Israel's Lebanon War

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984. Fourth Printing. Trade paperback. Very good. 320, [2] pages. Maps. Index. Cover has slight wear and soiling. Inscription signed by both authors on fep. Ze'ev Schiff (1 July 1932 in Lille, France - 19 June 2007 in Tel Aviv, Israel) was an Israeli journalist and military correspondent for Haaretz. He studied Middle Eastern affairs and military history at Tel Aviv University. Schiff wrote numerous books, including Israel's Lebanon War and Intifada, both with Ehud Ya'ari, and A History of the Israeli Army: 1874 to the Present. He served as a military correspondent in Vietnam, the Soviet Union, Cyprus and Ethiopia. Schiff won several prizes, including the Sokolov Journalism Prize, and the Sarah Reichenstein Prize. He became senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1984. Ehud Yaari (born 1 March 1945) is an Israeli journalist, author, television personality and political commentator. He is an expert on Middle Eastern affairs. He is the author of eight books on the Arab-Israeli conflict, some with Ze'ev Schiff. Derived from a Kirkus review: Schiff and Ya'ari won plaudits for their Lebanon coverage; and this work, detailing how defense minister Sharon hoodwinked the Cabinet, made news when it appeared in Israel. It's the fullest, most precise account of who said what to whom; it's crisp, dramatic, incisive. It makes of Sharon an outright villain, and shows his all-out war intentions. The book tells of Haig's tacit support; Palestinian hopes and performance; Syria's efforts to avoid hostilities; Israeli generals' skepticism; Gemayel non-assistance. Then, the negotiations for Palestinian withdrawal; the ""black Thursday"" bombing, and Cabinet leashing of Sharon; Arafat's evacuation, uncrushed. Still to come was the slaughter at Sabra and Satilla--the story that Schiff first got onto, that's pursued here to the equivocal end. The book winds up, indeed, with sharp, stiff policy judgments. It's the single book on Lebanon, of the several that have already appeared, that most people will most want to read.