ISRAEL: Years of Challenge

ho better than the leader through these years of challenge could write the most unbelievable story of how Israel came to be,- a miniscule country, surrounded hostile neighbors, emerging with dignity, strength and significance. Ben-Gurion goes back to the early days in Palestine, even before he came in 1906,- to the pioneers, the philanthropists, the visionaries, the Zionists who dreamed of a home- and. When he came, Turkey was in possession, and Ben-Gurion realized that work nd action must replace words and philosophy. And so he recounts his work, his actions and his philosophy too, as cooperation and determination won against fearful odds. The War of Independence against Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon -- was backgrounded by an almost more bitter economic war against the boycott of the Arab world, established and supported by the British before Israel claimed independence. The analysis and description of battles-military and political- are so matter of fact that one has to read between the lines to recognize the great statesman, the brilliant tactician, strategist, diplomat and leader Ben-Gurion has become in these years. Israel has grown from a population of 650,000 to over 2,000,000 in fifteen years, and is a considerable influence in Africa's new nations and in the Far East. en-Gurion makes one feel the deep religious import of this new young state that as stood out against the Arab neighbors, and- in the UN- has fought for its rights against the Soviet Union and the United States. His philosophy of the role of the small nation in the Cold War, the hopes and aspirations for a peace that will bring neighbors together in understanding and mutual respect comes out in the final chapters. This is not an autobiography; little is said of a personal life. Rather it is a story of Israel and the part Ben-Gurion has played in its creation and emergence, splendid legacy. Very well done and interesting and revealing reading as a facet of modern world history.