Time Magazine Honors "Hostage" by Eli Sharabi as One of 2025's Must-Read Books

In a powerful recognition of truth-telling amid global distortion, Time Magazine has named "Hostage," the harrowing memoir by Israeli survivor Eli Sharabi, among its prestigious 100 Must-Read Books of 2025, a testament to the urgent need for authentic Jewish voices to pierce through the noise and reveal the unvarnished horrors of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist massacre and the brutal captivity that followed. Just weeks after dedicating its cover to Sharabi, the magazine hailed his bestseller for delivering "a raw and intimate perspective on one of the most divisive wars in modern history." Sharabi, kidnapped from his home during the dawn attack that slaughtered 1,200 innocents and abducted 251, endured 491 agonizing days in Gaza's underground tunnels before his release in a hostage deal. His account stands as the first full memoir from a survivor of that hell, chronicling separation from his wife and daughters, later murdered in the onslaught, and the daily fight for survival alongside fellow captives.

Time's reviewer, Hamilton Cain, captured the book's visceral impact: "In his bestselling memoir, Eli Sharabi, an Israeli abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and held hostage for 491 days, describes his captivity in searing detail, from the dawn attack in which he was separated from his wife and daughters to his harsh suffering in the tunnels beneath Gaza. He writes about bonding with other hostages and devising a survival plan of 'a tray between us for every meal: a tray with a little rice, meat or beans... a pita and a half to scrape from the tray.' When a deal led to his release, Sharabi emerged into a world forever shattered, learning his family had been killed in the attack." Cain praised how Sharabi's words illuminate the human cost of a war ignited by terrorists who used civilians as shields, executed innocents, and tormented captives, truths often drowned out by misinformation campaigns that glorify Hamas while demonizing Israel's defense.

Joining Sharabi on the elite list are works like Omar El Akkad's "One Day, Everyone Will Be Against This," Patti Smith's new memoir, Ron Chernow's biography of Mark Twain (famed for his Hamilton tome), and books by Nobel laureates Abdulrazak Gurnah and Han Kang. Yet "Hostage" shines brightest as a beacon of resilience, amplifying a Jewish perspective that counters the flood of narratives ignoring Hamas's barbarity: babies burned alive, women raped, families gunned down at a music festival. In an era where antisemitism masquerades as activism, Sharabi's voice; raw, unflinching, and profoundly human, reminds the world why Israel fights: to prevent another October 7. His inclusion in Time's pantheon not only validates the hostages' untold suffering but elevates a survivor's truth above propaganda, ensuring the atrocities of that black Shabbat and the 491-day nightmares echo globally. For Jewish readers and allies alike, it's a victory: one man's words cutting through denial, affirming that remembering the victims and exposing terrorist evil is the surest path to justice and peace.