The Arab-Israeli Wars

Chaim Herzog has been involved in every major Arab-Israeli conflict since joining the Haganah as a teenager in the '30s. This book is a high-level overview of each stage of conflict starting with the War of Independance in 1948.


Table of Contents

1. The War of Independance, 1948-1949
   
2. The Sinai Campaign of 1956
   
3. The Six Day War, 1967
   
4. The War of Attrition
   
5. The Yom Kippur War, 1973
   
6. The War Against Terrorism: Entebbe
   
7. Operation 'Peace For Galilee'
   
8. Conclusion

The Arab-Israeli Wars is a great primer on the various conflicts in the Middle East. While concentrating on the conflicts themselves, the intertwined politics of the region are also discussed. Each conflict is given enough background that it is presented in the context of its time, and a brief chapter is devoted to the results arising from each conflict.
The conflicts themselves seem to be discussed thoroughly but at a fairly high level. For the most part, high-level troop movements are discussed and mapped out, with smaller important actions presented as well. Equipment is discussed when necessary to understand its affect on the conflicts, such as the Soviet provided SAM missle shield the Arabs used. There aren't really any TO&Es or detailed OOBs, but enough information is given for wargamers to get started with. The maps given are nice. It seems to be a reasonably fair book, praising the successes and criticising the failures of both sides.
I bought this book for the discussion of Lebanon, and decided to read the whole thing so that what I read could be put into context. It was a very interesting read. The major affect really was a strong desire to game the Yom Kippur war in micro-armor rather than Lebanon!
The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East from the War of Independance through Lebanon
Chaim Herzog
Vintage Books, 1984
ISBN 0-394-71746-5