Ariel Sharon: An Intimate Portrait

I enjoyed this biography of Ariel Sharon. The author, Uri Dan, had been a close friend of Sharon's and had insight into Sharon's thoughts. Much of the book is based on interviews Dan had with Sharon. Uri Dan did not mince words with Sharon about the Gaza pullout and other decisions that were controversial. The book was written recently and is fairly current. I found the book to be an easy read and recommend it for those that want to learn about Ariel Sharon.

Great insider's view, and basically an awesome history of the entire state of Israel. Well worth the read.

This book is the story of a friendship, between a journalist and a major military and political figure. The focus however is on the life, and most importantly public actions of one of the great leaders of modern Israel, Ariel Sharon. The book traces the career of Sharon from the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 to his final actions as Prime Minister of Israel when on January 2, 2006 Sharon suffered a massive disabling stroke. A short while later Uri Dan himself came down with terminal cancer and passed away before his revered friend. Dan was for many years accused in Israel of being only a 'yes-man' for Sharon. But that is hardly the case. The book is filled with instances of disagreement in which Dan openly as good friend gave Sharon his critical advice.The greatest difference was in Sharon's decision to make a unilaterial disengagement from Gaza in the summer of 2005. It is interesting that in an earlier section of the book Sharon explains why two of the settlements which were removed were of vital security significance. The overall story however is not focused on differences of opinion, but rather on cooperative action in service of a cause and ideal - end both Dan and Sharon believed in with all their hearts, the founding and defending of the state of Israel. It is their total committment to this cause which was at the heart of their friendship. Sharon's deeds are so numerous and legendary that it is difficult to know where to begin to chronicle them. He is of all the great Israeli modern soldiers Dayan, Rabin, Meir Har- Tsion, Avigdor Kahalani the one who is great at at every level of operation. He is the founder of the 101 Unit which combatted Arab terror in the fifties. He was the one who formulated the Israeli battle- orders by which an officer ideally goes forward first always saying 'After me" He illustrated more than one time the principle of not leaving wounded soldiers behind . He was of all the Israeli military leaders the one who truly understood the futility of static defense, the Bar- Lev line, and the one whose turnaround action in crossing the Suez Canal in October 1973 turned an Israeli military defeat into a victory. Dan was not an armchair journalist but trained specially so as to be able to accompany Sharon on the field of battle. His descriptions of Sharon's control and command , his low sure voice at the most critical moments of battle help explain why Sharon's soldiers so loved and trusted him. Dan gives a lot of space here to Sharon's controversial part in the First Lebanon War. He makes a strong case that the Kahane commission and Chief Justice Barak did a great injustice in blaming Sharon for what the soldiers of the Phalangists did to the Palestinians. Dan also describes the famous libel suit in which Sharon unprecedentedly won a retraction from the American magazine 'Time'. Sharon has been not only a major military but a major political figure in Israel. He was instrumental in helping found the Likud whic