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Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel
Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel
By Anita Shapira
Published November 25, 2014
288 pages
“A beautiful portrayal” —Shimon Peres, President of Israel (2007-2014)
An insightful study of the inner life of the Zionist leader responsible for the creation of the state of Israel
David Ben-Gurion cast a great shadow during his lifetime, and his legacy continues to be sharply debated to this day. There have been many books written about the life and accomplishments of the Zionist icon and founder of modern Israel, but this new biography by eminent Israeli historian Anita Shapira strives to get to the core of the complex man who would become the face of the new Jewish nation. Shapira tells the Ben-Gurion story anew, focusing especially on the period after 1948, during the first years of statehood. As a result of her extensive research and singular access to Ben-Gurion’s personal archives, the author provides fascinating and original insights into his personal qualities and those that defined his political leadership. As Shapira writes, “Ben-Gurion liked to argue that history is made by the masses, not individuals. But just as Lenin brought the Bolshevik Revolution into the world and Churchill delivered a fighting Britain, so with Ben-Gurion and the Jewish state. He knew how to create and exploit the circumstances that made its birth possible.” Shapira’s portrait reveals the flesh-and-blood man who more than anyone else realized the Israeli state.
About the Author
Anita Shapira is professor emerita at Tel Aviv University, where she previously served as dean of the Faculty of Humanities and held the Ruben Merenfeld Chair for the Study of Zionism. Her previous books include Israel: A History, winner of the National Jewish Book Award. She lives in Tel Aviv.
Reviews
“The most intimate yet unflinching portrait to date” —The New York Times Book Review
“I read this fascinating book with both intellectual and emotional thrill.” —Amos Oz, author of A Tale of Love and Darkness
“Keenly observed” —The Wall Street Journal
“A brief but full-color biography of an essential leader ” —Kirkus Reviews
Awards
2015 Silver Medal Winner for the Washington Institute Book Prize given by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy