The Israeli Defense Force has long been one of the world''s
most admired--and most mythologized--fighting forces. But is
it--was it ever--everything it''s cracked up to be? Have its
remarkable, against all odds, victories been a double-edged sword
for Israel? . Combining razor-sharp analysis with dramatic
narrative, vivid portraits of soldiers and commanders with
illuminating discussions of battle tactics and covert actions, The
Sword and the Olive traces the history of the IDF from its
beginnings in Palestine to today. The book also goes beyond
chronology to wrestle with the political and ethical struggles that
have shaped the IDF and the country it serves--struggles that are
manifesting themselves in the recent tragic escalation of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Often revisionist in attitude,
surprising in many of its conclusions, this book casts new light on
the struggle for peace in the Middle East.
關於作者:
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.