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Book Review of The Lion's Gate: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War

The Lion's Gate: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War
reviewed on
Helpful Score: 2


"June 5, 1967. The nineteen-year-old state of Israel is surrounded by enemies who want nothing less than her utter extinction. The Soviet-equipped Egyptian Army has massed a thousand tanks on the nations southern border. Syrian heavy guns are shelling her from the north. To the east, Jordan and Iraq are moving mechanized brigades and fighter squadrons into position to attack. Egypts President Nasser has declared that the Arab forces objective is the destruction of Israel. The rest of the world turns a blind eye to the new nations desperate peril.
June 10, 1967. The Arab armies have been routed, ground divisions wiped out, air forces totally destroyed. Israels citizen-soldiers have seized the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan. The land under Israeli control has tripled. Her charismatic defense minister, Moshe Dayan, has entered the Lions Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem to stand with the paratroopers who have liberated Judaisms holiest sitethe Western Wall, part of the ruins of Solomons temple, which has not been in Jewish hands for nineteen hundred years.
It is one of the most unlikely and astonishing military victories in history.
Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with veterans of the warfighter and helicopter pilots, tank commanders and Recon soldiers, paratroopers, as well as women soldiers, wives, and othersbestselling author Steven Pressfield tells the story of the Six Day War as youve never experienced it before: in the voices of the young men and women who battled not only for their lives but for the survival of a Jewish state, and for the dreams of their ancestors."

This is one of the most remarkable history books I've ever read. As the Six Days War was going on before I got out of High School I truly did not know much about it. To experience it at the hands, memories and hearts of the people who served in it was just an entirely extraordinarily tremendous experience! It sure helped me to understand this war better and to comprehend the people who served in it. It also helped me appreciate how WWII and Vietnam vets felt by fighting with their hearts for our country. This book really brought history to life and feel that everyone, everywhere could benefit by reading it!