Chasing Utopia

A mix of memoir and history offering “a nuanced, unflinching look at the Israeli dream of the kibbutz and its demise . . . darkly comic . . . utterly engrossing” (Ayelet Tsabari, author of The Art of Leaving).

The word “Israel” today sparks images of walls and rockets and a bloody conflict without end. Yet for decades, the symbol of the Jewish State was the noble pioneer making the desert bloom: the legendary kibbutznik. So whatever happened to the dream of founding a socialist utopia in the land called Palestine? In this book David Leach revisits his raucous memories of life as a kibbutz volunteer and returns to meet a new generation of Jewish and Arab citizens struggling to forge a better future together. Crisscrossing the nation, he chronicles the controversial decline of the kibbutz movement and witnesses a renaissance of its original vision in unexpected corners of the Promised Land. Chasing Utopia is an entertaining, enlightening portrait of a divided nation where hope persists against the odds.

“An informative history . . . laced with interviews with Jewish and Palestinian activists.” —Publishers Weekly

“Upon his return to Israel twenty years later, now a middle-aged father with children, Leach found enormous changes—not only to [Kibbutz] Shamir, which had embraced privatization in the mid-2000s and listed its Optical Industry on NASDAQ, but the whole kibbutz system. . . . Leach’s report is both affectingly personal, delving into many intimate stories of visionaries, and a sound historical study.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Exceptionally well-researched and beautifully written . . . readers wondering about the allure and challenges of utopian communities will find a probing examination that takes them to lesser-known corners of Israel and the West Bank.” ―Jessamyn Hope, author of Safekeeping

“Leach maintains a neutral stance when discussing the conflict that is tearing Israel apart, and writes with great empathy for all sides . . . He is at times funny and self-effacing, but he is also keen-eyed and generous in his observations . . . a stellar achievement.” ―Quill & Quire