A History of Modern Israel starts as a history of political philosophies and debates and later transitions into a history of events. The first 150 pages discuss at length the differences between the Mapai and Mapam parties, the debates between politicians like Ben-Gurion and Sharett, and origins of Zionist political philosophies. Even major events, like the 1948 war, are mentioned only as they related to these discussions. I found this half of the book dull and repetitive, but maybe a more advanced reader will appreciate the discussion of the nuisances of different politicians' beliefs.

Colin Shindler organized his work roughly chronologically. By the time he reaches the early 1980s, his writing shifts to describing events in detail. The scope is still limited to politics, military actions, and relations with the Palestinians and neighboring states, but I found the second half to be less monotonous. Several obvious (but inconsequential) errors escaped the editors, but otherwise the work seems well-researched.

A History of Modern Israel starts as a history of political philosophies and debates and later transitions into a history of events. The first 150 pages discuss at length the differences between the Mapai and Mapam parties, the debates between politicians like Ben-Gurion and Sharett, and origins of Zionist political philosophies. Even major events, like the 1948 war, are mentioned only as they related to these discussions. I found this half of the book dull and repetitive, but maybe I would have liked it more if I'd known enough about Moshe Dayan to be interested in the nuisances of his political beliefs.

Colin Shindler organized his work roughly chronologically. By the time he reaches the early 1980s, his writing shifts to describing events in detail. The scope is still limited to politics, military actions, and relations with the Palestinians and neighboring states, but I found the second half to be less monotonous. Several obvious (but inconsequential) errors escaped the editors, but otherwise the work seems well-researched.

This is a problematic book. From first to last, there is no doubt that the author has done his homework and that he is very familiar with Israeli history and life. However, he has chosen to focus almost entirely on politics, both internal and external. As a result, he has very little to say about anything else--not economics, not society, not culture, not so many other issues as to make one lose count.
For any reader who wants to know e.g. just how Israeli secular and religious parties fight each other, but who does not care about how religion helps shape the-day-to day lives of ordinary Israelis, this book is a must. On the other hand, anybody who wants to know more about the nature of one of the most varied, creative, dynamic, and, as far as one may judge at present, successful societies in the entire twentieth century, will have to look for another volume to meet his need.

I bought this book in preparation for an upcoming visit to Israel. I knew knew I made a mistake when the Glossary in front of the book had 3 pages of names and descriptions of all the political parties. It is far more detailed and boring than I expected. I didnt complete the first chapter.