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WAR OF ATONEMENT: The Inside Story of the Yom Kippur War |  | Author: Chaim Herzog
Publisher: Casemate
Category: Book
List Price: $32.95
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 827550
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition
Pages: 308
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 193514913X
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
EAN: 9781935149132
ASIN: 193514913X
Publication Date: October 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This is the authoritative account of the Israeli army's performance in the bitter Yom Kippur War of 1973. The origins of the war amid the turbulent history of competing powers in the Middle East are fully explored, as is the build-up of Arab forces that almost inexplicably caught Israel by surprise. The author then provides a gripping narrative of the conflict itself, punctuated by firsthand accounts and interviews with combatants. The War of Atonement is full of drama and tales of inspirational bravery, as Israel defied the odds to defeat the two-pronged invasion. An analysis of the political implications of the conflict bring this epic tale to a close.For this edition Chaim Herzog's son, Brigadier General Michael Herzog, has written an Introduction which places the book in the context of his father's achievements and gives a revealing insight into the man himself. This is the most comprehensive work on a conflict that has had major implications for our own troubled times.Chaim Herzog served in the British Army in World War II and in the Israel Defense Forces. Later he became Director of Israeli Military Intelligence, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations and President of Israel. His other books include Battles of the Bible (co-authored with Mordechai Gichon), The Arab-Israeli Wars, and his autobiography, Living History. 'A scrupulously researched account...the most authoritative yet to have appeared' Financial Times"Certainly the best account of the war from the Israeli standpoint that has yet appeared or is likely to appear for some years to come."-The New York Times Book Review
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 The Unpleasantness of War December 16, 2008
sabre (VA, USA)
Very good book on the strategy of the war as told from the Israeli point of view. I recommend it to anyone interested in the events that took place during the Yom Kippur War.
Authoritative Work on the Yom Kipur War November 4, 2006
Gary Selikow (Great Kush)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The 1973 Yom Kippur War left in it's wake shattered illusions , an escalation in the energy crisis and a reshaped poltiical situation in the Middle East.
This work , originally written two years after the Yom Kippur War , by one of Israel's foremost millitary analysts and later President of Israel, traces the roots of the war to the Six Day War , and gives a detailed analysis of the war on two fronts , the Northern Front , in the Golan against the Syrian attackers (aided by auxiliaries from Iraq, Jordan , Morocco , Saudi Arabia . Kuwait and Cuba among others) and the Southern Front , in the Sinai , against the Egyptian invaders.
The author , in tracing the conflict from the 1967 Six Day War , illustrates how the Soviet Union instigated the war , arming the Arabs , falsely advising the Syrians about the concentrations of Israeli troops on their borders , playing down the escalation in the United Nations and heavily arming Syria , Egypt and Iraq , egging them on to a war of anihilation against Israel.
Herzog details the backdrop to the war with the reality that Israel was faced with:
"As Arab hysteria rose and the Arab media promised the Israeli population - men , women and children - destruction and anihilation in the most brutal manner , the horrors of the Nazi holocaust rose to the fore in Jewish consciousness. The Jewish people knew that these where not mere words , recalling how many nations nurtured on the tenets of Christianity had either participated in the previous bloody massacres or had looked on. And indeed the world looked on , petrified , incapable of taking action".
Herzog details how Israel's extraordinary victory in the Six Day War lulled that nation into a false sense of security. The War of Attrition (1969-1970) by Egypt against Israel. The very magnitude of the Arab defeat in the Six Day War , with it's damaging implications for Arab pride , self-respect and honour set the stage for the next war , points out the author , detaling Nasser's resolve that "what was taken by force must be returned by force". The Soviet Union rebuilt the armed might of Egypt , Syria and Iraq , with the latest weapons and equipment , continually urging the Arabs into another war with Israel.
The author details the political machinations of the Soviet Union and Arab powers leading to the war , and reveals the shocking fact that Israel knew several days before the war that a massive Arab attack was imminent on Yom Kippur but miscalculated the hour , believing it would be four hours later then when it actually took place.
The author details how "the inherent strength and resilience of the people of Israel was revealed in the stark , grim and tragic days at the outset of the war , when fighting back against overwhelming odds , they overcame the initial setbacks and achieved millitary success."
He sizes up in his opinion the strengths and weaknesses of Israel's foremost Generals in the conflict such as Moshe Dayan , David Elazar , Shmuel Gonen , Ariel Sharon , Chaim Bar Lev and Raful Eitan. Finally he detailed the political implications of the war.
Looking at his comments today about perfidious role of the Soviet Union in encouraging the Arabs not to compromise with Israel , and egging them on to belligerance , one realizes that although the Soviet Union is no more , Communist rule having collapsed in that part of the world , it's role has been overtaken by others with an implacable hostility to Israel, including Red China ,and the South African led Non Aligned Movement , which continue the Marxist inspired hatred of Israel , originally created by the Soviets.
Finally Herzog reminds us how Israel has never been the elment to block peace moves and that the basic problem continues to be Arab insistence that Israel has no right to exist (today backed up by the international hard left).
"Only when Arab actions indicate a willingness to modify their atttitude to the basic issue of the existance of the State of Israel will it be possible for Israel make concessions."
Unfortunately the failed Oslo process proved that the Arabs only saw the agreement of Arab rule of the disputed territories as an intitial stage in the road to Israel's destruction.
Those on the international Left who encourage the Arab dream of Israel's destruction , only make genuine peace more unrealizable.
The Israeli people desperately want peace and always have wanted peace , but must fight to
survive and avoid a second holocaust.
If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.
If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.
 useful but emphasis syrian front September 14, 2003
Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
The most amazing war fought by the Israelis agains their neighboors was the Yom Kippur war when the Israeli army, in the first few days of the war, suffered enormous losses in armor and aircraft. For many it was a trauma, when the undefeated IDF and IAF seemed impotent to arab aggression. For Egypt it marked the popular triumph over thier hated enemy. Harzog, former president of Israel, was on hand to be an eyewitness as the events unfolded. THis is his study of the conflict. It is throrough and he gives an unbiased account of the many israeli actors who fought the war, men like generals Aden and Sharon and the prime minister Golda. The downside of the book is that it appears to emphasize the Syrian front far to much. The Syrian offensive, like the Egyption one, took the ISraelis by suprise when it was not defeated in the first day. But the Syrian front was not, in my opinion, the most important theater of the conflict. THe large egyptian army(we must remmember Egypt and Nasser had been ISraels principal antagonist since 1948) and the fighting near the suez was the most important and where the war was decided(when Sharon brilliantly crossed the canal and encircled the Egyption third army). So this is a fair account of the war, their are other books. Aden(Bren) wrote a book about his experiences in the Sinai, as well as Sharons 'Warrior'(autobiography) and the book 'Two of Clock war' appears to be well written although not lenghty. Their is also at least one other book entitled 'the Yom Kippur War' that is a very professional, although critical of Sharon, account of the war.
A brilliant but yet sobering read about a pivotal conflict. October 14, 2002
M. D Roberts (Gwent, United Kingdom)
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
October 1973. The Yom Kippur War. Few people will be ignorant of this conflict when Egypt and Syria carried out their surprise attack upon the Israelis at the most Holy time in the Jewish calendar, when the Israeli forces were at their most vulnerable due to religious observance. As I had just begun my own military training in my own country, I remember wondering if the conflict would expand and include our own military due to the sabre-rattling of the super-powers as the Israelis turned initial defeat into eventual victory. I have read a number of accounts of that historic conflict since then, but few come close to this account by Major General Chaim Herzog. It's recent re-release is most welcome. The author's articulate and extremely well written record and analysis is a worthy addition to anyone's library. Some might find it controversial and expect it to be biased due to the author's own nationality. I did not find this. Instead I found this to be a brilliant account of unbelievable bravery in the face of heavily outnumbered forces, self-sacrifice and incredible counter-attacks. The author describes how early Egyptian and Syrian advances which threatened the very existence of the Jewish state, were thwarted and repulsed. Advances that subsequently turned into a retreat which saw Israeli forces within artillery range of the Syrian capital Damascus and well on the road to the Egyptian capital Cairo. This is not all about the `glamour and glory' of an Israeli victory. Far from it. It endeavours to tell the real story, as much as possible the full story of the war with all it's successes, omissions and failures. It is also the story of a people in possibly their greatest hour of challenge in present day history. The Arab media had promised it's masses that the entire Israeli population, men, women and children, would be subject to destruction and annihilation in the most brutal manner. With the horrors of the holocaust being only recent memories, those Israelis who took these threats seriously must have been horrified. The outset of the war and initial Israeli losses have been subject to a variety of claims surrounding poor intelligence etc.. The impotence of the UN and the super-powers in preventing this conflict is there for all to see, as is the shadow of a potential nuclear catastrophe resulting from the super-powers' involvement towards the end. Notable is the fact that whilst the Egyptian and Syrian attacks were in full swing, there was little movement towards enforcing any ceasefire. Yet when the roles were reversed, the world bent over backwards to ensure a ceasefire was adhered to. It is also notable that Chaim Herzog, even a quarter of a century ago, makes reference in this book to the phased plan of the Arab nations towards destroying Israel involving an initial withdrawal by the Jewish state to the 1967 borders. (Ring any bells pertaining to present day politics ?) Notably also is the authors remarks of that time to the effect that the civilian populations in the region will become exposed to no less a degree than the military forces in any future war. We need only look around us now to see the veracity in his remarks. Read this book to see what, if any lessons have been learnt by either side, and how the world reacted at different stages of the conflict. It is a sobering read and will open your eyes, not only to the military situation in the Middle East in 1973, but to the attitude of the nations and a present day scenario which threatens similar conflicts in the future.
Detailed Account Of Israel's Greatest War March 21, 2000
K. W. Doten (ST PAUL, MN USA)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
This book gives a comprehensive account of the war through the IDF's eyes. The author gives us the overall tactical history of the war, in addition to many stirring accounts of individual acts of bravery. Highly recommended for those who are interested in historical accounts of warfare.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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