This book consists of three parts, "Background", "Close-up" and
"Perspective". The first part is a survey of the developments which led
to the foundation of the State of Israel. It lays no claim to historical
completeness and is written from a specific angle which stresses the
part played by irrational forces and emotive bias in history. I am not
sure whether this emphasis has not occasionally resulted in
over-emphasis-as is almost inevitable when one tries to redress a
balance by spot-lighting aspects which are currently neglected. But it
was certainly not my intention, by underlining the psychological factor,
to deny or minimize the importance of the politico-economic forces. My
aim was rather to present, if I may borrow a current medical term, a
"psycho-somatic" view of one of the most curious episodes in modern
history. The second part, "Close-up", is meant to give the reader a
close and coloured, but not I hope technicoloured, view of the Jewish
war and of everyday life in the new State. It opens and ends with
extracts from the diary of my last sojourn as a war correspondent in
Israel. The emphasis here is on life in the towns, with only occasional
glimpses of the collective settlements, since I have given a detailed
description of these in an earlier book. The third part, "Perspective",
is an attempt to present to the reader a comprehensive survey of the
social and political structure, the cultural trends and future prospects
of the Jewish State.
