Herod's Eyes: War, Love, and the Search for the Messiah (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781662899218)

When Rome was the ruler of the known world and those who were ruled chafed, a great and unexpected change took place in Judea. Nissim ben Amariah was there, a minister to Herod the Great and his son as well as a foil for Caesar Augustus. He was at the Slaughter of the Innocents and Golgotha and found himself swept up into the wars of Rome. He survived war and tyranny, prisons, and the turmoil of the Temple in Jerusalem. A flawed family man, his marriage was touched by tragedy, troubled, and triumphant. While his goal ultimately was freedom, all the while, he was unknowingly seeking the Messiah.

Curtis D Cushman grew up in Alabama, Tidewater Virginia, Whidbey Island, Washington, and Southern California, son of a decorated Navy veteran of the Pacific Campaign of WWII. His stories and those of his friends, true heroes all, created an interest in history. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Curtis did time in the oil business, on the professional stage (non-Equity), and in retail in San Diego. Geology called him back to work for four years in mineral exploration in West and Central Africa, written up in The Bobo Marché. From there he drilled in L.A. for the subway route and eventually ended up in home country, Washington State, running dirt labs and doing engineering geology. Herod's Eyes started as a short story after a trip to Israel. Like Topsy, it grow'd, and a novel emerged. Early drafts, commentary, and unflattering photos (except for Garnet the cat) are to be seen at curtisdcushman.com