Crosswinds Summary and Analysis

Friedman drives from Beirut to Jerusalem on June 1, 1984, taking a taxi and saying good-bye to all of his friends. Friedman has to take a series of taxis which adds time to the trip. He has the most problem with his gold clubs at the Israeli border because the soldiers cannot believe that anyone would try to enter Israel with golf clubs. After clearing customers, he hires another taxi to take him to Jerusalem. He sees a sign along the road that warns the reader to beware of crosswinds. Friedman finds out they are not referring to the weather and finds that the two countries and cities have much more in common than they ever thought. Even though they cannot seem to get along with each other, they still have to solve the same kinds of problems regarding government and power structure...