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A HISTORY OF THE ISRAELI ARMY: 1874 to the Present by Ze'ev Schiff

A HISTORY OF THE ISRAELI ARMY: 1874 to the Present

By

Pub Date: March 1st, 1986
Publisher: Macmillan

Newspaperman Schiff's longtime intimate association with the Israeli army has enabled him not only to chronicle its successes and infrequent failures, but also to understand and explain the psychological and social elements of Israeli society that determine the army's character. This is an updated reissue of an earlier edition telling the story of that army. A useful summary, it includes material on the war in Lebanon, the battle against terrorists, and fascinating accounts of intelligence work that were not in the original edition. Schiff focuses on Israel's military history as a nation, with only very brief material on the late 19th-and early 20th-century forerunners of the modern national army. If the book were only a summary of battles fought and military strategies employed, it would be of limited interest. Schiff's unique contribution is his discussion of such matters as the nature of Israel's military doctrine, the effects of having a citizen army on the Israeli population, and the complex interrelationship between politics and the army in Israeli society. This is a useful work on a subject central to an understanding of how Israel has survived in hostile terrain. Understanding Israel's army is a major path to understanding Israel itself. This book provides that understanding in a lucid, readable fashion.