Soldier of Peace: The Life of Yitzhak Rabin - Erstausgabe

In the mots revealing portrait of the late Israeli leader writer to date, and the first to examine Rabin's longtime secret contacts with the PLO, Rabin family friend, confidante, and former Washington Post correspondent Dan Kurzman explores the life and workof the former Israeli prime minister. Tracing Rabin's life from his youth as a member of an elite commando unit to his rise as leader of Israel, and the account of his brutal assassination at the hands of a right-wing Jewish extremist, Kurzman details Rabin's evolution from shy child to desert warrior to peacemaker, and in the process tells the story of a nation's maturation into a modern state striving for peace.

Kurzman draws both on his relationship with Rabin, whom he first knew as a reporter's source during the Six Day War, and from interviews he conducted with more tan 200 people, including top politicians and statesmen from Shimon Peres to Henry Kissinger. It is the most complete portrait yet published of one of the twentieth century's most courageous and visionary statesman., Yitzhak Rabin's life was driven by the goal of bringing peace to Israel. Even when he served as army chief of staff during the Six-Day War, he worked actively for resolution to the conflict with Egypt, an extension of his efforts as Israel's U.S. ambassador during the Nixon administration. Years later, as Israel's prime minister, his efforts to reach a settlement with the Palestinians earned him the hatred of hardcore right-wingers and religious extremists alike, culminating in his assassination on November 4, 1995.

Dan Kurzman's biography, written in breezy,"fly-on-the-wall" prose, is based on more than 200 interviews, from Rabin's wife and son to Rabin's colleague Shimon Peres to U.S. secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and James A. Baker. The story of Rabin's rise to power intertwines with the gradual development of Israel into a Middle Eastern power, with the final legacy of both still to be resolved.