Buber, Martin; Godman, Stanley (Translator). On Zion: The History
of an Idea (Martin Buber Library). Syracuse Univ Pr (Trade); 1997.
Paperback. ISBN 0-815604-82-3.
Churchill, Randolph S. & Winston S. The Six Day
War. Penguin. 1967. [a classic contemporary account]
[Bra75]
Brandeis, Louis D. Brandeis on Zionism (The Rise of Jewish
Nationalism and the Middle East Series). Hyperion Pr; 1975. Hardcover.
Reprint edition. ISBN 0-883553-12-0.
Cohen, Mitchell. Zion and State: Nation, Class and the Shaping of
Modern Israel. Blackwell. 1987. Columbia Univ Pr; 1992. Paperback. ISBN
0-231079-41-9. [The struggle between mainstream and Revisionist Zionism during
the Mandatory and early statehood periods]
Cohen, Naomi Wiener. American Jews and the Zionist Idea. Ktav
Publishing House; 1975. Paperback. ISBN 0-870682-72-5.
[Erl94]
Erlich, Avi; Erlich, Victor. Ancient Zionism: The Biblical Origins
of the National Idea. Free Press; 1994. Hardcover. ISBN 0-029023-52-1.
[Traces the birth of Zionism to biblical history, and analyzes, defends and
criticizes modern Zionism.]
[Gol97]
Goldberg, David J. To the Promised Land: A History of Zionist
Thought from Its Origins to the Modern State of Israel (Penguin Politics).
Penguin USA (Paper); 1997. Paperback. ISBN 0-140125-12-4.
[Gre91]
Greenspahn, F. (ed). Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient
Near East. New York Univ Pr; 1991. Paperback. ISBN 0-814730-38-8.
Halkin, Hillel. Letters to an American Jewish Friend: A
Zionist's Polemic. JPS, 1977. ISBN 0-827600-93-3. Out of Print. [Halkin,
an American oleh, addresses six fictional letters to his imaginary friend,
explaining to him why he should make aliyah. Considered a classic among
American olim in Israel (esp. the non-orthodox olim, since Halkin basically
espouses a secular Zionist position).]
Halpern, Ben. The Idea of a Jewish State. Harvard
University Press, 1976. Out of Print. ISBN 0-674442-01-6.
[Hal00]
Halpern, Ben; Reinharz, Jehuda. Zionism and the Creation of a New
Society (Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry Series). Brandeis
Univ; 2000. Paperback. ISBN 1-584650-23-0.
Harkabi, Yehoshafat. Israel's Fateful Hour. Harper
& Row. 1988. Out of Print. [The former director of IDF military
intelligence, Hebrew University professor of international relations, and
winner of the 1993 Israel Prize, explains Israel's need for peace and the
feasibility of "land for peace"; based on the author's Hachpaot
Goraliot]
Hertzberg, Arthur. The Zionist Idea: A Historical Analysis and
Reader. Atheneum. 1979. Jewish Publication Society; 1997. Paperback.
ISBN 0-827606-22-2. [An outstanding 85 page introductory essay and anthology of
writings by leading Zionists]
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies of Tel Aviv University. The
West Bank and Gaza: Israel's Options for Peace. Tel Aviv University. 1989.
[essential background reading from a study group led by Aharon Yariv, a former
director of IDF military intelligence; initially sponsored by the American
Jewish Congress and co-sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith]
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies of Tel Aviv University.
The West Bank and Gaza: Toward A Solution. Tel Aviv University.
1989. [a companion to Jaf89b; independent proposals by the Jaffee Center study
group]
Mandel, Neville. The Arabs and Zionism Before World War
I. University of California. 1976. Out of Print.
[Med00]
Medoff, Rafael; Waxman, Chaim I.; Woronoff, Jon (ed). Historical
Dictionary of Zionism. Scarecrow Pr; 2000. Hardcover. ISBN 0-810837-73-0.
[Mel92]
Melman, Yossi. The New Israelis: An Intimate View of a
Changing People. Birch Lane Pr; 1992. Hardcover. ISBN 1-559721-29-4.
[The first half of the book is a history of Zionism, along with an analysis of
the decisions, accomplishments, compromises, and mistakes that the major
leaders made. The second half of the book discusses various aspects of Israeli
society, such as religious groups, Israeli Arabs, Sefardim, defense needs, and
so on. Note: Melman is clearly a left-wing secular Israeli.]
[Par96]
Parker, Richard B. (ed); Saunders, Harold H. The Six-Day War: A
Retrospective. University Press of Florida: 1996. Hardcover. ISBN
0-813013-83-6
Penkower, Monty Noam. The Emergence of Zionist Thought (American
University Studies, Series IX, History, Vol 3). Peter Lang Publishing;
1991. Hardcover. ISBN 0-820416-00-2.
[Kor83]
Kornberg, Jacques. At the Crossroads: Essays on Ahad Ha'Am.
State Univ of New York Pr; 1983. Paperback. ISBN 0-873957-39-3.
Penkower, Monty Noam. The Holocaust and Israel Reborn: From
Catastrophe to Sovereignty. Univ of Illinois Pr (Pro Ref); 1994. Paperback.
ISBN 0-252063-78-3.
[Por90]
Porat, Dina. The Blue and the Yellow Stars of David: The Zionist
Leadership in Palestine and the Holocaust 1939-1945. Harvard Univ Pr; 1990.
Hardcover. ISBN 0-674077-08-3.
Rubenstein, Amnon. The Zionist Dream Revisited.
Schocken Books, New York. 1984. Out of Print. [Traces the cumulative tradition
of Israeli intellectuals from its Herzlian and Second Aliayh roots to the
present day and delves into the reasons for the right-wing reaction that has
emerged since the Six-Day War. Very political.]
Segev, Tom. 1949: The First Israelis. The Free Press,
1986. Henry Holt (Paper); 1998. Paperback. Reprint edition. ISBN 0-805058-96-6.
[A detailed history of the first year of Israel's existence, based on an
extensive study of official documents and the press, showing how ideology met
with the reality of building a state.]
Sykes, Christopher. Crossroads to Israel: 1917-1948.
Midland Books. 1973. Out of Print.
[Uro95]
Urofsky, Melvin I. American Zionism from Herzl to the
Holocaust. Univ of Nebraska Pr; 1995. Paperback. ISBN 0-803295-59-6.
[Zip93]
Zipperstein, Steven J. Elusive Prophet: Ahad Ha'Am and the Origins
of Zionism. Univ California Press; 1993. Hardcover. ISBN 0-520081-11-0.
Our
goal is to keep this list useful for its readers. To that end, suggestions of
books to add to the list are always welcome. In your suggestion, please be as
complete as possible; we need author, title, publisher, publishing date, and
ISBN number. We also welcome a one paragraph short summary of why the
book is of interest. Please send your suggestions to the FAQ maintainer at
maintainer@scjfaq.org.
The soc.culture.jewish Reading Lists have associations
with
Amazon.com
and Artscroll.
The presence of an Amazon ()
or Artscroll () tag on a list item means the
item is available from the indicated vendor. There is always the possibility
that the items status has changed since the tag was added; in particular, items
may have moved to special order, backorder, or on-order status. If you have
corrections to the tag, or want to provide a synopsis of the book, please drop
a note to maintainer@scjfaq.org.