FEATURED JOBS
Here’s a brief review of the new book by Shimon Peres on David Ben-Gurion called:
Ben- Gurion: A Political Life, 2011, (Shocken Books). A link to it is here: http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Gurion-Political-Life-Shimon-Peres/dp/0805242821/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319741451&sr=1-1
David Ben-Gurion has rightly entered the annals of modern Jewish history as a prophet in his time (and perhaps for all time), and Shimon Peres can rightly claim the title of Ben-Gurion’s anointed disciple. At the height of power, both were praised and reviled – although we cannot yet know if the still remarkably vigorous 88-year-old Peres will be remembered as a visionary (for engineering the Oslo Accords) or a fool (for engineering the Oslo Accords).
So it is only fitting that Peres (with journalist David Landau) has penned “Ben-Gurion: A Political Life,” a fascinating book that offers one historical leader chronicling and analyzing the life and times of his even more important mentor.
Throughout, we are treated to an insider’s view of Ben-Gurion’s biting scorn for his opposition, calls that seemingly went against his own views (such as withdrawing from the Sinai in 1956) and multiple resignations in disgust with his own party’s colleagues—only to return because every would-be successor knew he or she could not be as decisive, the qualities of a democratically-elected benevolent autocrat so desperately needed in the tumultuous early days of the State of Israel.
Not surprisingly, Peres’s healthy ego comes through, particularly in discussing why he believes Ben-Gurion embraced him over other young Mapai party stalwarts. One can live without “Peres on Peres,” but such is the nature of the beast. Besides, the relatively brief passage when compared to the book as a whole is overwhelmed by first-person accounts of Ben-Gurion’s facing phenomenal pressure, voracious intellectual appetite, single-minded purpose in creating a state (for which his family paid a hefty price – basically living without him) and jockeying with the day’s top European and American leaders.
As Peres sums up, “It was Ben-Gurion’s genius to embrace the pragmatic acceptance of the possible, essential for nation building, without ever abandoning the prophetic yearning for moral perfection.”
It’s a characteristic one desperately wants to see in today’s leaders across the spectrum (both here and in Israel), individuals seemingly much more interested in pleasing their fringe followers than in (re)building a solid center.
All that said, the disciple remains enamored with the mentor, and we should be grateful.
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