A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time (Second Edition, Revised and Updated) (v. 1) [Paperback]

Howard M. Sachar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 1996

Second Edition, Revised and Expanded

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When first published in 1976, this truly monumental history was hailed as a definitive work. The revised and expanded edition covers all issues from that point to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. Sachar's topics include the rise of Jewish nationalism, Theodor Herzl and the rise of political Zionism, Zionism after Herzl, the Balfour Declaration, the seeds of Arab-Jewish confrontation, Palestine in World War II, postwar Palestine, the war of independence, the growth of the Israeli republic, Israel's search for peace and security, economic and social growth, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the Likud era, peace with Egypt, and Israel's involvement in Lebanon. Sachar concludes with chapters focusing on what he calls a tormented road to peace and an appraisal at half century. As extraordinarily stimulating as the first edition. George Cohen

From the Inside Flap

Second Edition, Revised and Expanded

Product Details

• Paperback: 1184 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 2 Rev Exp edition (February 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679765638
• ISBN-13: 978-0679765639
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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63 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Sachar's history of Israel., January 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time (Second Edition, Revised and Updated) (v. 1) (Paperback)

What a magnificent work of scholarship. For people such as myself, who are only remotely familiar with the circumstances leading to the rise of the Zionist movement and to the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, this is such rewarding book. Sachar's approach to his subject is quite astounding. Not only does he trace the political and social evolution of the country in a sober and even-handed way, but he provides a lucid exposition of the military conflicts and turbulent irruptions that have plagued the country since the early twentieth century. The duplicity and nervous diplomacy of the superpowers in dealing with Israel are also brought to light. Moreover, the rise of the PLO and PFLP are discussed, along with some of the other popular Arab movements, in a very incisive and fair manner. The writing style is quite eloquent, and the topics discussed are so diverse and interesting that the prose doesn't drag along, as one might expect from such a thick and heavy tome. The book is provided with a vast array of military, demographic and municipal maps, which make some of the historical incidents easier to follow. My only suggestion for any subsequent editions is that the book be provided with an insert of illustrations, depicting some of visual arts and archaeological sites that Sachar discusses, along with photographs of some of the important political figures mentioned in the text.

62 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Extremely Comprehensive and Fairly Balanced History, July 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time (Second Edition, Revised and Updated) (v. 1) (Paperback)

An exhaustive volume covering from the first aliyah in the 1880s through the murder of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. Sachar adopts a moderate to liberal Israeli stance, admiring early Maipai and Labor leaders Ben-Gurion, Peres, and Rabin. On the other hand, he is unremittingly critical of Likud leadership as well as the influence of the Orthodox and charedim in Israeli society.

Readers should keep in mind that this tome is a history of Israel, and not of the conflict with the Arab States and Palestinians; while it does an excellent job revealing Israeli ideology regarding the conflict, it spends far less time discussing Arab thinking and motivation. Even so, it does not mince words in criticism of Israeli militarism, particularly that of current prime minister Ariel Sharon. An outstanding, extremely readable history of the Jewish state.

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference, February 13, 2005

By 

Jill Malter ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time (Second Edition, Revised and Updated) (v. 1) (Paperback)

This book does a fine job of supplying a detailed history of Israel. It is over 1000 pages, not even counting the index or the huge bibliography.

Sachar's idea is to tell us what happened and why. That does not mean taking sides. It does not mean saying if the people involved were reasonable or moral in choosing the sides they did.

I can understand this approach. We all wish that we could always view relatively current events from the perspective of those who could see which side was being greedy, which side was simply immoral, or which side was being impractical. But we can't, so Sachar simply reports what happened as best he can. And I don't see how I can ask for more than this.

In addition, the simple retelling of what happened and why tells us plenty about how wise or moral decision-makers were. Let me give one example. Sachar has a hefty section on the response to the UN Partition Resolution of November, 1947. Britain refused to gradually transfer authority to a United Nations commission, explaining that this would result in "confusion and disorder." Britain did everything possible to avoid cooperating with those in the UN or the Jewish Agency. The six UN commission members were made unwelcome. They "were soon reduced to foraging for food and drink. They accomplished nothing."

Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, simply regarded the Jews as enemies. As Sachar writes, Bevin claimed "that the whole Jewish 'pressure' was a gigantic racket run from America," that the Jews had stolen "half the place" (that is, half of the Mandate territory), and that "he would not be surprised if the Germans had learned their worst atrocities from the Jews." I think this ought to tell any perceptive reader plenty about Bevin.

On top of this, Sachar explains that Bevin and some important British officers were predicting an Arab military victory, and that the Arabs would have no difficulty taking over the whole country. Nowadays, some people appear to have forgotten all this and are pretending that everyone knew that the Arabs would be no match for the Jews, which is yet one more reason why we ought to read this book!

Sachar also tells us about the British swiping the entire contents of the Mandate treasury, to make sure the Jews got none of the money. At the same time, the British gave 300,000 pounds to the Supreme Moslem Council, an indirect subsidy of the Arab war effort. The British strictly enforced an embargo on Jewish immigration and Jewish weapons acquisition. Meanwhile, the British happily sold weapons to Iraq and Transjordan.

It is true that on April 1, 1948, the Jews decided to stop responding to Arab attacks in a purely defensive manner. With Jerusalem threatened, they did decide to take action to relieve the siege. But Sachar has already shown us that one reason the Jews were unable to try such a plan before then was that the British would have stopped them by force.

There is an enormous amount of information in this book. I recommend it to everyone who is interested in the topic, no matter what political views they may have.