Customer Reviews

The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East from the War of Independence through Lebanon

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The author sketches the army attacks by giving the precise locations and the minute details of the troops, which may be boring for the people who wanted the essence of those attacks. But still the author has to be appreciated for the pain he took to explain each and every detail. I have never read any article, which explains in detail of the Entebbe attack, which the best commando attack in the last century. For that itself, this book is worth reading.

This book is a concise summary of the military actions that make up the Arab-Israeli wars up until the mid 1980s. Herzog has written a well researched and balanced account of what the military strategists were thinking, what men and equipment they had, and how their plans played out in real life. Only the minimum of political and diplomatic overview is given, this book is primarily about generals, tanks and airplanes, and unit combat. If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of how the wars were fought, this is the book for you. Wargamers and those seriously interested in the "hows" of warfighting would have to dig very long and deep to come up with this books detailed descriptions of units and outcomes.

I have read Mr Herzog's book at least 10 times and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to gain a solid understanding of the Arab-Israeli Wars. The author explains many of the behind the scene wranglings, misconceptions and intelligence gaffes that affected the outcome of each conflict. Highly recommended!

I knew nothing about Israeli history prior to reading this book and this book gave a very thorough account of the birth of Israel and the subsequent wars Israel had to fight against the Arabs for the country's very survival.
Although the book at times goes into excrutiating detail about the military battles, it was definetly worth the read. Some of the battle accounts are filled with hair-raising acts of courage and determination in the face of great odds.
The only downside - the book is more focused on the military facts than the politics and personalities involved - it left me wanting more information regarding the lives & history of the people involved. Also, the book stops in 1982, so if you are curious on what's been happening in the last 20 years, you won't get it here.
Overall, very good book and you will gain a thorough insight into
the Arab-Israeli wars.

The greatest compliment that can be paid to this book is that both arabs and Israeli scholars consider it a reasonably authoritiative text. That is even more amazing, given that Herzog was the President of Israel.

The text is very readble, though it sometimes gets bogged down in very minor detail. That said, Herzog brings the story to life by introducing us to many of the front line commanders whose decisions often dramatically effected the tide of battle.

In many ways, the history of the modern middle east is written by wars. This book provides a wonderful introduction to a most important aspect of this area of study.

This excellent study is written by Chaim Herzog, who has been personally involved, in one way or another, in every war involving Israel during the time period covered, since joining the Haganah as a teenager.

He further served as a Major General in the Israeli Army and as the country's Ambassador to the UN, and last but not least held the position of Israeli President.

Covering all the Arab-Israeli conflicts in one volume is a remarkable achievement. Many of the principal figures on both sides of these wars & the UN have been interviewed for their own views and accounts in connection with this very objective publication.

The book delves back into the archives surrounding the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the promises made by the British and the International Community to both the Jewish people and also to the region's Arabs. In so doing and extending this principle to the other conflcits, Chaim Herzog provides a valuable context/understanding to the origins of the subsequent wars.

He also remarks on the UN General Assembly vote in 1947, which voted 33-13 (with 10 abstentions) in favour of partitioning `Palestine' west of the Jordan River into two states, one Jewish & one Arab, with Jerusalem as an internationally administered area. The reactions of both sides are studied and the consequent invasion of Israel by six Arab countries, (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon), beginning Israel's War of Independence.

The latter war is covered in some depth, as indeed are the much ignored Sinai Campaign of 1956, the Six Day War of 1967, the `War of Attrition', the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the `War Against Terrorism of that era' including the Entebbe incident and finally the `Operation Peace For Galilee' in Lebanon around 1982.

(My copy of this book was published in 1984, so any reference to the Palestinian `intifadas' of more recent times is obviously missing.)

The experiences learnt in all of these conflicts is also discussed from both an Israeli and Arab perspective, as is the conflict with the PLO.

All these conflicts are covered in commendable detail in just one volume, making this quite an extraordinary book and a very valuable reference on the turbulent history of the Jewish state.

Might I also recommend another book by Chaim Herzog entitled, "The War Of Atonement", which is solely devoted to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. An excellent work by this author in it's own right.

Other recommended titles are Michael Oren's "Six Days Of War" which covers the 1967 conflict & "Operation Peace For Galilee" by Richard Gabriel which covers the Israeli-PLO war in Lebanon. All three of these additional books are highly recommended and cover the issues in considerable depth.

Former Israeli president Chain Herzog's account of the wars/conflicts between The State of Israel and her Arab neighbors is a riveting history. The book covers almost every Israeli military operation from 1948-2004 (this refers to the most recent version updated by former Israeli Intelligence officer Shlomo Gazit).

I personally liked how the book covered the little known conflicts, such as Israel's counter terror raids against PLO bases in Karameh, Jordan and Samu in the West Bank. In addition The book is complete with countless maps and photos. Maps of some battles (such as the Suez raids in the late 60s-early 70s between the Israelis and Egyptians) are incredibly detailed and as far as my own reading of other books can tell me, can't be found in other books.

The book was also quite objective, even comming from one of Israel's former presidents. The only flaw I found in the book was when Herzog claims Gen. Sharon increased fixed defenses 5-7 miles from the Suez Canal, for $500 million (see pg. 220). In reality Ariel Sharon who talks about this in his autobiography, Warrior, actually removed troops and shut down much of the Bar-Lev line. He, like General Patton some 30 years before did not belive in fixed emplacements, and felt they could serve better as small forward observation posts.

This book is perfect for anyone studying the Middle East, Zionism, terrorism, or modern armed conflict. You can't find a better account of Israel's wars in any other book.

Chaim Herzog, a former Isreali president is suprisingly impartial in his detailed analysis of the Arab Isreali wars. His descriptions of battles and strategies are at times confusing for someone without a military background but it is an interesting read throughout and Herzog sheds a lot of light on the cause and effect of each war including the Palestinian problem.It includes moving accounts of extreme bravery and self sacrifice in battle and saddening accounts of the trajedy of war. You do not have to be a history or military scholar to enjoy this book. I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the turbulent history of Middle Eastern affairs.

Chaim Herzog's history of the Arab/Israeli conflicts from 1946-1982 is a first rate book. Although the book can get a tad confusing with his specific detailing of troop movements and locations, it is an engrossing history of how the Israeli armies were able time and time again to stop Arab invasions and propel the Israeli military into prominence. If you can get past the minute detail of every unit going here and there, or if you're into that kind of stuff, you will enjoy this book

This book has both good and bad in it. At times the book is a bit tedious in places. A reader has to set his mind to finishing it. In places it does not communicate the passion that was this conflict. It reads like a collection of after action reports (AAR) from the conflicts.

That AAR aspect to the book actually adds to the book at the same time. The vast amount of detail will be a gold mine for the serious student of the conflict. It will flood you with details about the conflict. If you are familiar with the terrain and some of the personalities this book will probably come alive for you page after page. The stories of the later conflicts are written better. Those stories seem much more vivid. Also there has been an additional section to the book in it's second printing. That part tells the stories of the various conflicts Israel has had just since 73. This is one of only a few books which do that. Those stories have things I think you won't see anyplace else. The most likely come from the author's unique perspective. Those stories will help you understand those conflicts like nothing else.

If you want to understand the middle east you have to understand Israel's past. This book will help you do just that.