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Soldier of Peace: The Life of Yitzhak Rabin [Hardcover]

Dan Kurzman (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)


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Book Description

April 21, 1998
The bestselling, award-winning author of Fatal Voyage and Gensis 1946 presents a comprehensive biography of Yitzhaz Rabin that will publish to tie in with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.

In the mots revealing portrait of the late Israeli leader writer to date, and the first to examine Rabin's longtime secret contacts with the PLO, Rabin family friend, confidante, and former Washington Post correspondent Dan Kurzman explores the life and workof the former Israeli prime minister. Tracing Rabin's life from his youth as a member of an elite commando unit to his rise as leader of Israel, and the account of his brutal assassination at the hands of a right-wing Jewish extremist, Kurzman details Rabin's evolution from shy child to desert warrior to peacemaker, and in the process tells the story of a nation's maturation into a modern state striving for peace.

Kurzman draws both on his relationship with Rabin, whom he first knew as a reporter's source during the Six Day War, and from interviews he conducted with more tan 200 people, including top politicians and statesmen from Shimon Peres to Henry Kissinger. It is the most complete portrait yet published of one of the twentieth century's most courageous and visionary statesman.



Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Yitzhak Rabin's life was driven by the goal of bringing peace to Israel. Even when he served as army chief of staff during the Six-Day War, he worked actively for resolution to the conflict with Egypt, an extension of his efforts as Israel's U.S. ambassador during the Nixon administration. Years later, as Israel's prime minister, his efforts to reach a settlement with the Palestinians earned him the hatred of hardcore right-wingers and religious extremists alike, culminating in his assassination on November 4, 1995.

Dan Kurzman's biography, written in breezy,"fly-on-the-wall" prose, is based on more than 200 interviews, from Rabin's wife and son to Rabin's colleague Shimon Peres to U.S. secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and James A. Baker. The story of Rabin's rise to power intertwines with the gradual development of Israel into a Middle Eastern power, with the final legacy of both still to be resolved.

From Booklist

Brusque, taciturn, but deeply emotional about the cost of war, "Mr. Security," as was Rabin's moniker in Israel, was a complicated figure. Eminent as the architect of salvation in the Six Day War, Rabin left a controversial legacy in some quarters for his decision to concede some aspects of the victory to obtain a settlement with the Palestinians. Thus, a definitive biography is premature, but intense interest in him will not stay the hands of authors. As a reading experience, Kurzman's book poses various impediments, such as digressions describing what Rabin wore to functions. The political events of Rabin's career are difficult to keep track of, as the author favors recollected conversations over clear analysis of Rabin's two stints as Israeli prime minister. However, readers intrigued by the inner life masked by Rabin's dour visage can pluck from a cornucopia of chronological anecdotes concerning his upbringing and emotions, constructed from scores of interviewees. This is an admiring interim work with pluses and minuses. Gilbert Taylor

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (April 21, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060186844
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060186845
  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,055,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete, but a good start, June 20, 2005
This review is from: Soldier of Peace: The Life of Yitzhak Rabin (Hardcover)
Overall, a good beginniners guide to Yitzhak Rabin, however like most subjects, one source is never enough and provides a very narrow view of the man. The main problem I have with this book besides the time when it was written (in the regretful post assassination era) is that it does not recognize to a very good degree, the Jews role in violence in Palestine, and it portrays Arabs as mostly the aggressors and Jews in self defense. Since I dont know that much about Rabin, being just a Bay Area Jew my criticism also targets the way in which it portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is overly simplistic and generally biased, there are other books that are much more worth reading and enlightening regarding the conflict that Rabin was at the center of many times.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A decent starting point in the examination of Rabin's life, March 30, 2000
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This review is from: Soldier of Peace: The Life of Yitzhak Rabin (Hardcover)
This book is an excellent first step in understanding Yitzhak Rabin, but it is by no means the last. It gives a chronological, easily written account of his life, highlighting the tremendous accomplishments and breezily whizzing by some of his faults.

If you are looking for a factual account of his life, this is a good book to use. If you are writing a 10-page paper on Rabin's life, you need look no further. If you want to truly understand the psychology of this complicated man, or you would like a balanced portrayal of him, you will need to look beyond this.

In the introduction, it states that if he had lived, he would undoubtedly have been re-elected. The facts suggest otherwise; the Israeli people had had enough of him, and it was not until after his death that the nation began to recognize what it had lost, both in its leadership and in its innocence. This book seems a product of the years of the wistfulness that often follow the death of an important leader.

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! Fascinating!, October 13, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Soldier of Peace: The Life of Yitzhak Rabin (Hardcover)
Audio version is great! Well written, well researched, and well read! Reads like Uris' Exudus, but true!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The November 4 rally clearly seemed to Yitzhak Rabin the climax of an almost three-decade struggle to divert Israel's destiny from the path of war to the path of peace. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
rodef rule, hawkish image, including quotations, peace partner, national unity government, southern commander
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Tel Aviv, Middle East, West Bank, Six-Day War, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Shin Bet, Yigal Allon, Old City, Moshe Dayan, White House, Golda Meir, King Hussein, Gaza Strip, Soviet Union, Abu Mazen, Yasir Arafat, United Nations, Yom Kippur War, Suez Canal, Jewish Quarter, Ezer Weizman, Henry Kissinger, Arab Legion
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