A history of the Israeli War for Independence, also know as the
1948 Arab-Israeli War. Written by
Larry Collins and
Dominic Lapierre, authors of
Is Paris Burning? - an account of the
French Resistance in
World War II. An excellent and quite readable history of the conflict between the
Jewish settlers in Palestine and their fight with the Arabs of the neighboring states for the existence of the state of Israel, as well as of the final weeks of the
British occupation of Palestine.
The book is a linear chronicle of major events in the war, with special attention paid to the activities of a few specific individuals. Leaders such as David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir are followed, as well as midlevel 'officers' such as David Shaltiel, and a few 'foot soldiers' too. This has the effect of personalizing the war and its consequences for everyone. People on all sides of the conflict are represented, such as the Englishman John Bagot Glubb (Glubb Pasha, military commander for the Arab League), King Hussein of Jordan and more.
I recommend this book highly if you are at all curious about the modern-day roots of some of the more intractable problems that trouble the Middle East political, social and military arenas.