Arik
The Life of Ariel Sharon
-
-
4.7 • 3 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the former editor in chief of Haaretz, the first in-depth comprehensive biography of Ariel Sharon, the most important Israeli political and military leader of the last forty years.
The life of Ariel Sharon spans much of modern Israel's history: A commander in the Israeli Army from its inception in 1948, Sharon participated in the 1948 War of Independence, and played decisive roles in the 1956 Suez War and the six day War of 1967, and most dramatically is largely credited with the shift in the outcome of the Yom Kippur War of 1973. After returning from the army in 1982, Sharon became a political leader and served in numerous governments, most prominently as the defense minister during the 1983 Lebanon War in which he bore "personal responsibility" according to the Kahan Commission for massacres of Palestinian civilians by Lebanese militia, and he championed the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. But as prime minister he performed a dramatic reversal: orchestrating Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Landau brilliantly chronicles and analyzes his surprising about-face. Sharon suffered a stroke in January 2006 and remains in a persistent vegetative state. Considered by many to be Israel's greatest military leader and political statesman, this biography recounts his life and shows how this leadership transformed Israel, and how Sharon's views were shaped by the changing nature of Israeli society.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Compiling the life of a man who was a commander, officer, and major general in the Israeli Army in addition to a statesman, party leader, and prime minister in the Israeli government is an intimidating undertaking, particularly when that man, now at age 85, is struggling to stay alive while in the comatose state he's been in since 2006. However, journalist Landau, who previously collaborated with Israeli president Shimon Peres on his memoir, succeeds dutifully in bringing this multi-faceted life to the page. With great research and noticeable interest, Landau depicts Ariel Sharon as a man who is more complex than any one of his multitude of titles and the subsequent criticism he endured as a public servant. Landau's portrait is primarily career-focused examining Sharon's lengthy service in the Israeli Defense Forces during the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War, and his equal tenure as minister of portfolios including defense, foreign affairs, and concluding as prime minister over the disengagement of the Gaza Strip. All the while, Landau depicts Israeli societal welfare through the same wars and political unrest sometimes caused, sometimes curbed by Sharon. Although Landau's portrait is primarily career-focused, he explores the toll of personal tragedy on Sharon's life including the loss of his first and second wife and the untimely death of his young son, Gur, as well as the societal impact of the many soldiers and civilian casualties. Ariel Sharon has come to represent Israel during its modern changes and he continues to as they both fight on.
