'Israel, six decades after its founding, remains a nation in thrall to an original martial impulse.' Born of idealism, under David Ben Gurion and his protgs Dayan, Sharon and Peres, Israel came to prioritize security at all costs, and to seize land and water whenever opportunity arose. The security state erected around the nation is the most agile, relentless, intelligent and skilful in the region. And it is very little understood. Patrick Tyler believes that the way to understand it is to understand the men and women who have created, sustained and directed it. Less an anatomy of institutions and administrations than a searching biographical study of the outsize personalities who headed its operations and in consequence steered Israel's course since its foundation, this book is a landmark in the revelation of the inner workings and innermost desires of the Israeli nation-state.

From Jerusalem to Eilat and from Lower and Upper Galilee to Tel Aviv, this traveller's guide to Israel covers a wide range of accommodation and restaurants. There is also advice on walking tours, desert drives and beach breaks, and information on shopping.

Samuel Usque, an exile from the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal, offers an answer to the question, "Does suffering have any purpose?" Translated from the Portuguese with an Introduction by Martin A. Cohen.

Israel has a range and diversity of attractions. Over 6000 years of history and archaeology is packaged and presented at a variety of sites. This guidebook has up-to-date practical information for all visitors from back packers to pilgrims, and includes historical details and cultural and background information. All Israel's attractions are covered from diving in the Red Sea to skiing on Mount Hermon.