One of the first in a slew of books forthcoming to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel: a thorough and thoroughly entertaining history of that nation’s first half century—from a Labor Party point of view. The prolific historian and Churchill biographer Gilbert (A History of the Twentieth Century, 1997; Holocaust Journey, 1997) covers the remarkable story of Israel’s miracles and debacles from the time a Zionist state was a gleam in Theodor Herzl’s eye to the latest shrill attack on current Prime Minister Netanyahu for building Jewish housing in the old city of Jerusalem. But Gilbert’s pro-Labor bias somewhat distorts not only his interpretation of the past but his perspective on the present and future of a nation that is becoming increasingly oriental and traditional and is now governed by a coalition representing those, rather than Labor’s, interests. A rich history with a progressive stance. (32 pages b&w photos, 43 maps, not seen)
