is much appreciated with humour and wit throughout. I have never been as the political turmoil has always deterred me but now feel I have missed out on a not-to-be-missed experience. I will definitely travel to Israel. That change in itself indicates to me that this book was an incredible find for me. Definitely recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

‘Finding Jesus in Israel’ has gripped me from the first page. It is a simple tale of author’s adventure in Israel, but from the prospective you will not find in the Guide Books. It has made Israel real to me, like I was there myself and it has brought closeness of Jesus into my heart. Through this book I saw Israel for what it is, with it’s good and bad points, Jesus, real people and Holy Places. I could not put the book down and will certainly read all the other books by this author.

I really wanted to enjoy this book - I normally adore travelogues. However, I found the author's informal tone very offputting and not enjoyable.

Finding Jesus in Israel is a light-hearted and whimsical look at the people who live and visit the Holy Land. Buck Storm writes in a humorous way, but is also refreshingly thoughtful and kind as he describes the people he encounters on his trips. This book is easy to read, and evocative. Buck takes his readers on a journey to the real Israel, the wonderful and the dark. The book is very easy to read and has an authentic ring to it.

I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I've only recently been moving into reading religious or religion-themed books so this fit my new departure from my normal tastes. It read as part travel guide, part Christian text. It made me really want to visit Israel and explore off the beaten path. So, coming from someone who is very wary of religious prose, A+!

This is a very enjoyable book about the travels of author/songwriter Buck Storm. The author has a great writing style.  He doesn't have anything to prove, and often shows himself in a negative light. This tone is difficult to achieve, because authors usually do this in an unauthentic way, but Buck pulls it off.

There are a lot of interesting Israel facts in the book, both about ancient Israel and contemporary Israel. I think the author has a really healthy perspective on Israel and on Christians' relationship to Israel. Though the book doesn't approach theology explicitly, there are some theological themes that come out of some of the chapters.

The only complaint I have about the book is some of the later chapters that discuss Buck's conversations with God. These kinds of interactions always make me a bit uncomfortable because it is essentially putting words in God's mouth. There wasn't anything heretical in these conversations, and I appreciate the willingness/desire to have a two-way relationship with God, but it was just a little uncomfortable to me.

Overall, a great book and I highly recommend it.

This book is not what you think of when you read the title! The author takes you to out-of-the-way hotels, to an Israeli-preferred beach on the Red Sea, and a peaceful Shabbat setting that makes you wish you were there too! He speaks of the kids who do skateboard tricks for money, the friendship between an Israeli and a Palestinian, and a riot by Haredi men who do not want to serve in the Israeli army. He tells you about the horrible human trafficking and prostitution in Tel Aviv and Eilat, and also about an old Scotsman who tells how God has touched him at the Garden Tomb.
Read this book if you want to see the real Israel!

Finding Jesus in Israel: Through the Holy Land on the Road Less Traveled by Buck Storm witty and poignant book.  Buck Storm is the books tourist guide and takes the reader on a journey to locations and scenes off the well-traveled bus routes. Discover internal struggles of the people, the land and self mixed with humor and sadness as well. For those of us who dream of an Israel trip while reality deems that unlikely in this lifetime, this gem provides us with a glimpse of the landscape and climate: politically, socially and spiritually.

I received this ARC from Worthy Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I have this book 4/5 stars.

This is not a travel guide. This is not theology. This is about one man’s ponderings about a remarkable land.
His experiences in Israel are actually quite common, but those experiences are what makes travel amazing, not the pretty sculptures or touristy sites (or sights). The everyday encounters with the locals, from hotel owners to kids on the street – that’s what he writes about. And he puts them down in such a beautiful way. He’s a great storyteller. He captures the color of every experience.
I didn’t gain any more knowledge of Israel, but I felt like I travelled with him, meeting all these people and doing all these things. It’s a much richer experience than going through a travel pamphlet.

I truly wish we could leave reviews separately for the story and the writing. Buck is a fabulous storyteller and the scenery is an amazing character, but the typos, grammar errors and misspelled place names detract from the story. I also really wish this book had a more cohesive flow to it: chapters were neither thematic nor chronological so sometimes it was hard to follow the narrative or know that time it was in recent Israeli history.Especially when he was talking about the two cafe bombings in 2001/2002-was he there in the immediate aftermath, or now 17 years later? That would have helped.

He visited some of the places I did in Israel, as well as some of the places that remain on my wishlist. There are locations too that are new to me. Although I'm not religious, I love the history and think of those who walked that land before. He's very literal in his Christianity and "conversations" with Jesus, so this book might not be the one for you if you're a hardcore atheist. As an agnostic/lapsed Christian I could tune it out without it offending me. I was glad too though he acknowledged some of the inconsistencies in the scriptures, the writings of Josephus and finds of archaeologists.

Aside from the amazing places he visited, I really liked the people he met. The Palestinian and Jewish men working in the ticket booth at Banias, the Palestinian/"a little bit Muslim" men at the gas station. These people are as interesting as the land itself. I think I'd enjoy one of his tours. Maybe not another of his books though

Assumptions about this title would lead to images of tourist stops of locations mentioned in the gospels. However, this witty and poignant book reads like a middle Eastern version of a Travels in Europe transcript. Journey with Buck Storm, tour guide and tourist, to locations and scenes off the well-traveled bus routes. Discover internal struggles of the people, the land and self mixed with humor and sadness as well. For those of us who dream of an Israel trip while reality deems that unlikely in this lifetime, this gem provides us with a glimpse of the landscape and climate: politically, socially and spiritually. If you've had the opportunity of travel in Israel, enjoy informed descriptions of events and areas unknown to pilgrims.

I received a complimentary copy of this book without obligation. This review is my opinion.