"This is the fantastical, yet real, story of the merchants of Bethlehem, the young men who traveled to every corner of the globe in the 19th century. These men set off on the backs of donkeys with suitcases full of crosses and rosaries, to return via steamship with suitcases stuffed with French francs, Philippine pesos, or Salvadoran colones. They returned with news of mysterious lands and strange inventions-clocks, trains, and other devises that both befuddled and bewitched the Bethlehemites. With newfound wealth, these merchants built shimmering pink mansions that transformed Bethlehem. At the center of these extraordinary occurrences lived Jubrail Dabdoub. The Lives and Deaths of Jubrail Dabdoub tells the story of Jubrail's encounters, from his childhood in rural Bethlehem to later voyages across Europe, East Asia, and the Americas, culminating in a recorded miracle: in 1909, Jubrail was brought back from the dead. To tell such a tale is to delve into the realms of the fantastic and improbable--realms in which the historian rarely treads. Through the story of Jubrail's life, Jacob Norris explores the porous lines between history and fiction, the normal and the paranormal, the everyday and the extraordinary. Drawing on aspects of magical realism combined with elements of Palestinian folklore, Norris recovers the atmosphere of late nineteenth-century Bethlehem: a mood of excitement, disorientation, and wonder surrounding the scores of young men setting off for faraway lands. As the book offers an original approach to historical writing, it captures a fantastic story of global encounter and exchange"--

Introduction1. Of a land called Amerka, Or how ammo Hanna was saved by al-Khadr2. Of the hallowed ridge, Or how Jubrail learned to profit from Christmas3. Of Jubrail's forebears, Or the toils of Yousef and Rosa4. In which Bethlehem gets a new street5. Of unruly markets and underwater ships6. Of sunken eyes in a casket, Or how Bethlehem came to be covered in dust7. Of mechanical wonders on near and distant shores8. In search of Amerka9. Of troubles on the Trocadero10. Of the decline of Hosh Dabdoub, Or how Jubrail's schooling came in useful11. Of a street named Rosario12. By the truth of al-Khadr, I went and came back!13. Of white cities and bronze medals14. Of fertility potions and the dizzying heights of success15. Of weeping icons, ghostly armies and visions of the Virgin16. Of the enchanted palaces of Bethlehem17. Of hyenas, serpents and French philanthropists18. Of the resurrection of Jubrail DabdoubEpilogueAuthor's Commentary