Warrior: An Autobiography

Rating:
Summary: The Warrior
Review: A cunning soldier, a loving father and a controversial politician, these are the words I would decribe this man.

This book is a nice book indeed. It talks about his life in his own words. It talks about his life and Israel's domestic policies (Settlments in the West bank etc,) relation's with the USA and in the Arab World and the wars Israel fought in under Sharon's eyes.

I highly recommand this.

Rating:
Summary: The Other Side of a Misunderstood Leader
Review: Ariel Sharon is so demonized by so many in the Arab world and Liberal Jews and Israelis that I sought this book to hear his side of his incredible career and life. Having spent most of his life fighting for Israel's survival and combatting terrorism in every war and conflict, he illuminates the problems Israel faces and the nature of its Arab opposition.

Like a true warrior he is a man of peace. Those who have been in the carnage of battle want to avoid it the most, but he has enough insight to understand that compromises and shortcuts to accomodate other's deadlines and agendas only means sending your grandchildren off to war.

His stories of being in the frontline of Israel's historic battles are gripping military history; and his rise from a neophyte poltician to Israel's Prime Minister provides a rich introduction to Israeli politics. His efforts to develop trade and agricultural ties throughout the world is less known than his military and political career, but very important among his contributions.

But most of all I wanted to hear his account of the Lebanese war and specifically the massacres in Sabra and Shatilla. I have always been bewildered at how the murder of Moslems by Christians would lead to the villanization of a Jew. He explained his view how he was sacrificed by the international pressures and Israel's own political parties.

The fact that he was able to rise from this poltical abyss to become prime minister is a remarkable achievement. There is far more depth to this man than his opponents would want us to believe.

This book was an excellent read a must for those trying to understand the complexities of modern Israel, and a fascinating biography of the leading player on the middle eastern stage.

Rating:
Summary: Symbol of the Degeneration of Israeli Political Life
Review: Ariel Sharon is the perfect example of tragedy of Israeli political culture in which men who prove themselves on the battlefield are then wrongly believed to be qualified to be national leaders. Sharon is widely believed to be Israel's greatest battlefield commander. He created the fighting spirit Israel was famous for in the 1950's and 60's by his formation of the well-known Unit 101. Instead of retiring to a well-deserved rest and chance to provide for his family, his arrogance led him to enter Israeli politics. From here, his character flaws of dishonesty and lack of values began to take their toll on Israeli public life. First, he became one of the founders of the right-wing Likud party in 1973, but by the time the 1977 elections came around, he had left it and founded a left-wing party committed to an independent Palestinian state, which was rejected at that time by the Leftist Labor Party. Since Menachem Begin won the election instead of the incumbent Labor Party, he veered to the Right again and joined the cabinet, becoming champion of the settlement movemend in the Judea/Samaria/Gaza territories taken in the 1967 war. However, Begin decided to give away the Sinai, so Sharon was put in charge of destroying the Jewish communities there, so he was appointed Defense Minister and carried this out. Right after this, he launched Israel on its Lebanese mis-adventure. Forced out of office as a result of it, he lowered his profile and built an alliance with Labor leaders Shimon Peres who ostensibly was on the other side of the fence politically, but that did not prevent these two from collaborating quietly. When the opportunity for Sharon came to become Prime Minister, he suddenly announced that the destruction of the Jewish communities in the Sinai was "a mistake". This helps propel him to the Prime Minister's Office in 2001 by lining up support of the Right. The Terror War of the Palestinians which started in autumn 2000 discredited the Labor Party and its Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Sharon was elected to put an end to it, but instead, he forms a cabinet with his friend Peres and then announces that the terror really can't be stopped. Finally, with the Pesach Night massacre in the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2002, Sharon was forced to act. Finally, military pressure is applied and slowly the terror war is subdued. Sharon announces during his 2003 re-election campaign that it is unthinkable to destroy the Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip as his opponent Mitzna suggests, but after being re-elected overwhelmingly on that platform, suddenly turns around, makes an alliance with the Far Left and adopts an even more radical form of Mitzna's plan. Of course, the Left now loves Sharon since he betrayed his voters (including this reviewer who volunteered to work for his campaign), but this unbelievably cynical man is a danger to the entire Zionist enterprise. Although the book is interesting, his habitual deceitfulness makes me wonder about the veracity of many things stated in the book.
This book shows that he has made a great contribution to building Israel, particularly in his early days, but I hope Israelis will wake up and look for integrity in their leaders, and not just a military uniform.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good, but Dayan's is better
Review: Ariel Sharon, although he had help from a professional writer on this, does not seem to carry the wieght of his importance to Israel in this book. It is a fascinating tale nonetheless, but he lacks a certain literary zing that keeps you glued to the book. Sharon was and is a military genius of the first order (as in Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Patton), but he does not have the glint of hope that Dayan had for lasting peace with the Arab countries. Sharon details his experiences up to his greatest military moment-leading the IDF to surround the Egyptian 3rd Army in the Yom Kippur War, and later he defends himself from the accusations that he was responsible for the SLA massacre at Sabra and Shatilla (he was eventually exonerated, and an American court found in his favor when he sued Time Magazine for slander). A very good book about a fascinating man, but Moshe Dayan's will still be the high watermark.

