Pulpit to Published
Retired St. Louis Rabbi
Mark L. Shook’s
The Ezra Scroll
Hooks the Reader from the First Page
Mark Shook’s The Ezra Scroll is in the Dan Brown genre of religious/historical fiction.
Rabbi Donald Gerber – Newport Beach, California
Had a hard time putting the book down. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Lynn DeTurk (Writer/Poet) Ann Arbor, Michigan
Shook captivates his readers– this work of fiction could easily be true.
Davd Weinstei M.D. St. Louis, MO
Weaving 2,500 years of Jewish History, both ancient and modern, The Ezra Scroll grips the reader with Shook’s compelling fact-based narrative. “The literary traditions found in the Bible contain it all – treachery, intrigue, betrayal, unlikely romance, bursts of humor, and bloodshed,” says Shook. “The Ezra Scroll explains how and why Western Civilization’s most important book came into existence.”
The Ezra Scroll is an entertaining tale told by a nimble storyteller and it’s as relevant today as the morning headlines. The center of the story is the creation of Torah by the ancestors of the biblical priest/scribe, Ezra.
It begins in 586 BCE with disaster and exile to Babylon. It concludes with Ezra's return to Jerusalem and the first reading of the Torah in 443 BCE.
This modern classic makes unexpected connections to the discovery of a mysterious ancient Hebrew scroll in Iraq, during the recent U.S. occupation. In The Ezra Scroll, you’ll meet an American Jewish Marine, an Iraqi-born Israeli archaeologist and a feisty female Rabbi Naval Chaplain. Throw in some Samaritans, Israeli counter-terror operatives, and American televangelists and it all makes for a fast-paced and unexpected thriller.
http://www.ezrascroll.com
Mark L. Shook Retired after 23 years as senior Rabbi, Temple Israel, Creve Coeur
Currently: Chaplain Coordinator, St. Louis County Police Department and Adjunct Professor, Jewish Philosophy, St. Louis University