Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Tzalel has given us an excellent little gem of a book in which he thoughtfully and critically offers a history of the navy of modern Israel. He has availed himself of many sources unavailable to those who cannot read Hebrew, and has conducted several interviews with some rare individuals who have reliable knowledge of Israeli naval history. The book is not the exhaustive treatment one might expect, but given the secrecy of his subject and the fact that most scholarship has overlooked it, Tzalel has done yeoman work indeed.
Click Here to see more reviews about: From Ice-Breaker to Missile Boat: The Evolution of Israel's Naval Strategy (Contributions in Military Studies)
As a small nation in a hostile region, Israel has made defense a top priority. Tzalel takes a critical look at the naval branch of Israel's defense forces to consider its history, its performance, and its overall importance to maintaining national security. From a motley collection of illegal immigrant ships operated prior to the birth of the state, the Israelis have since the 1960s established a modern navy. However, Tzalel argues, the modernization and expansion of the Israeli navy has been driven more by an excess of funds and the lack of clearly defined priorities than by any real necessity.
Like most small countries, Israel has no need to command the sea during peace or in wartime. The author examines each step of naval development by direct correlation to the perceived need for each new phase and the circumstances that led naval and military leaders to make specific choices, and he discusses the benefits of these choices on the field of battle. He hopes to map the complex relationship between the navy men, the Israeli government, and public sentiment. Although the nation has managed to create a new and impressive class of warship, the Sa'ar FAC(M) and its larger derivatives, Tzalel contends that the military logic behind such naval construction was faulty and that the nation's submarine flotilla constitutes a sheer waste of monetary and human resources.
0 comments:
Post a Comment