Rating:
Summary: Warrior: An Autobiography by Arial Sharon and David Chanof
Review:      The author of this book is David Chanoff. He writes an autobiography
of the Israel Prime Minister. The Israeli prime minister Arial Sharon, was
born in Israel and is the main character of this book. At an early age he
had to go through  hard time living in Israel. He than took part in the 1948 .
He was in danger of geting captured and killed.  He also had to live in a place
where he was in danger of getting hit buy mortar shell. He was raised on a farm
and had to work hard very hard to keep it going. Problems were to survive in his
homeland. Overall he had some successes.

My opinion

My opinion of the book is that it is a very good book. Is it is field with adventures
and is really exciting. It is even more interesting to read it
because of the men in it are still living and doing the same thing.
My favorite part the book was the beginning I think the beginning is always
the most interesting. I would not change a thing in the book because it
is like if you change the recipe of a cake it would not come out the same.

My recommendation

I would recommend this book to kids over the age of 13 and I would
encourage them to read it. The kind of person who would like to read
this book is The kind of person who is interested in the Middle East,  politics and in wars.

Rating:
Summary: I loved every page. Cheered me up.
Review: Fascinating account of Ariel Sharon's life as a man and as a military hero. Seeing how his mind works -- he is a great strategic thinker -- gave me a lot of hope. A great read.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story, Incredible Man
Review: Few people are able to strip away the political crust of a situation and see the reality. Fewer still have the charisma, intelligence and devotion to choose to face that reality, rather than ignore it. Ariel's life story is in essence a series of personal insights into Israel's ongoing state of emergency, and his bravery and leadership in the face of foreign and domestic cowardice.

I think, after reading this book, that Israel, and the world, owe this man a very great debt indeed. Post Sept 11, the size of this debt has become more clear. As we applaud President Bush saying that terrorism is evil, we should remember that Sharon has been preaching the same tune for many years, and for many of those years, his was not the obvious position to take, but rather a very unpopular position. In fact, until recently, the idea that terrorism should be stomped out completely was thought to be, by many, fascist in nature.

But the truth is that terrorism is evil. Sharon has done more to uproot terrorism and destroy terrorists than anyone else I am aware of.

Some of the highlights for me were accounts from Sharon about his studying the land where many of his famous battles would be fought, and how his understanding each foot of the relevant terrain often made the difference between victory and defeat. His coexistence and friendships with arabs and other non-jews throughout his life was also very interesting, especially in light of some public opinion about him.

Rating:
Summary: Inside the mind of a Warrior
Review: In this book, Ariel Sharon gives an interesting account of his exciting life. Anyone wanting more information about the author or the inner workings of Israel should pick up a copy. For instance, in 1953 Sharon led Unit 101 during the Qibiya operation, which left some 70 innocent civilians dead. Further, he took the initiative to the Lebanon campaign in the early 1980s, whch lead to the death up to 20,000 people. He has also worked hard to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank, leading to loss of livelihood, property, homes and liberty of thousands of civilian Palestinians. Sharon is rightly proud of his achievements, which are in line with his ideology. His autobiography gives his opinion about these events. A must for everyone, whether orthodox or reconstructionist.

Rating:
Summary: Warrior: The autobiografy of Ariel Sharon
Review: Is a must for everyone who is interested in the Middle East current crisis.I was really taken by surprise to learn about this man,his sensitivity,his candid comments about his inner feelings. His detailed descriptions about the various battles fought can be at the same time exciting but also to burdensome to my taste. Nevertheless I think its a great book full of discoveries.I loved it

Rating:
Summary: An absorbing book with details.............
Review: Sharon reveals his life and his thoughts about Israel. Critics have condemned him as an evil man but he truly wants peace. He knows, however, his enemies are not willing to embrace peace, and until they are, he will always make certain Israel has the advantage. This strategy plays throughout his life and in heroic actions as an Israeli soldier. The life is truly amazing.