A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time Paperback – May 15, 2007

I read this book in preparation for my anticipated visit to Israel. I was richly rewarded by a very detailed history of Israel that told me the story behind many of the headlines I had some familiarity with and about much that I had no familiarity with. The book enhanced my understanding of a very complex nation. Professor Sachar quotes Theodore Herzel the father of Zionism in the beginning of the book. He cites a portion of Herzel’s book: The Jewish States.“Jew-hatred was an ineluctable fact of life; it would not be wished away. Indeed, the Jewish question was neither social nor religious. It is a national question, and in order to solve it we must, before everything else, transform it into a political world question, to be answered in the council of civilized peoples.We are a people-one people. We have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with national communities in which we live, seeking only to preserve the faith of our fathers. It is not permitted us. Only one solution remained. It was an exodus, a gathering together of the Jews from their worldwide dispersion into a land of their own. Political principle will provide the basis, technology the means, and the driving force will be the Jewish tragedy.”Herzel published his book in 1896 and proved to be prescient in his vision. Europe became a death trap for Jews 40 years later. Palestine and later Israel became a life saving refuge for millions of Jews throughout the world. Professor Sachar’s book is a story of this miracle.Professor Sachar goes into great detail about the difficulties involved in this achievement and the forces that opposed the creation and existence of Israel. Antipathy from the Arabs and countries that were hostile to the existence of the state because it might jeopardize the free flow of Arab oil. There were also conflicts within Israel: between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews; between religious and secular; between doves and hawks in dealing with the Arabs both within Israel and in the occupied territories.It’s a long book; 1300 pages. However, because it is so well written it is a real page turner.

I am a non Zionist Jew and I wanted to read the complete story of Israel.In a Kindle the size of the book is not obvious but this is a tome with a complete analysis of each aspect of the formation of Israel. I found it dealt objectively with the disparate viewpoints affecting this controversial country.I found it complete and replete with details describing the situations and personalities involved.One minor distraction is that he keeps inserting "(this page)" referring I suppose to something he has mentioned before in the chapter. Unnecessary and redundant in my view.

Although this book is a fairly long read, it is by no means difficult to get through it. The writing is clear and concise. I am currently an undergraduate studying the Middle East, and this is the first book I got regarding the history of Israel-Palestine. It does a great job covering all the big topics, like the wars of '48, '67, '73, and even the Lebanese campaigns.Highly recommended!

I tremendously enjoyed much of this book. It surprised me that an author described as “balanced” could be so heavy handed in his anti-religious (anti-chareidi) views. For example, in relevant sections, he frequently uses ugly adjectives like draconian. In my opinion, the revised version at least should have covered chareidi history in more depth considering their growing demographic share of Israeli society.For other major issues that I am less familiar with, such as Communism and Capitalism in Israel’s formative years, I cannot offer much comment.The material from the ‘70s onwards is decisively and unapologetically left-wing in terms of Israeli political standards. It may be said that he is balanced when describing the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict, in that the author clearly supports and respects the initiative of state building Israeli pioneers while also openly recognizing that they didn’t do everything right. I assume this is the intention of most other reviewers. It should be noted, however, that his left-of-center viewpoints on internal Israeli politics and sometimes even on Israeli foreign affairs do not support the description of an unbiased history. Of course, writing an unbiased history, especially of Israel, is impossible, and it would be unfair to hold an author to such a standard.I would have liked him to focus more on Israeli cultural developments than the peace process in the chapters on the more recent years, but I can forgive him for being an historian and not a sociologist. If I recall earlier sections of the book correctly (it’s been over a year since I began the book), he covered social developments with more depth in earlier periods.Overall, I found the book extremely informative and I would recommend it for readers with a critical eye.

Book arrived in great condition. Very pleased. Thanks!

Have a lot of the book to read but find it a very readable, detailed, captivating and an informative history of Zionism, the State of Israel and social, economic and political developments. It helps in understanding today’s Middle East. Reading the most recent revised edition and look forward to completing my journey through the book to this century.

This is an extremely detailed history of Israel. To someone who is not really trying to learn about a specific period or incident, the detail is a bit much. Also, the author tends to belabor his points. I spend a lot of time thinking, "Okay, I get it, next point, please." So, expect slow going, but much more detail than is provided in most other sources on the history of modern Israel.

Book has been revised several times and is current to around 2006. Gives not only history, but looks at the sociological aspects of the people living in israel over time. Also tracks economic and political developments over time. Seems very well-balanced with regard to the Arab- Israeli conflict.

Definitely for knowing some history.

Good Product

Was amazing.

Excellent

Of all the various histories of Israel that I have read, this is the most in-depth, best written, most balanced and best researched representation. Absolutely magisterial. Highly recommended