Author Description

How does a musically gifted Rabbi's son from Chicago become an assassin for the Mossad? How can a renowned and compassionate Neurosurgeon, a Professor and Head of Neurosurgery at a prestigious University Hospital Center - who is also a high ranking Martial Artist - allow his skills, many molded in Israel and in the combat quagmire of Southeast Asia - to alternatively render him an eminently skillful taker of life? This is only one conundrum faced by the prime protagonist, Jacob Kane. This is a Saga from the 1930's to the present - encompassing the worlds of medicine; music; the martial arts; the military; physics; religion; the Vietnam War; the Holocaust; the establishment of the State of Israel; the continuing vicissitudes of the Middle East; international intelligence and espionage; - as seen through the eyes and experiences of three prime protagonists. The story follows these three, who individually experience a simultaneous life-changing epiphany during high-school years, ultimately propelling each into a search for existential meaning - toward which they might not otherwise have been guided. These individuals are all driven by a need to find - indeed to confront - that which gives meaning to their lives; awarding prizes for their battles; accomplishments for their pride; - and a search for how the words - "meaning," "prizes," and "accomplishments" - are themselves defined. Their youthful triumvirate eventually breaks, each developing in it's own sphere - and reunites in later years. These protagonists are joined in their life's pursuits by a number of women who also assume significant importance in the saga - as all their lives intertwine. Although this is a novel, it is historically factual - including the many battle scenes, the medical/surgical experiences, the musical events, etc. Some character's names have been changed, but many - being historical figures - have not.