Carlton Books

"The Story of Israel" by Sir Martin Gilbert chronicles the effort, spirit and will it took to establish a sovereign Jewish nation in Palestine.

From Theodor Herzl's fin de si?cle efforts to establish a sovereign Jewish nation in Palestine, to the 21st century roadmap for peace and beyond, "The Story of Israel," written by historian Sir Martin Gilbert tells the dramatic story of the founding and development of modern Israel.

Just more than 100 years ago, Herzl launched the Zionist movement, calling for a Jewish state in its ancestral land, Palestine. Fifty years later, after the Second World War ended, the state of Israel was established, enabling displaced Jews around the world to have a homeland of their own at last.

After independence, three quarters of a million Jews from Arab lands were re-settled in the newly-formed state of Israel. Then, as Communism disintegrated, more than a million Jews emigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union. Despite the daily threat of war and terrorist attacks, Israel has sought peace through both secret and public negotiations. These efforts continue to this day, despite two major Palestinian uprisings.

"The Story of Israel" contains 200 photographs and over 30 items of previously unpublished, removable memorabilia, reproduced exactly as it was originally, bringing this period of Israel's history to life as never before.

Memorabilia includes: pages of Theodor Herzl's diary, the Balfour Declaration, the Jewish Brigade's Second World War newspaper, identification papers of an Exodus refugee, Ben Gurion's copy of his Declaration of Independence speech, President Truman's letter recognizing the new state of Israel, a letter to her parents from an Israeli frontline soldier about to die in the War of Independence battle for Jerusalem, an Israeli Air Force commander's Order of Day at the start of the Six Day War, and the Jerusalem Post issue announcing the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.

Covering everything from the establishment of the first Kibbutz to the opening of the Hebrew University, to the British restrictions on Jewish immigration, to the numerous wars with its hostile neighbors, massacre at the Olympics, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the ongoing search for peace, "The Story of Israel," brings to life the continued struggle for existence by this seemingly fearless yet tiny state.

"The Story of Israel" is available at www.carltonbooks. co.uk.