Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership - Hardcover

Avner, Yehuda

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1592642780 ISBN 13: 9781592642786

Publisher: Toby Press, 2010

Synopsis

This intimate narrative takes the reader behind the scenes into the chambers of Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzchak Rabin, and Menachem Begin on whose personal staffs the author served. Employing time-honored literary devices of scene-setting, impressionistic description, and characterization, he restores to life episodes of war and peace as these amazing individuals, early leaders of Israel, grappled with one another and with the life-and-death decisions they were often called upon to make. In the author's eyes, Menachem Begin emerges as most exceptional, and much of the book is devoted to him. Based largely on personal notes, as well as on actual transcripts and correspondence, some of which are revealed here for the first time, the narrative reenacts how each of the leaders responded under conditions of acute stress - be it terror or war- and how their respective relationships unfolded with Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter.

About this title

About the Author

Yehuda Avner served as adviser and English speechwriter to Israeli Prime Ministers Rabin, Begin, Meir and Eshkol. He is a former Israeli Ambassador to Britain, Ireland and Australia, and served in diplomatic positions at the Israeli Consulate in New York and the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. Ambassador Avner was born in Manchester, England. He has lived in Israel since 1947.

Reviews

Avner, born in Manchester, England, arrived in Palestine in 1947 as a dedicated 19-year-old Zionist, on the eve of the birth of the Jewish state. He eventually entered Israel’s foreign service and served as speechwriter, secretary, and advisor to four Israeli Prime Ministers — Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, and Menachem Begin. This often-fascinating insider’s account of the careers and personalities of these leaders is a semiautobiographical rendering of Avner’s own experiences during critical episodes in Israeli history, especially during the War of Independence. Occasionally, Avner’s narrative is overly gossipy, but for the most part this is a revealing story of how these men operated in moments of both calm and crisis. Avner reserves his greatest admiration for Begin, and his near-worship of the man is likely to discomfit many in Israel and in the U.S. Overall, this book provides valuable insights into many of the key events and personalities in the history of Israel. --Jay Freeman

Edition details

• Publisher: Toby Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1592642780
• ISBN 13: 9781592642786
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 731