Promotional Information

The story of Israel, past and present, by one of Britain's bestselling historians and the ultimate authority on the Jewish nation.

About the Author

Sir Martin Gilbert is Winston Churchill's official biographer, and one of Britain's leading historians. His The Holocaust- The Jewish Tragedy is considered the classic work on the subject, and he is the author of more than sixty other books, including Churchill- A Life, First World War, Second World War, Israel- A History, A History of the Twentieth Century and The Righteous. He lives in London.

Reviews

'Rich in detail...a grand, heroic narrative.', The Times Literary Supplement .'Martin Gilbert has left us in his debt, not only for a superlative history of Israel, but also for a restatement of the classic vision of Zion, in which a Middle East without guns is not a bedtime story but an imperative long overdue. This is the vision for which Yitzhak Rabin gave his life. This book is tribute to his memory.', Jonathan Sacks, The Times .'Not just an invaluable piece of historical research, it is also a joy to read...Required reading for anyone who wants to understand that most extraordinary and perplexing country.', Jewish Chronicle .'The most comprehensive account of Israeli history yet published.', Efraim Karsh, Sunday Telegraph

'Rich in detail...a grand, heroic narrative.', The Times Literary Supplement .'Martin Gilbert has left us in his debt, not only for a superlative history of Israel, but also for a restatement of the classic vision of Zion, in which a Middle East without guns is not a bedtime story but an imperative long overdue. This is the vision for which Yitzhak Rabin gave his life. This book is tribute to his memory.', Jonathan Sacks, The Times .'Not just an invaluable piece of historical research, it is also a joy to read...Required reading for anyone who wants to understand that most extraordinary and perplexing country.', Jewish Chronicle .'The most comprehensive account of Israeli history yet published.', Efraim Karsh, Sunday Telegraph

Gilbert's impassioned history adds immeasurably to our understanding of the forces that have shaped contemporary Israel. Digging up a wealth of primary source material and quoting liberally from letters, memoirs, eyewitness accounts, interviews, memoranda and diaries of David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Abba Eban, Shimon Peres, Teddy Kollek and dozens of ordinary people, the eminent British historian (The Holocaust) has produced a gripping epic. Gilbert's extensive behind-the-scenes and on-the-battlefield coverage of Israel's numerous wars with its Arab neighbors adds much new detail. While the narrative focuses predominantly on politics, high-level diplomacy and war, it also illuminates other topics, including the Jewish settlement of Palestine in the early years of this century, tensions between secularists and Orthodox Jews, Israeli military intelligence operations, the current impasse in negotiations with Palestinian Arabs and the ferment of Israeli society, which Gilbert portrays as a diverse mixture of immigrant peoples that embody many different strands of Judaism yet are united by Israeli culture. Photos. Author tour. (Apr.)