The Sword And The Olive A Critical History Of The Israeli Defense Force

by Van Creveld, Martin

• ISBN13: 9781586481551
• ISBN10: 158648155X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-07-04
• Publisher: PublicAffairs

Summary

Published in the fiftieth anniversary year of the state of Israel: a complete history of one of the world's most admired--and most mythologized--fighting forces

Author Biography

Martin van Creveld is a military historian at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of The Transformation of War, Command in War, and many other books, several of which are required reading for all US Army officers. Two of his children have served in the Israeli Defense Force.

Table of Contents

Note on Sources, Translations, Transliterations, and Acronyms	ix
Glossary of Acronyms and Hebrew Terms Used in the Text	xi
Preface to the Paperback Edition	xvii
Introduction
Part I: The Surge, 1907--1949
``Battle-Worthy Guards''	5	(14)
Founding Hagana	19	(12)
``Beyond the Fence''	31	(14)
Toward Statehood	45	(18)
At War for Independence	63	(14)
Repelling Invasion	77	(16)
The Achievement and the Price	93	(10)
Part II: The Years of Greatness, 1949--1973
The Army of the State	103	(24)
Trials by Fire	127	(26)
Building a Modern Army	153	(26)
The Apogee of Blitzkrieg	179	(22)
At Bay	201	(16)
October Earthquake	217	(22)
The Reckoning	239	(10)
Part III: Running Out of Steam, 1974--1997
Recovery and Expansion	249	(20)
Grenades into Mushroom Clouds	269	(16)
``The Lebanese Morass''	285	(22)
An Indian Summer	307	(16)
Impotent at the Gulf	323	(12)
Coping with Intifada	335	(18)
The Betrayal of Faith	353	(4)
The Good and the Evil	357	(8)
Notes	365	(44)
Index	409	(14)
About the Author	423