About the Book
October Earthquake presents a chronological account of the days surrounding the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) War, along with the significant military and political events of each day of the conflict. Zeev Schiff's comments on Israel's exaggerated self-confidence, the hopelessness of Israeli leadership, the intelligence failure, the concept of the Bar Lev Line, the role of the air force, and the preparedness of the Arab army are interspersed throughout.
Rather than judging and awarding "grades" to the parties involved in the war, this work bases itself on authentic source materials, such as recordings of command discussions during the battles, and documents. Many of the details included are not found elsewhere. The author skillfully weaves the recollections and accounts of many participants and commentators into a coherent narrative that brings to life the war's events.
Although written largely from the perspective of Israelis, October Earthquake reviews political, diplomatic, and military events in Egypt that set the stage for the war. In the postscript, Schiff also explores key lessons for Israel from the Yom Kippur War, which ended its sense of invincibility and complacency, despite Israel's impressive victories on the battlefield. Winner of the Sokolov Prize, Israel's highest journalism award, this book should be read by all foreign policy specialists, historians, and anyone interested in the Middle East.
Table of Contents:
September 21, 1973; September 26, 1973; Interlude: The Arab Plan; September 30 1973; October 1, 1973; October 3, 1973; October 4 1973; Interlude: Deception; October 5, 1973; Interlude: An Intelligence Failure; October 6, 1973 – The Day of Atonement, Morning; Interlude: Complacent Alert; October 6, 1973 – The Day Of Atonement, The War; Interlude: The Fear Barrier; October 7, 1973; Interlude: Strategy of Fire Fighting; October 8, 1973; Interlude: Bar Lev Line; October 9, 1973; Interlude: The IDF’s Surprises; October 10, 1973; October 11, 1973; Interlude: Night’s Slumber; October 12, 1973; October 13, 1973; Interlude: Timetable; October 14, 1973; October 15, 1973; INTERLUDE: The Arab Warrior; October 16, 1973; October 17, 1973; October 18 1973; Interlude: The Air Force; October 19, 1973; October 20, 1973; October 21, 1973; October 22, 1973; October 23, 1973; October 24, 1973; October 25, 1973; Postscript: The Israel that was – Will Not Be
About the Author :
Zeev Schiff (1932-2007) was a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, USA and Isaac and Mildred Brochstein Fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, USA. Recipient of the Sokolov Journalism, Amos Lev and Sarah Reichenstein prizes, his books include A History of the Israeli Army: 1874 to the Present and War of Deception.
Review :
-There are long verbatim extracts from the actual logbook records of the fight-ing units, which give the reader a pict-ure of the dilemmas facing the generals in the war rooms . . . The book's object-ivity throughout strengthens the feeling of authenticity.-
--Jerusalem Post
-[Y]ou can again see the nightmare, in chronological order. You want to wake up, but can't. It did happen . . . The writ-er's restrained language -- in total con-trast with the hysterical style of some books about the Yom Kippur War--faithfully describes the days preceding it . . . a book that cannot be put down until you finish reading it, in my opin-ion the best book so far.-
--Haaretz
-Without cosmetics or polemics, Schiff uncovers the Israeli weaknesses . . . the unresolved conceptual conflicts that led to the heavy casualties . . . If you would have to return every book on the October War but one, Schiff s thor-ough report would be the one to keep.-
--Neue Zuricher Zeitung
-Schiff picks out salient military and political events of each day, intersper-sed with general thoughts about such matters as intelligence, the concept of the Bar Lev Line, the role of the Air Force and the performance of the Arab soldier . . . it is the most useful running account of the war so far... It helps to explain why, try as some of their lead-ers would have it otherwise, the war was an experience that looms fearfully large in the Israelis' consciousness.-
--Jewish Chronicle
"There are long verbatim extracts from the actual logbook records of the fight-ing units, which give the reader a pict-ure of the dilemmas facing the generals in the war rooms . . . The book's object-ivity throughout strengthens the feeling of authenticity."
--Jerusalem Post
"[Y]ou can again see the nightmare, in chronological order. You want to wake up, but can't. It did happen . . . The writ-er's restrained language -- in total con-trast with the hysterical style of some books about the Yom Kippur War--faithfully describes the days preceding it . . . a book that cannot be put down until you finish reading it, in my opin-ion the best book so far."
--Haaretz
"Without cosmetics or polemics, Schiff uncovers the Israeli weaknesses . . . the unresolved conceptual conflicts that led to the heavy casualties . . . If you would have to return every book on the October War but one, Schiff s thor-ough report would be the one to keep."
--Neue Zuricher Zeitung
"Schiff picks out salient military and political events of each day, intersper-sed with general thoughts about such matters as intelligence, the concept of the Bar Lev Line, the role of the Air Force and the performance of the Arab soldier . . . it is the most useful running account of the war so far... It helps to explain why, try as some of their lead-ers would have it otherwise, the war was an experience that looms fearfully large in the Israelis' consciousness."
--Jewish Chronicle
"There are long verbatim extracts from the actual logbook records of the fight-ing units, which give the reader a pict-ure of the dilemmas facing the generals in the war rooms . . . The book's object-ivity throughout strengthens the feeling of authenticity."
--Jerusalem Post
"[Y]ou can again see the nightmare, in chronological order. You want to wake up, but can't. It did happen . . . The writ-er's restrained language -- in total con-trast with the hysterical style of some books about the Yom Kippur War--faithfully describes the days preceding it . . . a book that cannot be put down until you finish reading it, in my opin-ion the best book so far."
--Haaretz
"Without cosmetics or polemics, Schiff uncovers the Israeli weaknesses . . . the unresolved conceptual conflicts that led to the heavy casualties . . . If you would have to return every book on the October War but one, Schiff s thor-ough report would be the one to keep."
--Neue Zuricher Zeitung
"Schiff picks out salient military and political events of each day, intersper-sed with general thoughts about such matters as intelligence, the concept of the Bar Lev Line, the role of the Air Force and the performance of the Arab soldier . . . it is the most useful running account of the war so far... It helps to explain why, try as some of their lead-ers would have it otherwise, the war was an experience that looms fearfully large in the Israelis' consciousness."
--Jewish Chronicle
