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Ariel Sharon: A Life
Warrior, statesman, peacemaker–few world leaders have had as dramatic and pivotal a life story as Ariel Sharon. And as this riveting new biography shows, perhaps no modern leader’s life has been as tightly woven into the history of his nation.
Born in 1928 and raised in spartan circumstances on a kibbutz, Ariel Sharon was taught by his parents to take principled stands and then to plow ahead, to “always go see what lies over the next hill.” And for decades to come, Sharon would do just that, forging a life of strength, resilience, and sometimes, according to his detractors, reckless and embittered action, indifferent to the violence it unleashed on his enemies.
Based on unprecedented access to many of the key players in Sharon’s life, hundreds of interviews, and thousands of pages of documents, Ariel Sharon presents a leader who was first and foremost a military man. Sharon fought in Israel’s War of Independence (in which he was left for dead on the battlefield); assembled Israel’s first special forces brigade, the wild Unit 101; and led the Lebanon War, the most controversial campaign in Israel’s history. As a general, he directed military campaigns that are still studied in military academies across the world.
Yet Sharon was also a political animal. This book explores his fraught relationships with prime ministers David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Rabin, as well as with legendary minister of defense Moshe Dayan; Sharon’s removal as defense minister after the massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps in Sabra and Shatila; his thirty-year championing of the settlement movement in Gaza and the West Bank; his visit to the Temple Mount in 2000, which lit the fuse for the second Intifada; and his startling decision as prime minister to initiate “disengagement,” uprooting settlers, destroying settlements, and dividing his country.
Sharon’s personal life has been equally tumultuous and dramatic, as this book grippingly recounts–his first wife, Margalit, was killed in a car accident; his eldest son, Gur, wounded by an accidental rifle discharge, died in his arms. His second wife, Lily (Margalit’s younger sister), died of cancer, concluding one of the great love stories of Israeli public life. And ultimately came the stroke that felled Sharon, removing him from power at a time when the Israeli people needed his leadership most.
Often mired in controversy and scandal, Sharon was a man of inscrutable character, and his epochal life and elusive personality are both vividly portrayed in this book. Sharon was fueled by a rare combination of qualities: courage, love of power, unbridled tenacity, pragmatism, and, above all, a creed that never changed–complete and uncondtional security for Jews.
Born in 1928 and raised in spartan circumstances on a kibbutz, Ariel Sharon was taught by his parents to take principled stands and then to plow ahead, to “always go see what lies over the next hill.” And for decades to come, Sharon would do just that, forging a life of strength, resilience, and sometimes, according to his detractors, reckless and embittered action, indifferent to the violence it unleashed on his enemies.
Based on unprecedented access to many of the key players in Sharon’s life, hundreds of interviews, and thousands of pages of documents, Ariel Sharon presents a leader who was first and foremost a military man. Sharon fought in Israel’s War of Independence (in which he was left for dead on the battlefield); assembled Israel’s first special forces brigade, the wild Unit 101; and led the Lebanon War, the most controversial campaign in Israel’s history. As a general, he directed military campaigns that are still studied in military academies across the world.
Yet Sharon was also a political animal. This book explores his fraught relationships with prime ministers David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Rabin, as well as with legendary minister of defense Moshe Dayan; Sharon’s removal as defense minister after the massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps in Sabra and Shatila; his thirty-year championing of the settlement movement in Gaza and the West Bank; his visit to the Temple Mount in 2000, which lit the fuse for the second Intifada; and his startling decision as prime minister to initiate “disengagement,” uprooting settlers, destroying settlements, and dividing his country.
Sharon’s personal life has been equally tumultuous and dramatic, as this book grippingly recounts–his first wife, Margalit, was killed in a car accident; his eldest son, Gur, wounded by an accidental rifle discharge, died in his arms. His second wife, Lily (Margalit’s younger sister), died of cancer, concluding one of the great love stories of Israeli public life. And ultimately came the stroke that felled Sharon, removing him from power at a time when the Israeli people needed his leadership most.
Often mired in controversy and scandal, Sharon was a man of inscrutable character, and his epochal life and elusive personality are both vividly portrayed in this book. Sharon was fueled by a rare combination of qualities: courage, love of power, unbridled tenacity, pragmatism, and, above all, a creed that never changed–complete and uncondtional security for Jews.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2006
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 11, 2011
Very good read. A balanced view of a complicated man, and it includes a lot of very interesting history.
