Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fine book about a small Asian country, March 4, 2005
This review is from: Israel in the World: Changing Lives Through Innovation (Hardcover)
This is an excellent and beautiful book about the little nation of Israel. Israel's accomplishments are something all humans can point to with pride. We humans can indeed make great progress in medicine, science, technology, agriculture, society, and outreach. Even a nation of just a few million people can do it. Some nations on this planet are producing very little of lasting value. Others are producing more. Some, of course, are consuming more. But we can all see from this book that Israel is more than pulling its own weight. It is holding up far more than its share of the sky!
This book shows why Israel ought to serve as an example for all of us. It's exciting to see how much can be done by an educated society. This is not a secret: all human society can and should try to emulate (or even exceed) Israel's behavior here.
I'll mention just one of the many examples of what Israelis have done, drip irrigation. This process, which dramatically increases water productivity, was developed by Israelis, and it has helped people in a wide variety of nations. Bananas in the Ivory Coast, sugar cane in Mauritius, melons in Mexico, vegetables in India, strawberries in Indonesia, and grapes in Germany are just a few of the products grown using this technique, with the help of Israeli companies. We also see a low-sugar fruit, the pepo, developed by Israelis especially with diabetics in mind.
I know that some folks prefer not to applaud Israel but regard it with envy. That is not the true path. Those of us who want our species and civilization to have a future should start by praising what is good about it. And this book certainly contributes to that.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, March 14, 2005
This review is from: Israel in the World: Changing Lives Through Innovation (Hardcover)
Israel in the World : Changing Lives Through Innovation is a powerful book in that it shows the power of a people.
It is ironic that Israel has grown from nothing in 1948 to be a world powerhouse in democracy, medicine, technology and much more.
On the other side, many feudal, monarchies in Africa have gone nowhere. The people are still malnourished, there is no democracy, etc.
Israel in the World : Changing Lives Through Innovation should be read by every lover of democracy.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A blessing to the nations, October 14, 2005
This review is from: Israel in the World: Changing Lives Through Innovation (Hardcover)
This attractively illustrated book provides a showcase of Israel's achievements in fields as diverse as agriculture, education, medicine, science and technology. It looks at the technologies, processes and the products from this tiny little land that are improving the lives of so many people. The authors highlight some of the people responsible for this ingenuity that is benefiting the whole world.
For example, at the Weizmann Institute, Dr Michal Schwartz has developed a way of harnessing immune system cells to repair and revive damaged nerve fibres. Other medical breakthroughs include the miniscule camera-in-a-tablet used for internal diagnosis, ultrasound for destroying tumours and Israel's highly effective disaster relief operations.
A great help to third world people has been the discovery by scientist Yoel Margalith of the Bti bacterium that kills certain kinds of flies and harmful mosquitoes. This has already saved millions of livers and is an environment-friendly intervention. Most remarkable is that Margalith is a holocaust survivor, of both the Bergen-Belsen and Teresienstadt camps.
In many fields Israel is so far ahead of the pack that other countries have no chance of catching up. One of the most interesting innovations developed in Israel is a project to avoid collisions between aircraft and migratory birds. It involved the study of the flight paths of birds. This work of researcher Yossi Leshem is now also used by the Jordanian and Turkish air-force.
Israel has more engineers per capita than any other country on earth and a remarkable number of hi-tech companies. Innovation in the fields of computers and information technology is particularly impressive. This encompasses software, operating systems, storage & retrieval systems, verification and firewall technologies, plus a host of mobile phone applications.
Israel's creativity is not restricted to science and technology, as there is also much happening in arts and culture. Despite its small size and its many enemies, this country is bursting with creative energy and making a huge contribution to the global marketplace and to quality of life worldwide.
The founders of this brave country were aware that Israel had almost no natural resources and that its people therefore had to develop and apply their brainpower. Well, they are succeeding spectacularly. What a pity that Israel has to devote so much of its money and resources to protect itself from its neighbours! If its full genius were given free reign, it would become even more of a blessing to the world.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
