In 1954 reporter Uri Dan met a young military commander named Ariel Sharon and followed him closely for more than half a century. Dan became Sharon's trusted advisor and a witness to the defining moments of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--from secret meetings with heads of state to open warfare in the Sinai. This riveting combination of political history, narrative biography, interviews, and correspondence sheds new light on the conflict in the Middle East and provides an intimate, definitive portrait of Ariel Sharon--a man whose life is inextricably intertwined with Israel's destiny. With Hamas governing Palestine, Ariel Sharon gravely ill and the party he founded, the Kadima, in control of the Knesset, this book couldn't be more timely.
“interesting and revealing…” —The New York Post
“Whenever I needed to reach Ariel Sharon in a hurry, I would call Uri Dan and he would hand his cell phone to Arik. Uri was closer to this great Israeli than any other adviser or unabashed journalistic supporter, and their 50 year collaboration comes through loud and clear in this insider's biography.” —William Safire
“In his poignant and fascinating new book, Dan has drawn from over 50 years of personal memories to produce insightful, indeed loving, snapshots of the life of Ariel Sharon, one of the most significant and remarkable personalities in modern Jewish History. . . . Authenticity shines through Dan's book . . . [his] descriptions of combat ring true. . . . Dan's Sharon embodies the saga of Israel: personal tragedy, heroism, a wrestling with timeless moral issues, and above all, a struggle for survival as a Jew in a Jewish State.” —Robert Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York County
“The words you have written over a period of more than fifty years captivatingly recount a personal experience that few others have enjoyed. Better still: they have timelessly captured the crucial moments in the historic process of the rebirth of the Jewish nation in its country.” —Ariel Sharon
“A book of conversations with Sharon that takes readers through his words and thought processes during the events that became integral parts of Israel's history, as if they were proverbial fly on the wall.” —The Jerusalem Post