| Summary: | "One of Israel's most influential and enduring figures, Ehud Barak was born on a kibbutz six years before the establishment of the state. During a long career in the military, he led the country's elite special-forces unit and rose to become armed forces chief of staff before going on to serve as Israel's defense minister and prime minister. This is his story--in his own words, for the very first time. In [this book], Ehud Barak draws on his experience as a military and political leader, son, and father to offer an up-close-and-personal look at both the history and future of Israel. In writing this groundbreaking memoir, he found himself "\'retracing not just my own life but Israel's, step by step, since our shared infancy.' From the country's creation and founding vision to its seven wars, two intifadas, and everyday conflicts between its Jewish and Palestinian populations, Barak examines the reasons his beloved ancestral homeland is at a crossroads today. Israel may be facing a crisis 'more profound than any in my lifetime,' he writes. Still, he feels 'fundamentally optimistic about our ability to come out stronger and more vigorous on the other side.' Offering candid assessments of his fellow politicians, the American administrations with which he worked, and his own trials and tribulations while in office, Barak argues that the country's current drift toward a 'one-state' solution to the conflict with the Palestinians--with permanent control over the West Bank--will inevitably end in tragedy, eroding its democratic principles and the core values of Zionism and sowing the seeds of future violence. He argues that Israel's own security and national interests dictate that, however long it might take, a two-state solution is the only conceivable destination. By rediscovering the twin pillars on which Israel was built--military might and moral purpose--it can thrive, he believes, and only then can peace and stability in the Middle East be achieved."--Dust jacket.
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