Six days of war

Six days of war: [June 1967 and the making of the modern Middle East] / Michael B. Oren ; read by Robert Whitfield. -- [Ashland] : Blackstone Audio ; [Boulder] : NetLibrary, 2006.
1 sound file (18 hr., 1 min.) : digital, wma file (259029 KB)
First published by Oxford University, 2002, Blackstone Audio edition, 2003, NetLibrary edition, 2006
Mode of access: World Wide Web
ISBN: 9780786152384 (electronic audio bk.)

1. Israel-Arab War, 1967.

956.046

Although Oren’s masterful narrative concentrates on the 1967 war between Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria he is careful to put the war in the context of conflicts that erupted in 1948, 1956 and continued after the June 1967, conflicts that continue to this day. In addition to the actual fighting he gives a comprehensive diplomatic history on the events that led up to the war. He includes all of the participants: Arab, Israeli, Soviet, American, the United Nations and their leaders, the internal political conflicts within each, how the involvement of the American military in Vietnam and the Egyptian military in Yemen constrained their governments. Of nerve-wracking concern for Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser was how the outbreak of hostilities would be perceived by the United Nations, the Cold War superpowers, and their allies. There were also tensions between each head of state and his generals who, on both sides, were pleading to be allowed to launch the first preemptive strike against the enemy. Oren, an Israeli army veteran, did extensive research for his book using now declassified documents from all the major participants with the exception of Syria and personal reminisces of participants on both sides to produce his comprehensive and fascinating history.