Faculty member's 'Saving Israel' produced as an audiobook

Rowman & Littlefield has produced an audiobook version of a Penn State faculty member's critically acclaimed nonfiction work about a secret, illegal 1947-49 operation to rescue newborn Israel.

The audiobook version of assistant professor Boaz Dvir’s “Saving Israel: The Unknown Story of Smuggling Weapons and Winning a Nation’s Independence” runs 9 hours and 27 minutes. It is narrated by actor Neil Hellegers, who appeared in “House of Cards” and “Madam Secretary” and has a voiceover role in the upcoming “Dooku: Jedi Lost.” It is available on U.S.-based sites such as Apple Books (formerly iTunes) and audiobooks.com, and international sites such as Storytel and Kobo.

Historian and author Gregory R. Copley said “Saving Israel” is historical and quite timely.

“The book, written in a journalistic style, tells a tale which not only is educational about the formation of Israel and the age into which it was born, but about the role which innovation and creativity can play in the saving of any society during a period of existential crisis,” wrote Copley, who serves as editor of the Defense and Foreign Affairs Handbook. “It is about how people discover their identity — which is usually in times of crisis — and how they can act to preserve that identity to create anew.”

Dvir, an award-winning filmmaker who teaches journalism at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, spent more than a decade researching the story of World War II aviators who aimed to prevent what they viewed as an imminent second Holocaust. He interviewed nearly 30 operation members and their families.

“Saving Israel” follows “A Wing and a Prayer” Dvir’s PBS documentary about the secret operation. Roku and Plex recently added that hour-long film, which won Best Documentary at the 2016 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, to their free-movie offerings.

The Curious Man’s Podcast recently devoted an episode to “Saving Israel.”

Washington Times book reviewer Joshua Sinai described “Saving Israel” as a “fascinating and dramatic account filled with lots of new information about a crucially formative period.”