About the Author

Anita Shapira is professor emerita at Tel Aviv University, where she previously served as dean of the Faculty of Humanities and held the Ruben Merenfeld Chair for the Study of Zionism. Her previous books include Israel: A History, winner of the National Jewish Book Award. She lives in Tel Aviv.

Reviews

"The most intimate yet unflinching portrait to date of a man revered and reviled. . . . Shapira may be the last truly qualified person to unpack some of the mysteries of Israel’s George Washington."—Ilene Prusher, New York Times Book Review

"Keenly observed . . . Ms. Shapira tries to shed light on the inner life of the man whom fellow Zionist leader Berl Katznelson called 'history’s gift to the Jewish people.'"—Liel Leibovitz, Wall Street Journal

"This is an interesting addition to Yale’s Jewish Lives series —and Shapira rightly characterises the enigmatic Ben-Gurion as both a revolutionary Jacobin and 'the helmsman of the state.'"—Colin Schindler, Jewish Chronicle

"Anita Shapira’s concise biography of Ben-Gurion reminds us that the complex issues and factionalism of modern Israeli politics have deep roots."—David Conway, Jewish Renaissance

2015 Silver Medal Winner for the Washington Institute Book Prize given by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy

"Anita Shapira portrays David Ben-Gurion as a man who, at some of the most crucial junctures in the whole of Jewish history, led his people, almost alone, by his prophetic foresight, his iron resolution and his fierce sense of reality. Yet, Shapira does not idealize her protagonist: he is portrayed in her brilliant book as a man who was often insensitive to others, ferociously stubborn and incredibly lonely. I read this fascinating book with both intellectual and emotional thrill."—Amos Oz, author of A Tale of Love and Darkness

"A beautiful portrayal of a man of exceptional character, whose transcendent love of his people informed his vision."—Shimon Peres, former President of Israel

"Shapira unearths new archival sources and provides fresh perspectives. A tour de force and a must read."—Jehuda Reinharz, Brandeis University