SIGNED BY BEN-GURION IN HEBREW

BEN-GURION, David. Israel: Years of Challenge. Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem: Massadah—P.E.C. Press, (1963). Octavo, original orange cloth, original dust jacket. $3500.

First edition of this history of modern Israel, signed on the half title in Hebrew by David Ben-Gurion.

"Foremost among the founding fathers of modern Israel," David Ben-Gurion drafted Israel's Declaration of Independence, serving afterwards as the new nation's first Prime Minister and subsequently as Minister of Defense (Encyclopedia Judaica). "Considered one of the most scholarly heads of state in human history," Ben-Gurion was also a prolific author; few were better qualified to write a "personal history" of Israel (New Jewish Encyclopedia, 48). This history precedes Ben Gurion's Israel: A Personal History, and thus focuses on the period prior to the Six Day War, when Israel was still in the process of defining itself. Of particular interest is Ben-Gurion's discussion of the southern desert lands and their fate as well as his hopes for international relations with Asia and Africa. Institutional sticker on front pastedown.

Book fine, dust jacket with a bit of rubbing to spine. A near-fine signed copy.