"No army in the Middle East has been as written about in English as has Israel's, yet this book actually says something new. Reuven Gal, former chief psychologist of the IDF, looks at the influences on the Israeli soldier and their impact on the IDF's performance. He is able to deal with issues such as motivation and camaraderie, leadership and heroism from a human viewpoint. . . . a detailed assembly of data such as this one is welcome, and the sociological-psychological jargon is kept at a minimum. This is neither hagiography nor psychobabble, and it contains a great deal of detail." Middle East Journal
A Portrait of the Israeli Soldier
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more |
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
“After giving a brief historical background, Gal treats such subjects as: women in the army; motivation for service and fighting spirit; procedures involving selection, classification, placement, induction, and training; analysis of upper, middle and lower leadership echelons; and problems including battle stress, care of the wounded, military norms, and ethics. Many observations are based on survey data, e.g., polls and questionnaires conducted among soldiers and civilians. In a final chapter, Gal, former chief psychologist of the Israel Defense Forces, emphasizes four areas `which pose a threat to the very foundation of the Israeli military during the dacade of the 1980s...': motivation problems, moral-ethical concerns, military competence, and quality of personnal. Despite military successes in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, that venture raised doubts about aspects of the military previously taken for granted, such as high morale and unstinting volunteerism. ... For students and general readers.”–Choice
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old but excellent!,
By Dimitrios (Greece) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Portrait of the Israeli Soldier: (Contributions in Military Studies) (Hardcover)
Although many would consider this book dated because it was published 21 years ago, it is surprisingly fresh in its analysis, depth and scholar research. In 1986 the IDF was trying to heal its wounds caused by the 1982 Lebanon War and the occupation that followed and this is a main theme of the book but not the only one. Mr Gal leaves no stone unturned in this work, presenting every single aspect of Israeli military life from recruitment, selection, service, training, command, leadership and ethos, using a mass of statistical data. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get an in depth look at the powerful IDF and understanf its real sources of strength.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
The Israeli soldier-an image taken for granted as an inseparable part of contemporary Israeli society-is, in fact, a historical oddity. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
permanent service corps, junior command course, combat decisiveness, battle shock casualties, compulsory service period, basic training bases, armor corps, prospective conscripts, combat motivation, basic training period, psychiatric casualties, military motivation, combat reactions, senior officer corps, combat corps, combat stress reactions, psychiatric breakdown, medal recipients, basic trainees, direct commander, leadership corps, unit morale, military psychology, reserve service, morale survey Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Air Force, Six Day War, New York, Golan Heights, World War, War of Independence, Prime Minister, Suez Canal, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Research Report, Independence War, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Chiefs of Staff, Greenwood Press, The Military Balance, Unit of Military Psychology, United States, British Army, Israel's Lebanon, West Bank, Israeli Navy, Third International Conference, Middle East, Moshe Dayan, New Outlook New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The Israeli soldier-an image taken for granted as an inseparable part of contemporary Israeli society-is, in fact, a historical oddity. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
permanent service corps, junior command course, combat decisiveness, battle shock casualties, compulsory service period, basic training bases, armor corps, prospective conscripts, combat motivation, basic training period, psychiatric casualties, military motivation, combat reactions, senior officer corps, combat corps, combat stress reactions, psychiatric breakdown, medal recipients, basic trainees, direct commander, leadership corps, unit morale, military psychology, reserve service, morale survey Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Air Force, Six Day War, New York, Golan Heights, World War, War of Independence, Prime Minister, Suez Canal, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Research Report, Independence War, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Chiefs of Staff, Greenwood Press, The Military Balance, Unit of Military Psychology, United States, British Army, Israel's Lebanon, West Bank, Israeli Navy, Third International Conference, Middle East, Moshe Dayan, New Outlook New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 16
books:
See all 16 books this book cites
9
books
cite this book:
See all 9 books citing this book
- Yom Kippur by Norma Simon on page 176, and Back Matter
- New York by Tama Janowitz on page 254, and Back Matter
- The Dogma of the Battle of Annihilation: The Theories of Clausewitz and Schlieffen and Their Impact on the German Conduct of Two World Wars (Contributions in Military Studies) by Jehuda L. Wallach in Front Matter
- Against All Enemies: Interpretations of American Military History from Colonial Times to the Present (Contributions in Military Studies) by Kenneth J. Hagan in Front Matter
- The American Occupation of Austria: Planning and Early Years (Contributions in Military Studies) by Donald R. Whitnah in Front Matter
See all 16 books this book cites
- Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming by Jonathan Shay in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Jews and Gender: The Challenge to Hierarchy (Oxford Studies in Historical Theology) by Jonathan Frankel on page 190
- The Making of Strategy: Rulers, States, and War by Williamson Murray on page 546
- The Making of Strategy: Rulers, States, and War by Williamson Murray on page 546
- Women, States and Nationalism: At Home in the Nation? by Sita Ranchod-Nilsson in Back Matter
See all 9 books citing this book
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
