The Hope

I don't know why I was so surprised by just how good this book is or how great Herman Wouk is. Everything I have read by him is awesome. The events in the hope are unbelieveable. I thought i knew about some of the histroy, but the hope put it in a very enjoyable format and now can't wait to finish the glory.

I frequently suggest "The Hope" and the second half of the story, "The Glory" as 'must-reads' for anyone who would like to understand where Israel is today in world politics. Wouk's other two great historical-fiction works, "The Winds of War" and "War and Rememberance", gave the non-history major a view of the history and politics of World War II while reading a fun and well-written novel. "The Hope" and "The Glory" give insight to the rebirth of Israel in the last 1940s and a feel for her tenuous survival since that time - again, while reading of interesting fictional characters interwoven with real characters and real history. As one who has spent 26 of the last 39 years in elective office and one who is a graduate level student of 20th Century political and diplomatic history, I rate Wouk as the most important historical-fiction writer of our time. Senator Mike Fair Oklahoma State Senator (retired)

This is an amazing novel. I picked it up wearily, thinking it would not be as good as other novelists such as Leon Uris or James Michner. This was far from the truth, this story is incredible. The novel tells the story of the beginnings of Israel right up through the end of the Six Day War in 1967. The one thing that I loved about this book, besides the stories being so vividly portrayed, was that all of the characters are so human. The reader can easily relate to not just a few of the main characters, but all of them. This is an amazing story, and I would reccommend it to anyone interested in a novelized version of Israeli history.

This epic work by Herman Wouk takes place in Israel from the 1948 War of Independence to the 1967 Six Day War .Both remarkable testaments to the strength of the Jewish people and The State of Israel We meet real characters who played a key role in the history of Israel such as David Ben-Gurion,Moshe Dayan,,Rafael Eitan,Yitzhac Rabin,Ariel Sharon and other great leaders Against this backdrop we read about the lives of several men and women who are the key characters in the story: Zev Barak-Viennese Jew who becomes an Israeli General and military attache to Washington His strong and long suffering wife Nakhama Yael Luria-ambitious and energetic blonde beauty The mercurial paratroop commander -Don Kishote The good hearted and religious Shayna Matisdorff Sam Pasternak-the cynical Mossad supersleuth Benny Luria the solid and committed Airforce commander And Emily Cunningham-the intelligent and mysterious daughter of a CIA bigwig The history of Israel during this period is traced in fascinating detail but the personal interactions do tend to be overplayed a little Nevertheless the message remains loud and clear about the remarkable beleaguered and tiny State of Israel who continues to survive against overwhelming odds and the immoral machinations of the international establishment

I don't know why I was so surprised by just how good this book is or how great Herman Wouk is. Everything I have read by him is awesome. The events in the hope are unbelieveable. I thought i knew about some of the histroy, but the hope put it in a very enjoyable format and now can't wait to finish the glory.