I heard Amichai speak when he was still alive, in Ohio, in 1997? 1998? and bought his book (this translation, which is the best (I have two others). Amichai, a wonderful Jewish poet, was a sincere, very humble, and very smart man. To see him read was a pleasure. More than anyone, in how many readings, I can't say. He was one of the best, I've ever seen, so HUMANE, if that means anything. Totally struck me and had me thinking for weeks about what it meant to be a writer, I mean to REALLY live the writing life. 
 And beyond that, his poetry is such a lovely immersion into Jewish and American history; to me he is a little like Viktor Frankl meets Robert Frost. For anyone who loves poetry I recommend him. He almost won a NOBEL, his work was that respected (and I think they wanted to award him the PEACE PRIZE, as I remember...). Great read, wonderful translation--the best of those I've read, to my mind. And an inspiration to those who wish to be spare with prose, to those who need to remember their histories, and those who value emotional content.