This comprehensive book provides a well-rounded introduction to Israel - a definitive account of the nation's past, its often controversial present, and much more. Edited by a leading historian of the Middle East, Israel is organized around six major themes: land and people, history, society, politics, economics, and culture. The only available volume to offer such a complete account, this book is written for general readers and students who may have little background knowledge of this nation or its rich culture.

The contributors to the book, all scholars with extensive firsthand knowledge of Israel, offer accessible, clearly explained material, enhanced with a generous selection of images, maps, charts, tables, graphs, and sidebars. This book provides readers with a solid foundation of knowledge about Israel and provides useful reference lists by topic for those inspired to read further.

Extract

Read an extract from Israel by Barry Rubin on Yale's blog

Barry Rubin is professor and director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel. He is also editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs and author of numerous books on the Middle East.

"There have been many hundreds of books for and against Israel but no volume presenting the essential information about its domestic politics, its society, as well as its cultural life and its economy. This gap has now been filled."—Walter Laqueur, editor of The Holocaust Encyclopedia and author of Harvest of a Decade: Disraelia and Other Essays

"Written in an easily accessible format for the layman, that has covered Israel in all of its facets… [Israel: An Introduction] stands as a great accomplishment… The comprehensive look Rubin takes at everything from the political to the social, religious and cultural (the changing role of women in literature comes to mind) stands out as introducing Israel anew to even those who thought they knew understood the country."--Sam Sokol, Jerusalem Post