Start-up Nation

by Saul Singer, Dan Senor

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

Saul Singer is an American-Israeli journalist and author. Formerly editorial page editor at The Jerusalem Post, Singer co-wrote with Dan Senor Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle, a best-seller which investigates Israel's innovative prowess (from wikipedia)

Reviews

[saleha]

This book at the beginning, actually made me ask myself, “What’s up with these people? How did they manage to build a full-fledged living and a growing economy amidst of all “potential enemies”? How are they fighting wars and simultaneous keeping their stance high?”
It actually gives you those “wait a minutee” moments in between reading and keeps you wondering about their mentality and perspectives on “struggling” to exist.

The primary answers to my questions lied in:

1) Military training - Protect
2) Entrepreneurship - Create
3) Cluster environment - Optimum conditions
4) Chutzpah - Esteem

In addition, it does try to cover up some “activities” as swiftly as possible, which leads me that there is way more than just those 4 answers to how the “nation” built.

The book does give a hard time understanding some economical terms especially if you don’t have that knowledge beforehand :p so some surfing becomes necessary.


Overall, this is the book which also opened my mind, on what our Muslim countries are lacking and hence aren’t boosting as “nations” rather than just “countries”- and what I mean by this is that we are not homes, we are just mere houses of different sizes, some lavishly furnished, and some deprived of basics, and this is because of our not-allowed-to-question culture, or “not-knowing” our potential enemies, or simply lack of courage/esteem (to understand that Islam is the correct system and standing by it) - or in their words - lack of chutzpah.

[J Alistair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book, one I avoided for years due to little to no interest in IT. It was a friends' recommendation in Sept 2025 that turned me back to this book. Why does Israel have more start up companies, across multiple sectors, per capita, than any other nation in the world? Is it the compulsory military background? Is it immigration waves bringing new ideas? Is it because Israel is a tiny Jewish nation surrounded by Islamic nations that hate them creating a survive or die mentality? Is it frankly because Israel is a Jewish nation?

This book addresses all these questions and more. For those who love Israel, it's a great read. For those who want to find better ways to incorporate ideas into their own business, it's a great read. For those who want a pick me up book focusing on on never giving up, instead learning from what didn't work last time, and applying those lessons to next time, this is a great book.