John Hohenberg was at the United Nations on May 14, 1948, when Israel became an independent state and has followed its history closely ever since. His most recent book, Israel at 50: A Journalist's Perspective, traces this country's tumultuous path to national stability and its rocky relationship with the United States, the United Nations, and the Arab world. This book details the complex politics that distinguish Israel from its neighbors, observed by a journalist who has studied the country for five decades. Hohenberg describes the obstacles that the independent, self-governing Israeli state has overcome in the Middle East, the issues it still faces, and the role it continues to play as an American ally and a member of the United Nations.

Introduction: On Reality and Miracles -- pt. 1. Founding the State. 1. The Rebirth of a Nation. 2. A Leader for Israel. 3. The War of Independence. 4. A Tour of Israel. 5. Democracy under Fire. 6. Crisis over Suez. 7. War with Egypt. 8. Treasure in the Desert. 9. Israel Fights for Life -- pt. 2. Survival. 10. Dayan's War. 11. Two Days in June. 12. Old Jerusalem Captured. 13. Golda. 14. Disaster! 15. Israel Strikes Back. 16. Transient Times. 17. After Thirty Years -- pt. 3. Between War and Peace. 18. Begin Takes Over. 19. Sadat to Israel. 20. Begin to Washington. 21. Carter as Mediator. 22. Camp David I. 23. Camp David II. 24. The Price of Peace. 25. War on Terrorism -- pt. 4. Israel and the Middle East. 26. How Much Unity? 27. Conflict with Iraq. 28. A Changing World. 29. Rabin and Peres. 30. The Oslo Process. 31. New Deal in the Middle East. 32. The Sacrifice -- pt. 5. Israel vs. Palestinians. 33. Reviving Israel. 34. Likud's Hard Line. 35. Bombs in Jerusalem. 36. The Trials of Peace. 37. Israel at 50.