Writ­ten in a con­ver­sa­tion­al style, Liv­ing in Heav­en, Cop­ing with Hell is a com­pelling nar­ra­tive that answers why Israelis live along Israel’s north­ern bor­ders and illu­mi­nates the chal­lenges they face. By inti­mate­ly pro­fil­ing many of its cur­rent res­i­dents and explain­ing how select­ed com­mu­ni­ties in the region took root, Sobin skill­ful­ly weaves inter­views with his­tor­i­cal fact to high­light the region’s hero­ic past and chal­leng­ing future. It is required read­ing for any­one vis­it­ing the region or wish­ing to under­stand Israel’s pre­car­i­ous bor­ders with Lebanon and Syr­ia, the peo­ple who dare to live there, their impor­tance to Israel, and how it all came to be!