Soldier of Peace: The Life of Yitzhak Rabin : 1922-1995

Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Fascinating!
Review: Audio version is great! Well written, well researched, and well read! Reads like Uris' Exudus, but true!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Fascinating!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A decent starting point in the examination of Rabin's life
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The Tragedy of a Self-Destructive Leader
Review: Twice in his career, Yitzhak Rabin was hailed as a great hero, first after the 1967 Six-Day War and again after his 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords with Arafat. Unfortunately, in each case the truth of his actual role and performance was more or less suppressed. In 1967, he suffered a collapse that rendered him basically non-functional during the war which was actually commanded by Ezer Weizman and Haim Bar-Lev (although there is no doubt he contributed much to the Israel Defense Forces preparations for the victorious campaign). In 1993, against his better judgment, the Oslo accords were forced upon him by his nemesises Shimon Peres, Yossi Beilin and others. Rabin's assassination, which took place under very murky circumstances in which there is evidence that the state security forces may have had a role in setting it up, cast him in the martyr's role which, temporarily strengthened support for the agreements which were already being undermined by unremitting terrorist attacks and bestowed upon him a saint-like reputation which was at odds with the true record of his life. Today, in the midst of the large-scale terrorist war against Israel which began in September 2000, a more balanced appraisal of Rabin than which is presented in this book may become possible. Recently, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army revealed that Rabin told him shortly before his death that it was now apparent to him that the Oslo Agreements were a disaster for Israel, and that if he should be re-elected he would abrogate them but he didn't feel strong enough at the time to do it. Tragically, the wave of terrorist atrocities were destroying the man before his death and he began to speak irrationally even to the point where this man who had devoted his whole life to the security of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel was now saying that it was "not reasonable to expect the state to protect the lives of the individual citizens of that state". In his final appearance in a television news interview program three days before his death, he was speaking incoherently and he stated that his political opposition which was making strong, telling criticism of his failed policies (and, unlike what is stated in the book was leading by far in public opinion polls) was so "despicable" that it was even responsible for traffic accidents in the country! The next day, an aquaintance of mine who is a life-long supporter of Rabin's Labor Party said "a madman is leading this country". When reading this book, it must be kept in mind at all times the post-assassination atmosphere in which it was written. One hopes that a new biography will soon be written in which a more balanced view of this man who contributed much to the State of Israel but who ended up being destroyed both by his closet political colleagues and by the Arab leader with whom he signed the disastrous Oslo agreement.

Rating:
Summary: The Tragedy of a Self-Destructive Leader
Review: Twice in his career, Yitzhak Rabin was hailed as a great hero, first after the 1967 Six-Day War and again after his 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords with Arafat. Unfortunately, in each case the truth of his actual role and performance was more or less suppressed. In 1967, he suffered a collapse that rendered him basically non-functional during the war which was actually commanded by Ezer Weizman and Haim Bar-Lev (although there is no doubt he contributed much to the Israel Defense Forces preparations for the victorious campaign). In 1993, against his better judgment, the Oslo accords were forced upon him by his nemesises Shimon Peres, Yossi Beilin and others. Rabin's assassination, which took place under very murky circumstances in which there is evidence that the state security forces may have had a role in setting it up, cast him in the martyr's role which, temporarily strengthened support for the agreements which were already being undermined by unremitting terrorist attacks and bestowed upon him a saint-like reputation which was at odds with the true record of his life. Today, in the midst of the large-scale terrorist war against Israel which began in September 2000, a more balanced appraisal of Rabin than which is presented in this book may become possible. Recently, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army revealed that Rabin told him shortly before his death that it was now apparent to him that the Oslo Agreements were a disaster for Israel, and that if he should be re-elected he would abrogate them but he didn't feel strong enough at the time to do it. Tragically, the wave of terrorist atrocities were destroying the man before his death and he began to speak irrationally even to the point where this man who had devoted his whole life to the security of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel was now saying that it was "not reasonable to expect the state to protect the lives of the individual citizens of that state". In his final appearance in a television news interview program three days before his death, he was speaking incoherently and he stated that his political opposition which was making strong, telling criticism of his failed policies (and, unlike what is stated in the book was leading by far in public opinion polls) was so "despicable" that it was even responsible for traffic accidents in the country! The next day, an aquaintance of mine who is a life-long supporter of Rabin's Labor Party said "a madman is leading this country". When reading this book, it must be kept in mind at all times the post-assassination atmosphere in which it was written. One hopes that a new biography will soon be written in which a more balanced view of this man who contributed much to the State of Israel but who ended up being destroyed both by his closet political colleagues and by the Arab leader with whom he signed the disastrous Oslo agreement.