In this book, Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld offers a history of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). From the founding of Hashomer and guerrilla groups like Hagana and PAL-MACH, to the formation of the state of Israel, van Creveld shows how political disagreements were reflected militarily, and why it is necessary to understand the early internecine battles in order to make sense of contemporary Israeli politics. He includes the statesmen and soldiers who led Israel and fought for it--Moshe Dayan, Ariel Sharon, Golda Meir, Yitschak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Menachem Begin, and others--as well as the Arab leaders who opposed them. Van Creveld also corrects a number of famous misconceptions about the IDF--for example, that male and female soldiers are treated as equals--and reveals just how Israel may have secretly used its nuclear threat to win battles it might otherwise have lost. The sword and the olive also shows how, in 1982 in Lebanon, the Israeli Army for the first time fought a significantly weaker enemy and failed miserably. The Lebanese debacle--"Israel's Vietnam"--Was followed almost immediately by the IDF's attempt to put down the Palestinian uprising by force. Israel's troops killed over ten Arabs for every soldier they themselves lost, but as they did so their self respect disintegrated and their moral collapsed. The IDF has yet to recover and now it is beginning to realize that the greatest danger may not be from its Arab neighbors, but from within.

Pt. I. The surge, 1907-1949. 1. "Battle-worthy guards". 2. Founding Hagana. 3. "Beyond the fence". 4. Toward statehood. 5. At war for independence. 6. Repelling invasion. 7. The achievement and the price -- pt. II. The years of greatness, 1949-1973. 8. The army of the state. 9. Trials by fire. 10. Building a modern army. 11. The apogee of Blitzkrieg. 12. At bay. 13. October earthquake. 14. The reckoning -- pt. III. Running out of steam, 1974-1997. 15. Recovery and expansion. 16. Grenades into mushroom clouds. 17. "The Lebanese morass". 18. An Indian summer. 19. Impotent at the Gulf. 20. Coping with intifada. 21. The betrayal of faith.