But before the final hand is played to determine the destiny of the Holy City, a dangerous new player enters the picture: Nubar Wallenstein, an Albanian alchemist determined to achieve immortality, and heir to the world’s largest oil syndicate. He finances a vast network of spies dedicated to destroying the players, and his aim is to win complete power over Jerusalem. The sun slipped above the horizon and the baron and baroness spread their arms wide to receive it, their skin and hair so fair they were all but invisible in the desert dawn. A profoundly nutty book full of mysteries, truths, untruths, idiot savants, necrophiliacs, magicians, dwarfs, circus masters, secret agents … A marvellous recasting of history in our century. — The New York Times Book Review The Jerusalem Quartet

It's a thing of beauty to watch Whittemore pull these individual story strands together into the tapestry that gives the book its title. And deep below all the surface fireworks of sentence and character and plot is the quixotic idea that the three Abrahamic religions might find a way to share their small part of the world. Poker is now played by professionals, amateurs, both at land-based casinos and many play poker online .So, what makes poker so popular, how old is it, and what was the biggest ever poker win? Munk Szondi used his unique knowledge of Levantine commodities to make money. According to the rules of the game, anything of value could be used in the betting. Thus when a pile of Maria Theresa crowns and chits representing Egyptian dried fish futures were on the table, Szondi would overplay his hand simply to get the fish. In 2009, Isildur1 was a legendary name, and it appeared to come from nowhere and had zero sponsorship.Isildur1 beat Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patric Antonious and many other poker stars of the time.With this, other players decided to break down Isildur1's play and analyze how his run was so spectacular. Of course you do, said Joe. Now what was that you were saying about a time limit? I don't think I caught it. My ears have a way of ringing sometimes, crowding out all else. It's been that way since the war.The novel spans centuries, and The Quartet adds the remaining decades. The characters are not just larger than life but above it and beyond it. It's not a typical fantasy. It takes place in our historical world and it doesn't ask for the willing suspension of disbelief. It forces it upon you. There's no magic in the accepted sense, unless the edges of reality can be called magic, and all of the events and characters are possible, if highly implausible. I've never laughed so hard while being educated in arcane history. It was during this time that Whittemore began working on the novels for which he is probably best known. These constitute the Jerusalem Quartet. His earlier book, Quin's Shanghai Circus (1974), contains the seeds of his series. [2] a meeting in 1933 precedes a conversation in the 1920s but illuminates some of the more opaque things that were said in 1933” And that's the truth, thought O'Sullivan Beare. Devious pranks sneaking out of the mists of central Europe and lurking on every side. Right you are and I could see that mischief coming. Glistening sweat and decaying fat. Sunrise. Cairo Martyr puffed lazily and turned his gaze north when he heard the distant drone of an airplane.

A deaf, seven-foot-seven duke, who is both master botanist and swordsman, explores the Middle East, writes an embarrassingly comprehensive treatise on sex, and then, offended by the revocation of his title, proceeds to sell his British estate and buy the Ottoman Empire. A bastard Albanian nobleman decides one day to become a monk and subsequently discovers a copy of The Bible, New Testament included, that is a thousand years older than Christ. An infamous Irish partisan, who happens to be the 33rd child of a prophet, flees British-occupied Ireland in the guise of a nun and becomes a Middle-Eastern arms smuggler.This is the first Whittemore I've read, based on a recommendation by another author I love, Jeff VanderMeer. Though it is a stand alone novel it's the penultimate book in the Sinai Tapestry series (also the only Whittemore my local library had). The earlier books are supposed to have much more fantastical elements (while Nile Shadows on its own is more an absurdist spy novel in places). I'm quite happy to have discovered this 'hidden treasure' author and can now hunt down the rest of his books.

Sinai Tapestry is a seminal work of speculative fiction and one that everyone must read. I'm giving this book the highest possible recommendation. Sinai Tapestry is the first book in the Jerusalem Quartet, a series written over a decade in the late '70s and '80s. The series garnered much critical acclaim, but little publishing success, which is a shame because I think this is one of the best books I have ever read. I would like to say the same about the rest of the series, but I haven't read them yet. I definitely will be though. Edward Whittemore spent the final years of his life in poverty. He died on August 3, 1995, in New York City, shortly after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. [3] Reissues [ edit ]

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I have. I’ve heard some fanciful reports on more than one occasion and some whimsical allegations too. But the truth is, he never existed. Couldn’t have, impossible on any account. No Englishman was ever that daft. A myth in the neighborhood pubs of the Holy Land, no more. Mad tales conjured up by the local Arabs when they’re high on their flying carpets, which is most of the time. Opium, it’s called. No offense meant to present company. Lesley Hazleton’s books include the award-winning Jerusalem, Jerusalem and Where Mountains Roar. She lived thirteen years in Jerusalem, reporting on the Middle East for Time, The New York Times, Esquire, The Nation and many other publications. In a Whittemoreish move, she now lives and writes on a houseboat in Seattle. Prologue Those moments of despair come of course, but they can be overcome. Have you ever heard of an English explorer named Strongbow? In the end, all I can tell you is this: If you believe in fiction much as you would a religion, or if you think that great works of fiction contain insights and wisdom that can literally change your life, or if you have known books that took you on strange but wonderful journeys, then you should read Edward Whittemore. He will not disappoint you. IN THE FIRST LIGHT of an early summer day a naked Junker baron and his naked wife both elderly, both heavily overweight and sweating, stood on top of the Great Pyramid waiting for the sunrise.

The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 07:00 AM and 14:00 PM and Fridays only handles distribution requests between 7:00 AM and 12:30 PM But before the final hand is played to determine the destiny of the Holy City, a dangerous new player enters the picture: Nubar Wallenstein, an Albanian alchemist determined to achieve immortality, and heir to the world’s largest oil syndicate. He finances a vast network of spies dedicated to destroying the players, and his aim is to win complete power over Jerusalem./divDIV But the delirious baron and baroness heard neither him nor the airplane. The great red ball on the horizon had hypnotized them with the heat it sent rushing through their aging bodies Gaily the plane dipped its wings in salute to the most impressive monument ever reared by man, then gracefully rolled away and sped on south. Find sources: "Edward Whittemore"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( December 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) If you had to describe the novel in one line, you could say it’s about a twelve-year poker game for control of the holy city. But that, of course, is only the top layer, as you realize if you take just the three main players in the Great Jerusalem Poker Game: Moslem, Christian, and Jew.The World Series of Poker was shown on TV in 1973. It was celebrated in a big way as it was the first-ever televised poker event.Showing poker on TV further pushed poker into the spotlight and increased its popularity once again. According to the World Series of Poker, there are 100 million people playing poker online, and over 60 million of that is in the USA.All of those historical moments make poker one of the most popular ways to spend time both online and offline. If this book has any failing at all it is that it may become a bit incomprehensible by the end. Actually, that's not quite right. The plot itself becomes more straightforward, but the reader is perhaps not quite sure of how it all hangs together. But then again, this novel is titled a "tapestry" after all and there are three more books to go. Now what's this twist? thought O'Sullivan Beare. What's going on around here? More confusion and things seem to be spinning out of control already. That item's not English for sure, not French or German or anything natural. And armed with a bow no less, just in case a spot of archery practice turns up while he's out for a stroll on a dreadful winter afternoon. Some bloody devious article up to no good in the Holy Land, that's certain. By God, it's pranks for sure and somebody's bent on something.