Synopses & Reviews
By the son and intimate confidant of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon comes an unparalleled look at the life and work of one of the worlds most powerful leaders. “A multifaceted picture of an Israeli patriot, military leader, and family man” (
Kirkus Reviews).
From his youth as a soldier to his service in government, Ariel Sharon has personified Israels unyielding drive for security. He revolutionized the Israel Defense Forces and established the anti-terror commando Unit 101. His leadership during the Six-Day and Yom Kippur wars made him a national hero and propelled him into the political arena. As terror grew throughout the Middle East at the end of the twentieth century, Sharons commitment to protect and bring peace to his people underscored his election to prime minister in 2001. But within months of taking office, the 9/11 attacks shook the Western world—thrusting the controversial statesman into the center of international affairs.
Sharon has walked a fine line between waging war on Israels enemies and accommodating demanding allies, a balancing act that is often subject to public misperception. As prime minister, he built a fence to separate Israel from the West Banks suicide bombers; he isolated Yasser Arafat in his Ramallah headquarters; and in a stunning and unprecedented move, he withdrew Israels settlements from Gaza. Throughout his life but especially as prime minister, Sharon kept a meticulous personal record of events and of the discussionshe had with world leaders, including George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin, King Abdullah, Kofi Annan, Gerhard Schroeder, Jacques Chirac, Hosni Mubarak, Mahmoud Abbas, and others. But what the public knew of these interactions often differed dramatically from what went on in private.
Gilad Sharon, the prime ministers youngest son and close confidant, has combed through his fathers vast archive—conversations, personal notes, diaries, daybooks, military directives, correspondence, and thousands of other documents—to offer a rare, intimate, and compelling look at one mans evolution into one of the worlds most powerful and influential figures. Filled with news-making revelations, Sharon provides a rare view of global politics in action as well as a window onto the day-to-day life of a prime minister. A dazzling portrait of a legendary elder statesman and the nation he helped to build, here is a masterful biography and an illuminating analysis of modern Middle Eastern politics and the forces that have shaped this volatile region.
Review
“Surprising reading. . . . The biography vividly delineates the qualities a leader needs to excel today.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“A multifaceted picture of an Israeli patriot, military leader, and family man.” Kirkus
Synopsis
Drawn from extensive personal archives and filled withstartling revelations, the definitive biography of Ariel Sharon illuminates hislife and work from the penetrating perspective of his youngest son, Gilad Sharon—one of his fathers closest confidants.Readers of George W. Bushs Decision Points, Tony Blairs A Journey,Yitzhak Rabins The Rabin Memoirs, and Moshe Dayans Story of My Life,as well as Benjamin Netanyahus A Durable Peace, will be fascinated by Gilad Sharons piercing, authoritative, and intimateportrait of Ariel Sharon the Prime Minister, the father, and the military hero,in a narrative that traces his evolution into a powerful and influential forceat the center of Middle Eastern and world politics.Click here for index.
About the Author
Gilad Sharon is the youngest of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's sons. Gilad holds a master's degree in economics and writes a column for the prominent Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. A major in the Israel Defense Force reserves, he manages his family's farm in Israel.