Review by Choice Review
The author argues that the success and longevity of Netanyahu is due to his acceptance of a religious/nationalist interpretation of Jewish and Israeli history. That distinguished him and his conservative, rightist, albeit secularist and nationalist, Likud Party from the centrist-socialist parties. Netanyahu was prime minister from 1996 to 1999, regained power in 2009, and has remained in power since. His advocacy of absorbing the West Bank and rejection of any "peace process" with the Palestinians coincided with an intensification of Israeli and Jewish nationalism as result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The author makes clear that Netanyahu's long stays and education in the US contributed to his deep understanding of Americans, "whom he knows better than most congressmen." Netanyahu's greatest achievement was on May 15, 2018, when Israel celebrated its 70th anniversary as a sovereign nation. That coincided with the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem, consolidating further the oft-quoted "enduring, unshakable, sacrosanct" relationship between the two nations. Netanyahu's greatest achievement may be yet to come, especially if he is able to exploit his US relationship to make Israel the most powerful country in the eastern Mediterranean except for Turkey. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. --Robert W. Olson, emeritus, University of Kentucky
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by New York Times Review
THE MARS ROOM, by Rachel Kushner. (Scribner, $27.) Kushner's much-anticipated new novel, a powerful and realistic page turner about a former lap dancer serving two life sentences in a women's prison, reveals an imagination Dickensian in its amplitude - and in its reformist zeal. YOU THINK IT, I'LL SAY IT, by Curtis Sittenfeld. (Random House, $27.) In the lives of Sittenfeld's characters, the lusts and disappointments of youth loom large well into middle age. But their trials, in the scheme of things, are manageable enough to allow for comedy, which Sittenfeld is a pro at delivering in the details. THE ROAD TO UNFREEDOM: Russia, Europe, America, by Timothy Snyder. (Tim Duggan Books, $27.) In his latest book, Snyder considers how democracies fall apart, placing the blame for political instability in Western countries from France to the United States on domestic cultural forces but also, in particular, on Russia and the policies of its leader, Vladimir Putin. BIBI: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu, by Anshel Pfeffer. (Basic Books, $32.) This superbly researched biography of the controversial, scandal-plagued Israeli prime minister will likely become an essential contribution to understanding Netanyahu and his fractured country. WADE IN THE WATER: Poems, by Tracy K. Smith. (Graywolf, $24.) In her new collection, the poet laureate addresses national traumas including slavery and the Civil War - some of the poems are drawn from the letters of black soldiers - while asking how an artist might navigate the political and the personal. FEAST DAYS, by Ian MacKenzie. (Little, Brown, $26.) The disaffected American narrator of this novel has followed her banker husband to Säo Paulo, Brazil. But the city and its people may be too much for her. MacKenzie makes clear what his protagonist might not always see: that her life stands in stark contrast to those of the impoverished locals. BATTLESHIP YAMATO: Of War, Beauty and Irony, by Jan Morris. (Liveright, $15.95.) The end of World War II signaled the end of the era of great sea battles. In this slender, lavishly illustrated volume, Morris sees the sinking of Japan's greatest warship as a fitting symbol of that passing. WHAT IS REAL? The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics, by Adam Becker. (Basic Books, $32.) "Figuring out what quantum physics is saying about the world has been hard," Becker writes in his incisive exploration of quantum theory, possibly the most consequential controversy in modern science. THE DRAGON SLAYER: Folktales From Latin America, written and illustrated by Jaime Hernandez. (TOON Books, $16.95; ages 6 to 12.) Three folk tales in graphic-novel form; a buoyant delight. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Library Journal Review
In this debut, journalist Pfeffer profiles enigmatic Israeli leader Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (b. 1949). Netanyahu is a stern believer that to "be the prime minister of Israel.one needs a grasp of history, a vision for the future, and the fortitude to withstand unbearable pressure." The author explains how the leader gained his "fortitude" from service in the military intelligence unit Sayeret Matkal; he enlisted during Israel's defining moments of the Six-Day War of 1967. As a soldier, Netanyahu also witnessed the 1972 hijacking of a Tel Aviv flight by Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Although known for opposition to the Obama administration, Netanyahu enjoys a long acquaintance with President Trump and a history of political endorsements from him. Pfeffer strives for comprehensive familial coverage in his work, starting with Bibi's grandfather and father. But this part of the history consumes the first third of the book, limiting the coverage of Netanyahu himself. Although timely with Israel's 70th anniversary of independence and ongoing corruption charges keeping Netanyahu in the news, the pacing and dry material will only appeal to informed readers or researchers. Verdict A middling profile, topical in nature, but with limited interest for a broad readership.-Jessica Bushore, Xenia, OH © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An unsparing examination of the Israeli prime minister's rise to power.Journalist Pfeffer, Israeli correspondent for the Economist and senior correspondent for Haaretz, makes his literary debut with a biting portrait of Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (b. 1949), an ambitious politician whose racist, right-wing views have shaped "a deeply fractured Israeli society, living behind walls." The son of historian Benzion Netanyahu and brother of fallen soldier Jonathan, Bibi embraced the "family mythology" that "constantly tried to place itself at the center of the Zionist narrative." The author stresses the importance of Bibi's American experience, which began in high school, when his father took an academic position in Pennsylvania. Although disdaining "the liberal-leaning, Democrat-voting American Jews" he met, he appreciated American capitalism and the style of American political campaigns. In 1981, as deputy chief of mission at Israel's Washington embassy, Netanyahu set out to become a media personality. "Ever a perfectionist," Pfeffer writes, "he worked assiduously on his televisual skills, taking lessons from professional coaches" and rehearsing his delivery "of terse and soundbite-heavy sentences." Three years later, he was appointed ambassador to the U.N., where he "became a star of the air waves." In 1996, with no political experience, he won a slim victory over Shimon Peres by inflaming Israel's fear of its Arab neighbors. Besides coveting power, Netanyahu acquired a taste for luxury, extravagances that led to financial scandals later in his career. As he examines his subject's fraught relationships with Israeli politicians and U.S. presidents, Pfeffer portrays Bibi as an arrogant, polarizing figure, incapable of compromise and, like Donald Trump, "lacking in introspection." Netanyahu has never wavered in his bleak view of history, in which the Jewish homeland was threatened by "the genocidal urge of the Arab nations to destroy the Jewish presence." He opposed any move to relinquish control of the West Bank and Golan Heights, conceding only "limited autonomy" to Palestinians living in those areas.A perceptive history of a beleaguered nation and one deeply flawed leader. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
