Shimon Peres : The Biography

by BAR-ZOHAR, MICHAEL

• ISBN13: 9781400062928
• ISBN10: 1400062926
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-02-27
• Publisher: Random House

Summary

Twice Israel's prime minister, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, bold leader in a war-torn region, Shimon Peres is one of the great statesmen of the modern world. Peres is also a fascinating, complex mana brilliant intellectual who is entirely at home in the corridors of power; an individual revered by the world and yet highly controversial in his own country; at once a hero and a figure of tragedy. Now, in this definitive biography, Michael Bar-Zohar takes the full measure of a towering, enigmatic leader. Drawing on his decades-long association with Peres, as well as the full cooperation of the leader's family, friends, supporters, and political rivals, Bar-Zohar has crafted a vibrant, daring, richly textured portrait of a man whose life and career span the entire history of Israel. Born in Poland in 1923, Peres emigrated to the Holy Land at the age of twelve, already a fiercely idealistic Zionist. Peres joined a kibbutz and, while still in his teens, became the leader of a major youth movement. When the struggle for Israeli independence broke out, future prime minister David Ben-Gurion tapped him to join his inner circle. As director general of the Defense Ministry under Ben-Gurion, Peres spearheaded a far-reaching campaign to turn Israel into a major military power. He jump-started Israel's aircraft industry, forged a secret alliance with France, and successfully pursued his dream of making Israel a nuclear power. And yet Peres's real triumph came not as a man of war but as a peacemaker. Elected prime minister in 1984, Peres brought new hope by pulling Israeli troops out of the quagmire in Lebanon, defusing tensions with Jordan, and, at the risk of his own political future, making serious overtures to the Palestinians. Peres and his longtime rival Yitzhak Rabin together secured the top-secret Oslo Accords of 1993, which won them and Yasser Arafat the Nobel Peace Prizeonly to see the hope of peace shattered in a resurgence of regional violence. In a half-century of leadership, Peres has worked besideor fought againstsuch giants as Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon, and, tragically, Rabin, who was slain at the rally that marked his reconciliation with Peres. Still powerful in his eighties, Peres stands as a true hero, a visionary who embodies the history of his nation. In this stunning, courageously frank, and scrupulously factual biography, Michael Bar-Zohar gives an eminent man his due. From the Hardcover edition.

Author Biography

Michael Bar-Zohar is the award-winning author of thirty fiction and nonfiction books. Ben-Gurion, his definitive portrait of Israel’s founder, has been translated into fourteen languages. Bar-Zohar himself has been very active in Israel’s political life, and has known Shimon Peres since 1961. In addition, Bar-Zohar was the Labor Party Campaign chairman at the Knesset elections in 1981, and, with Peres, a member of the Knesset. He also served as Moshe Dayan’s media advisor. Professor Bar-Zohar taught political science and history at Haifa University and at Emory University in Atlanta. He lives in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Table of Contents

Author's note	p. xi
Prologue November 4, 1995	p. xiii
Blue Shirt and Khaki Pants
A Voyage in a Subway	p. 3
The Tall Sycamores	p. 12
A Green Bowl in an Ocean of Hatred	p. 21
A Man in Love	p. 32
Fierce Winds	p. 42
Herbs and Lizards	p. 52
The Fifth Congress	p. 59
A New World	p. 68
Death on the Nile	p. 87
Our Friend and Our Ally
The Man in the Blue Suit	p. 103
Suez	p. 132
The Secret Conference at Sevres	p. 146
One Hundred Hours	p. 155
New Horizons	p. 163
Against All Odds
A Blizzard in Germany	p. 175
The Holy Room	p. 192
Against All Odds	p. 207
Deputy	p. 222
Lavon's Revenge	p. 237
The Death Rays	p. 256
Six Days in June	p. 270
The Fantasy Council
The Long Duel (1)	p. 291
Entebbe	p. 313
The Long Duel (2)	p. 340
Prime Minister	p. 357
1984	p. 365
The Man Who Won't Despair
The Fatal Mistake	p. 387
The London Document	p. 401
The Long Duel (3)	p. 415
Oslo	p. 425
Remember November the Second!	p. 453
1996	p. 463
Part Unfinished:... As If All His Life Lies Ahead of Him
... As If All His Life Lies Ahead of Him	p. 477
Acknowledgments	p. 481
Notes and References	p. 483
Index	p. 523
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