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

This book is different to all the others that I have read related to Israel, Palestine and particularly the "Six Day War". Far beyond that short war, it exposes an insight to the psyche of the Israeli *individuals*; you'll learn a lot about how they feel and think. The story is told in the "first person" - you are treated to how each individual perceives this time, this reality, as each narrated their experience himself or herself. It is deeply personal, and yet, will give you a scope of political dilemma, and how decisions were made in this time of crisis. So many things you might not have been aware of that were considered as these individuals made difficult decisions. You will learn of the absence of hate, the presence of deep loyalty, and how many of the loyal Jewish participants were not even religious, but sacrificed anyway. The book is factually accurate, deeply personal and widely educational. It should be a "must read" for everyone. It'll make you think.

Pressfield serves up another extraordinary story. This time he binds together a collage of first person accounts into an extraordinary narrative. Pressfield tells this story from up and down the Israeli, IDF, and IAF ranks and across the international machinations into the run-up and conduct of the 6-day war. Pressfield sets the stage to zoom into the microscopic society of civilian/soldier kids in combat. The kids are led by surprising and extraordinary civilian/commanders to simply never give an inch. The reason was pretty simple as no less than victory and more, that no battle can be lost in so small a geography and no loss is too great to grant the last man standing a retreat. In typical Pressfield style, the meat of story grows to an unstoppable read.Pressfield explains up front that this is an unapologetically biased portrayal from his perspective. Reviewers that might pan the book as one sided are more than adequately warned. Pressfield has the eyewitnesses named for the skeptic to question.Reading a book delivers a particular experience to the reader. The experience here is the combination of a superb book multiplied by one's own recall of the events and the still central and current global realpolitik.I can recall the UN withdrawal from Sinai at Nassar's demand and we knew it was for the express purpose of clearing the way for the Muslim Nationalist's run at their own final solution. I had forgotten that the US was not Israel's ally. I had forgotten that France, alone, was Israel's only material ally. I mentally moved the French up a few notches of respect."In '67 the army is too poor to have its own trucks for troop transport. We must use civilian vehicles ..." This is not an easy book for a `pro-Israel' American to read. It's uncomfortable. Its gut wrenching, actually. My stomach churned at every instance of America's overt abandonment of Israel. Pressfield simply states the facts and the resignation that 'it is what it is' from the kids fighting to survive with the weapons of past generations. Pressfield leaves the reader to ponder the matter.I had so erroneously imagined that the US and Britain did something, anything to help Israel in this war. The US and Britain outrageously abandoned Israel to fate. Just as outrageously, the USSR weaponized the Muslim Nationalists with their very best tech. Israel fought this war against the `state of the art' military tech, surrounded on three sides, with their backs against the water and outnumbered in all ways by 2, 3, or 4 to 1 with no friends willing to make a stand. Israel triumphed mightily all by themselves to earn the respect that has come to define them as the eternally underestimated underdog.Kudos to Pressfield for writing the book he wanted and I appreciate. It blew the fog out of my own memory to deliver a total experience.

This book blew me away for it's writing style. It is told in first person accounts from a myriad of soldiers who recollected their memories of their part in the 6 day war , 40 years after fighting it. It gives you a birds eye view to what these young men experienced and what they thought about it.Even with the pinpoint focus on the ground soldiers viewpoint which would necessarily limit a wide area understanding of the war, Pressfield manages to impart the overall story of the war through the device of using the voice of Moshe Dayan. Moshe Dayan died in 1981 so obviously was not available for interviews in 2011. However Pressfield gave overall context to the political / defensive situation in the weeks leading up to the war by using the first person voice for Dayan and to me that made the book priceless in helping me understand what Israel went through in 67. I remember at the time I was 12 years old , and in our very WASPy neighborhood we only had one Jewish family but I remember feeling very concerned for Israel which even I understood faced enemies who wanted to annilihate her and then the relief and admiration I felt for the IDF and my friend when the IDF pulled off their stunning victory.As a former Air Force officer, I really enjoyed the detailed descriptions of Operation Moked, which was the surprise attack on Egypts Air Force on the first day of the war. The plan was years in the making and was executed flawlessly. Especially impressive was the description of the tactics used in bombing and navigating. To think that IAF simultaneously hit 14 airfields at once , in radio silence, using just primitive time and heading and visual navigation techniques (this was well before the days of GPS, INS etc). The accomplishment of their Air Force is just historic. Basically the outcome of the war was decided in the first 90 minutes.I really liked this author , I am going to read other books by him. The book is a easy , compelling read.

Great author and great story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. However, I'd give it 3.5 stars, as the style of writing was clunky. It progresses logically, but jumps from character to character with some randomness. Effectively, it is a total story told piecemeal through the perspectives of a number of different people. It was frustrating at first. Eventually, the odd (to this US English reader) names and jumpy style came together bearably. I enjoyed it and the unique perspectives it brought on a truly historic period.

A guerra sob a ótica de quem estava nos campos de batalha é o que faz a diferença neste livro.

For those of us with a heart for Israel, this is an emotional read. The events of 1967 leading to the liberation of Jerusalem are presented in the words of those who were directly involved. Reading this book brought back the many feelings I had during and since the Six Day War. Thank you for this book.

Best book I've ever read on the topic. Makes you appreciate the psychology that renders viable the high level or operational independence the IDF grants its soldiers.

I wish i had more time to rate this excellent book. Pressfield persues a brilliant strategy by allowing the participants to tell the story themselves. As honestly noted by the author, it is a one sided view. Having said that, i found the Jews who were interviewed had considerable sympathy for their Arab adversaries, something i have rarely seen in the Arabs. Sadly, as frequently noted, the Jews have had little choice, "No Alternative" as they frequently say. They did what they had to to take control of their own destiny. In the process, the Arabs sometimes lost out. Had they taken the Jews at their word however, the Arabs could have benefited tremendously and become an integral part of the only vibrant, liberal democracy in the Middle East. As the world is finding out, Arabs don't do that. Instead, they decided to follow their leaders down the path of attempted genocide and never ending conflict. This book is a major eye opener for anyone wanting to learn the history of the Arab/Israeli conflict. They say that the first casualty of war is truth. This book gives one side of the story but there is a considerable amount of truth contained within it. For those who genuinely want to learn the truth, this book provides some very important pieces of the puzzle. It is also one of the most compelling war stories I have ever read. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Steven Pressfield is one of my favorit authors in the area of historic novels, so I was very excited to read his recent work on the Six Day War. It is something absolutely different from his previous stories as "Gates of Fire" or "Tides of War".In "The Lion's Gate" as a reader you enter into the mind of a lot of different soldiers, who fought in the Six Day War. You hear their background, their motivation, their personal stories, their joy and pain. Pressfield composes this story perfectly and by that way gives (without taking a personal position) an understanding for what happened in the Middle East and what is still happening there. In recent politics you in most cases confronted with two standard opinions (pro or contra) but only on the highest political stage. Here you look on the personal level. People, who are religious or not. People who are excluded from their holiest places, excluded from their land, threatened to death by a massive superiority.A must read book. A masterpiece.