Amos Harel

Written by two Israeli defense journalists, 34 DAYS is a relatively even-handed account of the 2006 2nd Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah. They are not kind to PM Olmert or Chief of Staff Dan Halutz for basically rushing into a conflict with no clear plan on how to end it. The authors also fault the IDF for getting away from it's conventional warfighting roots through near constant involvement in the low-intensity conflict with the Palestinians. While undoubtedly better books on this topic will appear, 34 DAYS is good for now.

P.S. Be aware the book was originally written in Hebrew and the translation can be a bit confusing.… (more)