Tom Segev – författare

''By some way the best history of the Mandate I have ever read, with the greatest scope, the widest research and the clearest moral sense'' JOHN SIMPSONTom Segev''s widely acclaimed work has changed the way we view the history of Israel. He discussed the three decades when Palestine was ruled by the British Empire; and Britain''s promise to both Jews and Arabs that they would inherit the land.Segev reconstructs in vivid detail the tumultuous era when anything seemed possible and everything went awry. Here are the legendary figures - General Allenby, Lawrence of Arabia, King Faisal, Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion, all participants in a multicultural spectacle of revolution and decadence, prophecy and illusion. One Palestine, Complete is a stunning history of a dramatic period that witnessed the decline of an empire, the birth of one nation and the tragedy of another - published in 2025 with a new introduction by the author.''A full and fascinating account of the murky roots of British rule in Palestine'' LITERARY REVIEW''Brilliantly written... wonderfully readable and humane'' INDEPENDENT''A magisterial account... reaffirms Segev''s reputation for courageous and intelligent honesty'' SCOTSMAN

As the Middle East conflict enters its most violent phase, Tom Segev offers a lively, contentious polemic against cherished and rigid notions of Israel''s national unity and culture. In his many works of history, Tom Segev has challenged the entrenched understanding of crucial moments in Israel''s past. Now, in a short, sharp, polemical book, Segev has turned his sights from Israeli history to confront some revered assumptions about the country today.Drawing on personal experience as well as all kinds of artifacts from Israeli popular culture -- shopping malls, fast food, public art, television, religious kitsch -- Segev offers a controversial point of view: the sweeping Americanization of the country, rued by most, has had an extraordinarily beneficial influence, bringing not only McDonald''s and Dunkin'' Donuts but the virtues of pragmatism, tolerance, and individualism. And, in the fierce battle over the future of Zionism, Segev welcomes the diffusion of national identity and ideology that has taken place in the last decade as a harbinger of a new spirit of compromise and openness.At a time of crisis, as Israelis and Palestinians retreat to their most embattled positions, Segev''s colorful, provocative book is sure to spark heated debate." … this slender book will be indispensable to anyone trying to understand current events in Israel and the Middle East." - Publishers Weekly

2019 National Jewish Book Award Finalist"[A] fascinating biography . . . a masterly portrait of a titanic yet unfulfilled man . . . this is a gripping study of power, and the loneliness of power." —The EconomistAs the founder of Israel, David Ben-Gurion long ago secured his reputation as a leading figure of the twentieth century. Determined from an early age to create a Jewish state, he thereupon took control of the Zionist movement, declared Israel’s independence, and navigated his country through wars, controversies and remarkable achievements. And yet Ben-Gurion remains an enigma—he could be driven and imperious, or quizzical and confounding.In this definitive biography, Israel’s leading journalist-historian Tom Segev uses large amounts of previously unreleased archival material to give an original, nuanced account, transcending the myths and legends that have accreted around the man. Segev’s probing biography ranges from the villages of Poland to Manhattan libraries, London hotels, and the hills of Palestine, and shows us Ben-Gurion’s relentless activity across six decades. Along the way, Segev reveals for the first time Ben-Gurion’s secret negotiations with the British on the eve of Israel’s independence, his willingness to countenance the forced transfer of Arab neighbors, his relative indifference to Jerusalem, and his occasional “nutty moments”—from UFO sightings to plans for Israel to acquire territory in South America. Segev also reveals that Ben-Gurion first heard about the Holocaust from a Palestinian Arab acquaintance, and explores his tempestuous private life, including the testimony of four former lovers.The result is a full and startling portrait of a man who sought a state “at any cost”—at times through risk-taking, violence, and unpredictability, and at other times through compromise, moderation, and reason. Segev’s Ben-Gurion is neither a saint nor a villain but rather a historical actor who belongs in the company of Lenin or Churchill—a twentieth-century leader whose iron will and complex temperament left a complex and contentious legacy that we still reckon with today.

A panoramic and provocative history of life in Palestine during the three strife-torn but romantic decades when Britain ruled and the seeds of today''s conflicts were sownTom Segev''s acclaimed works, 1949 and The Seventh Million, overturned accepted views of the history of Israel. Now Segev explores the dramatic period before the creation of the state, when Britain ruled over "one Palestine, complete" (as noted in the receipt signed by the High Commissioner) and when its promise to both Jews and Arabs that they would inherit the land set in motion the conflict that haunts the region to this day.Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials, Segev reconstructs a tumultuous era (1917 to 1948) of limitless possibilities and tragic missteps. He introduces the legendary figures--General Allenby, Lawrence of Arabia, David Ben-Gurion--as well as an array of pioneers, secret agents, diplomats, and fanatics. He tracks the steady advance of Jews and Arabs toward confrontation and with his hallmark originality puts forward a radical new argument: that the British, far from being pro-Arab, as commonly thought, consistently favored the Zionist position, and did so out of the mistaken--and anti-Semitic belief that Jews turned the wheels of history.Rich in unforgettable characters, sensitive to all perspectives, One Palestine, Complete brilliantly depicts the decline of an empire, the birth of one nation, and the tragedy of another.