"Martin van Creveld's Moshe Dayan tells the story of one man and of one people, to whom he was a figurehead - a symbol of their patriotism and their determination to survive. Born in a kibbutz in 1915, Dayan joined the Hagana when he was twenty-one years old, starting a military career that saw him serve in every war fought in the Middle East from the War of Israeli Independence in 1948 to the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Twice he led his country's forces into smashing victories. Having planned and executed the one and directed the other, 'with his one eye he towers over them like Nelson over the Battle of Trafalgar'." "Skilled in battle, skilled in diplomacy, Moshe Dayan, like many powerful public figures, had a private life that was far from mundane. The book quotes from some little-known sources, including accounts written by two of his mistresses, that reveal much about his character and his life away from the battlefield. This is an honest portrayal of both the private and the public figure, which seeks to understand a man whose contribution to the state of Israel in its developing years was immeasurable."--BOOK JACKET.