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YONI - HERO OF ENTEBBE

Name: YONI - HERO OF ENTEBBE
Author: Max Hastings
ISBN: 0297775650

LIFE OF YONATHAN NETANYAHU

by Max Hastings ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1979

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Yonaton Netanyahu, Yoni, was the 30-year-old leader of the Israeli force that rescued the hostages at Entebbe and he was its only casualty. His mission and his death made him a national hero in Israel and this book, unabashedly the story of a hero, describes with dignity and restraint who he was and what he came to represent. Restraint might seem misplaced in a tale of twelve years of rescues, raids, defenses, and attacks, each of which calls for the whole list of heroic adjectives. Yet it seems appropriate to a soldier who was an avid chess player and had spent several semesters studying philosophy and mathematics at Harvard. His greatest devotion, however, was to the land of Israel and to "Zahal"—its uniquely individualistic defense force. He wrote to his parents in America, "In this country, at this moment, being in the army means to be inside"—outside lay bureaucracy, corruption, and shoddiness. "In Israel, if you want to see creative brilliance, look for it in the army." Rising from the ranks, like all Israeli officers, Yoni gained experience in the paratroops, special forces, and armored commands. The spirit and direction of the army is traced through his career from the exuberance of the mid-Sixties, to the overwhelming confidence after the Six Day War, and then to the war of attrition and the near-disaster of 1973. Finally even Netanyahu, to whom the army was a home, "lost faith in the power of Zahal alone to preserve Israel from her enemies." The mission to Entebbe did much to rebuild that faith. Hastings' admittedly censored account offers few new details of the raid, but it does deal in a limited way with the lack of military preparedness in 1973, the blunders on Mount Hermon, and the subsequent demoralization of the army. Although he ignores the price the Arabs paid, Hastings implies through Yoni's story that the profound personal and cultural costs of being a nation at war may not always be redeemed by victory. It is a one-sided tale, but it is a side well told.

Pub Date: July 1, 1979

ISBN: 0297775650

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1979

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ABYSS
by Max Hastings

- BOOK REVIEW
OPERATION PEDESTAL
by Max Hastings

- BOOK REVIEW
OPERATION CHASTISE
by Max Hastings

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.