Melting Point: Family, Memory and the Search for a Promised Land – Cockerell Rachel (2025)

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE A TIMES & SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A NEW STATESMAN'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR A SPECTATOR'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF THE CONVERSATION'S 5 BEST NON-FICTION BOOKS OF 2024 'A truly radical book; radical in subject, radical in form. For the most tragic reasons, it could not feel more immediate; and yet it's a fluid, fast-paced, hugely enjoyable and engaging read.' - Andrew Marr 'Unforgettable... Non fiction will be different as a result.' - Jonathan Freedland 'This is an extraordinarily original way of writing memoir, history and truth. An enthralling book and a wonderful new writer.' - Laura Cumming 'So fascinating, so enjoyable, and beautifully told through diaries, memoirs, speeches and newspapers.' - Simon Sebag Montefiore 'a remarkable book' - Robert Macfarlane On June 7th 1907, a ship packed with Russian Jews sets sail not to Jerusalem or New York, as many on board have dreamt, but to Texas. The man who persuades the passengers to go is David Jochelmann, Rachel Cockerell's great-grandfather. It marks the beginning of the Galveston Movement, a forgotten moment in history when 10,000 Jews fled to Texas in the lead-up to WWI. The charismatic leader of…