November 29, 1993
In the Historical Notes to this solid saga encapsulating three Israeli-Arab wars, Wouk makes astute reference to the element that gives the novel its considerable power: he refers to his ``arduous personal research . . . which is one reason that my books appear at long intervals.'' Conceding the impossibility of using ``cool perspective'' about events so recent and often still hotly debated, he then clarifies which episodes in the novel are based on fact. These accounts of specific battles, behind-the-scenes political skirmishes in Israel and diplomatic strategy in Washington, D.C., provide the novel's fascinating historical background and true drama. Among and between his accounts of the 1948 War of Independence, the Suez crisis and the Six-Day War, Wouk weaves a story of two protagonists and their fortunes in love and war. Young Polish immigrant Yossi Blumenthal first distinguishes himself in battle in such a reckless manner that he is dubbed Don Kishote; he goes on to become a military hero. His first commander, Zev Barak, is ``sidelined'' into diplomacy and becomes an attache in Washington. Such actual figures as David Ben Gurion, Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir and others are depicted with candor and credibility. While his account is sympathetic to Israel, Wouk does not paint the Arabs with a tarred brush; nor does he put a false gloss on less-than-admirable episodes in the short history of the Jewish nation. Though his prose at times peregrinates into the pedestrian, Wouk has not lost his touch: this is an engrossing and often moving tale.
November 1, 1993
Wouk's newest novel covers Israel's history from the new state's first battle for survival in 1948 through its joyous victory in the Six-Day War of 1967. In the style of Winds of War ( LJ 11/1/71) and War and Remembrance ( LJ 10/15/78), it tells a story of relationships and human lives in the midst of political and social turmoil. (Notes at the back describe the actual events used as background.) The historical figures are here: Eshkol and Eban, Ben Gurion and Dayan are all woven into the fictional drama of Zev Barak, Don Kishote Nitzan, their families, and close friends. Sadly, Wouk's women are still "handmaidens of men," but the ongoing chronicle of politics, intrigue, and nation-building provides an exciting and involving adventure. This is good reading, sure to be sought by those who have read Wouk's earlier novels and enjoyed by many new fans as well. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 8/93.-- Marcia Dorey, Northwest Missouri State Univ. Lib., Maryville
Copyright 1993 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 15, 1993
The author of such classics of popular fiction as "The Caine Mutiny" (1951)," The Winds of War" (1971), and "War and Remembrance" (1978) submits another ambitious novel with military history as its fabric. Wouk portrays frontline and behind-the-lines scenes occurring at various points in the three wars that Israel had to undergo as tests-by-fire during its first two decades of existence--the 1948 war of independence, the 1956 Suez war, and the 1967 Six Day War--in order for the young nation to establish itself among its Arab neighbors. Wouk, of course, uses fictional characters to carry his story along through these years of state building on the Israelis' part, but he places actual historical figures into the action as well, adding further authenticity to a plot well grounded in historical detail. The passion of the people of Israel in organizing a new country and trying to maintain its integrity in the face of adversity comes well to the fore as Wouk weaves a full-blooded epic of necessary and unnecessay bloodletting. Love and other nonmilitary concerns are at play here, too, naturally, but such emotions, attitudes, and actions definitely take a back seat to military issues in a novel for those readers drawn to guns-and-strategy tales. ((Reviewed Sept. 15, 1993))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1993, American Library Association.)