Reviews

Hammel, author of 16 books on military campaigns, turns his attention to the Arab-Israeli Six Day War of June 1967. Military historians will be disappointed to see no footnotes, a thin bibliography, and an overall journalistic narrative rather than a history. Despite these drawbacks, Hammel does an excellent job of detailing how Israel prepared for the war and describing combat. Moreover, his highly readable style will be popular with public library patrons, especially if this is the first book they read on the subject. S.L.A. Marshall's Swift Sword: The Historical Record of Israel's Victory, June 1967 (o.p.) remains a better choice for military historians. Jewish Book Club selection.-- Dennis L. Noble, Washington State Lib., Clallam Bay Corrections Ctr.

In this highly readable popular history, Hammel ( Chosin ) maintains that the countdown for the Six-Day War began in July 1964, when Israel's completion of a system of canals and aqueducts to carry fresh water from the Sea of Galilee evoked fears in Arab neighbors that Israel was expecting an influx of settlers. Hammel argues convincingly that the 1967 war marked the finest performance of the Israel Defense Force, which in less than a week defeated the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria with a minimum of Israeli casualties. Pointing out that the IDF, unlike other military forces around the world, channels its best-educated conscripts into the combat arms rather than into the technical branches, Hammel illustrates the practical benefits of this policy with examples of imaginative improvisations by brigade- and squadron-level commanders during the 1967 war. With its emphasis on the David vs. Goliath aspects of the short decisive war, this proves a stirring tale. Jewish Book Club selection. (Oct.)