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The Rabin Memoirs, Expanded Edition with Recent Speeches, New Photographs, and an Afterword

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This book is a good history of the life of Yitzak Rabin.You
are provided excellent coverage of the great war of independance
and his role in it as a member of the Hagannah.This book also describes the leadership role as a general in the six day war
and it's impact on the Middle East.Rabin's service as Prime
Minister of Israel is also described in this book.You are given detail of the Israeli rescue mission of the prisoners at the
airport in Entebbe.You will also cover the time that Rabin was the ambassador to America in Washington.Also covered in this book is the defeat of the Labor Party at the hands of the Likud.
Rabin's role as a peacemaker is also given coverage in this book.
This is a very good biography of Yitzak Rabin as well as an adequate history of Israel. Read this book,you will enjoy it.

The best biographies are those where the author just doesn't relate his life's history, but expounds on it. We, the reader, want to know more about our chosen subject than just the superficial. We want to know "whys" and "why nots" behind their actions. I think such books are not just a catharsis for the author, but in some ways, for the reader too.

Yitzhak Rabin's "The Rabin Memoirs" is just that; perhaps more so given the reserve private man that he was. The fact Rabin was flawed in so many ways, as this book reveals, perhaps makes him all the more human and easier for us to understand. Yitzhak Rabin was in many ways typical of the early pioneers in what was then Palestine. Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922 of Eastern European descent. His interest was in agriculture, yet events pushed him into the military and then into close contact with the whirlwind that was David Ben Gurion, and thus, a career in politics.

Rabin details the keys events of his life, from his successes (and near failures) on the battlefield to his rise as Prime Minister, and sudden fall in national disgrace. The book is full of interesting reflections, comments, a subtle humor that only Rabin could provide.

Yet, destiny was far from being finished Rabin. Rabin, the hardnosed, no nonsense soldier and hawkish politician would become in many ways the symbol of Israel's attempt to live in peace with its neighbors. A price Rabin would eventually pay with his life, and perhaps the greatest irony was that the murderer wasn't an enemy, but one his own.

An outstanding book for anyone interested in the history of the Middle East, Israel, and peace process that continues to vex global leaders to this very day. The expanded edition contains 428 pages and lots of new photos.

Yitzak Rabin was a great leader. This man wanted to lead Israel to a time of peace. This book gives one a great deal of information about this amazing leader, the country he loved so dearly, and the effort he and his family made to improve life in their country. Too bad a madman had to take his life. Rabin's story is amazing from beginning to the tragic end.

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Unfortunately the Rabin memoirs suffers the same ills as many other memoirs in that the author uses his pen to whitewash his own history and that of some of his friends. This is, as it always is, a tragic fact, because history would be so much better served had Rabin written a truly honest account. The problem with this book is that the areas were Rabin leaves out details and distorts some facts colors this entire work, so that the reader has to question everything that is in the book.

What I don't understand is why Rabin (and other historical figures as well) whitewashes areas of history that are known or will inevitably become known. Like when Rabin calls Ben-Gurion's decision to step down from his governmental positions as inexplicable when the facts of why he did so were known even at that time. He also leaves out the fact that Nasser had offered Israel concessions over the Straits of Tiran before the Six Day War thereby rendering one of his main arguments for Israel's having to got to war null and void. He also says nothing at all of the negotiations between Israel (and its proxies) and Egypt (and some of its proxies) that were going on in secret during his term as prime minister. At the time of his writing these memoirs much of this might have been censored out, but we have no evidence that was the case. The lack of discussion of these and other topics shows himself, his friends and Israel in a much more lenient light while casting a shadow over Israel's enemies. One cannot but think this was the purpose.

With that said, I think anyone interested in Israel and the Middle East needs to read this book along with many other self-serving memoirs, biographies and histories. Even with the flaws this book gives the reader an invaluable insight into one of the leading figures of the Israeli state. You get to see the inner workings of the man, and get a chance to see his philosophies in action. It is a glimpse into his mind, and this glimpse offers the reader many insights.

Yoram Peri's afterword is essential and a very welcome addition to this book. It provides the book with a greater context, and a fine analysis of the work and the man as well. The addition of the speeches is also a welcome contribution that adds more context, and gives the reader a better understanding of Rabin's later life.

All and all Rabin is a fascinating character. He was a self made man during a harsh time in Israeli history. His life is an extraordinary journey tragically cut short. This book goes a long way in helping readers understand this important figure, and for that reason alone this book should be read.

Yitzhak Rabin is a truly tragic figure in the history of the Jewish people. Here was a man, while having many good qualities had deep, even fatal character flaws that allowed him both to play a major role in bringing about Israel's great victory in the Six-Day War of June 1967 and yet, at the same time, bringing about his own destruction while leaving his country in a perilous
state as a result of his disastrous Oslo agreement of 1993.
Unfortunately, like almost all the autobiographies of Israel's famous leaders, this book is self serving and does not really give one a good idea of what really happened.
For example, Rabin completely skips over Israel's War of Independence in 1948 when he had the important position of commander of the Har'el Brigade which played an important role in the battles for Jerusalem. The reason is that he showed for the first time during the war his inability to function under pressure and it is believed that he fled the battlefield at a critical juncture, but it was decided to hush up the matter. Rabin was a member of the "Dor HaPalmach", i.e. the generation of the Palmach (pre-state elite military force). These people fought hard and contributed much but this gave them a feeling of priviledge which led them in later years to behave arrogantly and for those who entered politics to show contempt for Israel's democratic system-Ariel Sharon's dictatorial behavior being the latest example (although Sharon was not in the Palmach, but he did joint the military elite in the 1950's).
Rabin played a major role in preparing the Israeli Army for its lightening victory in 1967, but once again, he suffered a nervous collapse before the war, and did not (as I understand it) play an important role in its execution.
Rabin, who was thrust basically unqualified into the Prime Minister's office in 1974, mainly for the reason that he was out of Israel during the Yom Kippur war, was unprepared for the job. He was the first of a long line of military men to become Prime Minister, and he showed all the flaws of this group, arrogance, contempt for democracy, and corruption. These men have led Israel into a dead-end situation, because many people blindly think that "generals are good leaders" whereas the reality is that they are the worst leaders, since their whole career they give orders and have no patience with the give and take of politics.
Rabin, in the book spews out harsh criticism of his long-term
rival Shimon Peres, but in his second term (1992-1995) which is not covered in his book, he allowed this dangerous man to lead him around by the nose, forcing the Oslo Agreements on him against his better judgement, again due to his weak personality.
All of this ended in the tragedy of his assassination as the SHABAK (Israeli internal security agency) which was supposed to be under Rabin's personal supervision, went on a rampage using provacoteurs to discredit the Labor Party's rivals, locating a potential assassin and then giving him free access to Rabin at the fateful gathering on November 4, 1995. (For those of you who are skeptical, please note the official Shamgar Commission inquiry into the assassination noted that the assassin's closest companion in the months before the murder was a SHABAK provacoteur). A very tragic ending for a complex, talented, but flawed man.