April 17, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: THE HISTORY OF SHARON AND ISRAEL ARE INSEPARABLE
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With an unequivocal love and pride in my heritage, and an unwavering love and concern for the State Of Israel, I am always trying to improve my knowledge, of what “has been”, “what is”, and “what will be”, relating to Israel. Not only for myself, but also for the responsibility, I was born with, to educate my son. We have watched DVD’s on the history of Israel, and read many books, and one of the historical leaders, warriors, and character’s, who shines through, among the most important, is Ariel Sharon. When I found this book, with no prior fanfare, or buildup, I briefly leafed through it. And one paragraph, caught my eye, that basically said: “An Israeli government vehicle with civilian plates, boarded an Egyptian ferry… the workers on board, easily recognized the rotund man, with the flowing white hair, in the back of the sedan. They knew him, as the most notorious, of all Israeli generals, Ariel Sharon… the man who six years earlier had crossed the same canal, at the head of a column of tanks, winning the pivotal battle in the Sinai campaign of the Yom Kippur War. He was now in Egypt on official, if covert, business, as Israel’s minister of agriculture.” With that passage, I purchased the 500-page book. Let me advise you, this is not an exciting, entertaining read. You’re reading, not only the history of a remarkable man, but also the history of a country. Another reason, I believe the wording, isn’t, continually jumping off the page, is the fact that it was translated. But, it was information, I was looking for on Sharon, and this book (Which is more like an encyclopedia!) delivered. This tome does not pull punches. Sharon, has made mistakes, and upset many people. I was raised to believe, that if you’re not making somebody mad, you’re doing something wrong. I learned, that there is way more infighting in Israeli politics then meets the eye. (At least mine.) But I’m sure someone from another country, seeking to learn more about America, like I want to learn more about Israel, would have the same impression. Until Sharon’s recent stroke, there was not one war, in Israel’s entire history that he wasn’t involved in. As a military leader, his troops loved to fight for him. He possessed “unusual, almost inhuman, courage.” ”Soldiers and officers who served with him in battle, all testify, that enemy fire, left Sharon unaffected.” “He walked upright, impervious, his calm spreading through the ranks.” Regardless
of what rank he held, what command he lead, no matter what position he held, “his guiding light was always security. His creed, in its barest
form” MAXIMUM SECURITY FOR JEWS.” It is hard for me, to give the kind of singular rating, in 1 thru 5 stars, as listed above. But I had to. So I put 4 for the following reasons: As far as “encyclopedic” information, which is what I was searching for, this is a 5. But if you’re looking for a smooth flowing, a “day at the beach” reading, this would be a 3. I hope I have provided both types of potential readers, the information you need. And I hope you will rate my review as such.
!
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With an unequivocal love and pride in my heritage, and an unwavering love and concern for the State Of Israel, I am always trying to improve my knowledge, of what “has been”, “what is”, and “what will be”, relating to Israel. Not only for myself, but also for the responsibility, I was born with, to educate my son. We have watched DVD’s on the history of Israel, and read many books, and one of the historical leaders, warriors, and character’s, who shines through, among the most important, is Ariel Sharon. When I found this book, with no prior fanfare, or buildup, I briefly leafed through it. And one paragraph, caught my eye, that basically said: “An Israeli government vehicle with civilian plates, boarded an Egyptian ferry… the workers on board, easily recognized the rotund man, with the flowing white hair, in the back of the sedan. They knew him, as the most notorious, of all Israeli generals, Ariel Sharon… the man who six years earlier had crossed the same canal, at the head of a column of tanks, winning the pivotal battle in the Sinai campaign of the Yom Kippur War. He was now in Egypt on official, if covert, business, as Israel’s minister of agriculture.” With that passage, I purchased the 500-page book. Let me advise you, this is not an exciting, entertaining read. You’re reading, not only the history of a remarkable man, but also the history of a country. Another reason, I believe the wording, isn’t, continually jumping off the page, is the fact that it was translated. But, it was information, I was looking for on Sharon, and this book (Which is more like an encyclopedia!) delivered. This tome does not pull punches. Sharon, has made mistakes, and upset many people. I was raised to believe, that if you’re not making somebody mad, you’re doing something wrong. I learned, that there is way more infighting in Israeli politics then meets the eye. (At least mine.) But I’m sure someone from another country, seeking to learn more about America, like I want to learn more about Israel, would have the same impression. Until Sharon’s recent stroke, there was not one war, in Israel’s entire history that he wasn’t involved in. As a military leader, his troops loved to fight for him. He possessed “unusual, almost inhuman, courage.” ”Soldiers and officers who served with him in battle, all testify, that enemy fire, left Sharon unaffected.” “He walked upright, impervious, his calm spreading through the ranks.” Regardless
of what rank he held, what command he lead, no matter what position he held, “his guiding light was always security. His creed, in its barest
form” MAXIMUM SECURITY FOR JEWS.” It is hard for me, to give the kind of singular rating, in 1 thru 5 stars, as listed above. But I had to. So I put 4 for the following reasons: As far as “encyclopedic” information, which is what I was searching for, this is a 5. But if you’re looking for a smooth flowing, a “day at the beach” reading, this would be a 3. I hope I have provided both types of potential readers, the information you need. And I hope you will rate my review as such.
June 27, 2022
A detailed biography, written in a respectively non commercial way, unlike similar biographies of his time politians. This books,in spite the fact that was written by his poitical allies, can transfer a feeling to its readers about one of the most extraordinary people of Israel's leadership. The book passes Sharon's personal life and also his thoughts about his colleagues in the army and politics.
March 27, 2023
This was an interesting book about an interesting and accomplished soldier and politician, Ariel Sharon. I would describe Hefez and Bloom's approach as sympathetic yet critical. Love him or hate him, it is hard to deny that Sharon was a major player in the life and politics of the modern state of Israel.
October 24, 2019
Enjoyable read about an interesting guy and learned some historical information along the way starting from the birth of the Jewish state of Israel all the way to when this book was written.
November 15, 2017
Laborious. Reading this was about endurance. All I could do to lift it up, some evenings.
The story of a driven patriot, and one who would stop at nothing to reach personal goals, and those that he held for his country. From this account Sharon was a steam-roller, who softened when in power in an attempt to leave a positive worldly legacy.
Possibly it was my lack of knowledge and appreciation, mainly of the political events that shaped this troubled region throughout the subject’s lifetime, that made reading this book akin to wading through treacle.
The story of a driven patriot, and one who would stop at nothing to reach personal goals, and those that he held for his country. From this account Sharon was a steam-roller, who softened when in power in an attempt to leave a positive worldly legacy.
Possibly it was my lack of knowledge and appreciation, mainly of the political events that shaped this troubled region throughout the subject’s lifetime, that made reading this book akin to wading through treacle.
Want to read
June 1, 2009Ariel Sharon: A Life by Nir Hefez (2006)
Read
December 6, 2012excellent but hard to understand all
Read
March 3, 2013i think it wilk be very interesting book
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews