The Hope

Herman Wouk is one of the masters of the historical novel. I have read all of his books years ago; I noted they are now publishing them in e-book format. I decided to re-read “The Hope” in light of what has happened over the recent years in the Middle East. The two books “The Hope” and “The Glory” cover the history of Israel. “The Hope” covers the years from 1948 to 1967 and Wouk pays the most attention to the three wars: The War of Independence, the 1956 Sinai War and the Six Day War.Wouk weaves the story of two protagonists, a young polish immigrant Yossi (Nitzan) Blumenthal a daring military officer, and Zev Barak born in Vienna whose military career is sidelined as he is transferred into diplomacy and is sent to Washington D.C. Also, there is a beautiful Army Sergeant, Yael Luria, a Sabra, to add a romantic interest to the story.The book is well written and meticulously researched. Wouk researched government archives, personal diaries, newspapers and personal interviews to present history as accurately as possible. His account is sympathetic to Israel, but he does not attempt to make the Arabs into villains. The author does an excellent job revealing the passion behind the founding of Israel. Wouk does a great job with the military scenes and the inside workings of politics. All the real people are accurately portrayed in the story. I read this as an e-book on my Kindle app for my iPad. The book is 706 pages long. The e-book was published December 2, 2016. The original publication date for the book was 1993.

First, I am not Jewish or a Zionist nor the supporter of any Arab country. I do support Israel as a US allie.I heard Herman Wouk was a very good author. The Hope was a 693 page burner I read in 4 days. Lots of exciting war action, tanks, planes, CIA, strong character development with love triangles and much, much more. Herman Wouk tells us he is an avid Zionist and supporter of Israel but did not slander the other guy in the book ( the Arab nations ) with fictitious Arab sayings or wrong historical Arab facts. He concentrated on Jewish Israel true and fictitious characters although he does mention Egypt's Nasser and other Arab leaders.Please remember this is a novel based on the 1948 creation of the Israel nation through the 6 day war in 1967.I liked that Herman Wouk tells us in the back of the book about the true events and people that took place in each section of the book.He mixes these true facts and true people with fictitious people, fictitious occurrences, love triangles and more. The book flows very well.I learned a lot about the creation of the Israel nation in 1948 through the 6 day war. The different Prime ministers, defense ministers and generals as well as other officers. Lots of exciting battle action with tanks, paratroopers, and jets. We see the complete ultra quick destruction of Egypt's air force. The Israelite jet pilots destroyed hundreds of planes supplied by the USSR to Egypt on the ground. We also see the quick thrust of Israel armor and its army against Egypt tanks and infantry. Also other Arab nations involved.I was amazed that such a small nation could defend herself against the Arab countries surrounding her. We see France helping Israel for about 10 years with Mirage jets, etc. before abandoning her. We see the US and Britain not wanting to get involved challenging the USSR who propped up Egypt. We see the Russians supplying superior Mig 22s and T55 tanks to Egypt. Israel must make do with older Mirage jets, Sherman, Patton and other modified older tanks. So Israel goes it alone. We see the superior training of Israel's pilots and armor personnel. The world is amazed at the quick successful 6 day war by small Israel.We see Presidents Eisenhower, JFK and LBJ and their interactions with Israel and at times no support for Israel and then when it is the US interest to counteract Russia to support Israel.This book was very well done. I enjoyed it. 4 1/3 stars. I liked The Hope so much I ordered the sequel The Glory and The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk.

Not being Jewish I have no knowledge of what it’s like to be a Jew. Being a Christian and a professional military man, I am very well versed on the history of the Jewish Nation and it’s horrific battles to survive against almost impossible odds.For those who don’t know the story of the struggle of the Jews to return to the ancient land that was their former home after the Holocaust of World War II you are missing one of the greatest sagas in human history! Seeking a land of their own where they could finally be free from eons of persecution and misery, this book summarizes in fictional terms the hardships the Jews endured trying to obtain and then hold on to a tiny piece of desert land given them by the UN as 4 Arab Nations attempt to invade and destroy them. How they do it in the face of a world embargo on the sale of weapons to them while openly selling all kinds of weapons to the Arabs is an amazing story in itself.The story is polished, well crafted, and not particularly one-sided.I think you will find it fascinating reading,

understanding the middle east. Clear bias, as one would expect, but also solid substantial history for anybody who is so busy yapping about the middle east that they have no time to understand it.

This is a wonderful saga of this amazing new nation of Israel. There is history, drama, humour, and characters you come to admire and feel affection for. For those interested in Israel's relatively recent history (1948-1966), I recommend it wholeheartedly. I intend to read its sequel, 'The Glory', and then progress to Wouk's other novels.

Herman Wouk lässt den Leser die Geschichte des Staates Israel von der Gründung bis zum Ende des 6-Tage-Krieges aus der Perspektive erfundener Personen miterleben. Er verquickt die Romanhandlung dabei geschickt mit den historischen Fakten und Personen. Seine Helden sind ganz nah dran am Geschehen. Trotz der Länge des Romans wird es nie langweilig, geschickt erzählt Wouk eine spannende Geschichte, in der er (als amerikanischer Jude) keinen Zweifel daran lässt, auf welcher Seite der Auseinandersetzung zwischen Israelis und Arabern seine Sympathien liegen. Das Ränkespiel zwischen Männern und Frauen, mit dem er die Geschichte würzt, hätte ich mir manchmal etwas weniger ausführlich gewünscht, aber alles in allem ein Buch, bei dem man es mit Bedauern feststellt, wenn man das Ende erreicht hat. Aber es gibt ja noch eine Fortsetzung zu "The Hope": "The Glory".

Unless you do not know much about the history of Israel from before the creation of the state and the present times, this book may not be for you. Myself after one third of it I found it, let say it bluntly, boring.

Wouk, morto ultracentenario lo scorso anno, e' noto in Italia soprattutto per L'ammutinamento del Caine. Ma molti ricorderanno le serie TV, apparse tanti anni fa sulle reti Mediaset, tratte da Venti di guerra e Guerra e ricordo. Qui abbiamo il primo volume di una "bilogia" dedicata alla nascita dello stato di Israele. Se a suo tempo Exodus di Uris o Gerusalemme Gerusalemme di Lapierre e Colins dedicati allo stesso tema vi hanno emozionato, troverete le stesse atmosfere. Qui abbiamo un volume non tradotto in italiano, ma ben "leggibile" come inglese, in edizione kindle e in offerta. Che altro ? Finirlo e leggere il seguito "The glory"

Without doubt, Wouk did a lot of research to present a very solid historical foundation to his novel. However by the time the text was published, the “tone” that surrounds it’s delivery was to say the least was outdated. The global view of a very complex issue had changed considerably. Wouk’s unadulterated Jewish view may have been understandable in the 60’s but not decades later: unmitigated bias and stereotypical enemies. The female characters and their portrayal adds another level to this anachronistic piece.