Winner of the Jewish Book of the Year Award The first comprehensive yet accessible political history of the state of Israel from its inception to present day, from Daniel Gordis, "one of the most respected Israel analysts" ( The Forward ) living and writing in Jerusalem. In the landscape of Middle East history, Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world’s attention, aroused its imagination, and lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel’s people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions. Though Israel’s history is rife with conflict, these conflicts do not fully communicate the spirit of Israel and its people: they give short shrift to the dream that gave birth to the state, and to the vision for the Jewish people that was at its core. Guiding us through the milestones of modern Israel, Gordis relays the drama of the Jewish people’s story and the creation of the state. Clear-eyed and erudite, he illustrates how Israel became a cultural, economic and military powerhouse―but also explains where Israel made grave mistakes and traces the long history of Israel’s deepening isolation. With Israel , public intellectual Daniel Gordis offers us a brief but thorough account of the cultural, economic, and political history of this complex nation, from its beginnings to the present. Accessible, levelheaded, and rigorous, Israel sheds light on the Israel’s past so we can understand its future. The result is a vivid portrait of a people, and a nation, reborn. This thorough and riveting account illuminates the pivotal events and complex questions at the heart of the nation’s story: Zionism and the Birth of a Nation: Explore the dream that gave birth to the state and the drama of the Jewish people’s story, guided by one of the most respected Israel analysts writing from Jerusalem. - The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Trace the long history of Israel’s deepening isolation and understand why the nation makes the decisions it does through a clear-eyed look at its gravest mistakes and greatest military triumphs. - A Nation Reborn: Go beyond the headlines to see how a tiny state became a cultural, economic, and military powerhouse while navigating the hopes, desires, and conflicts that animate its people. - Comprehensive Israeli History: Follow the milestones of the state from its inception to the present day in a rigorous, accessible, and levelheaded account of this complex nation's past and future. “Gordis crafts an elegant, personal narrative. . . . a readable, concise history that effectively captures the sense of grand ideas in Israel’s identity.” - Kirkus “Like Israel itself, Daniel Gordis’ Israel is audacious, intensive and unique. It tells the breathtaking story of the third Jewish commonwealth from the very beginning to today. Anyone interested in the history of Zionism will find priceless information and profound insight in this much needed, fair and balanced book.” - Ari Shavit, author of My Promised Land “Gordis has written a luminous history that tells the story of Israel not only through its statesmen and warriors but its artists and writers and poets. Gordis gives us the soul of Israel, and helps explain why the most hated country on the planet is also among the most beloved.” - Yossi Klein Halevi, author of Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation “A fascinating, accessible, nuanced, and smart account of a complex story, this book should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand this complicated corner of the world.” - Deborah Lipstadt, author of Denial: Holocaust History on Trial and Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University “Gordis captures the essence of who Israel is, where it has come from, and why the Jewish state will―and must―continue to exist. When I am asked “Is there one book to read about Israel?”, I now have an answer.” - Ambassador Dennis Ross, Special Middle East coordinator under President Bill Clinton and author of The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace “Gordis describes how Israel grew into a flourishing country with the largest Jewish population in the world using a revived language that even the founder of Zionism believed could not be resuscitated. . . . Gordis has an ability to get to the core of issues and to discuss them in straightforward language that nevertheless conveys sophisticated analysis. . . . One of the best features of this book is the way Gordis weaves into his narrative literature, music-even dance-that capture, and sometimes shape, the emotions of the people at a pivotal point. . . . Gordis’s concise history of Israel so well fills an urgen