Written before the Yom Kippur War, and too close to its' subject to be fully objective. Nonetheless still a good biography, just not as good or current as others.
The Solitary Man on the Half-Track I found the story of Moshe Dyan as intriguing about the man as I found the early history of Israel. The story starts very early with the life of his family as early Israeli settlers. The stories that are described in the very humble beginnings of his family and their struggle to make a life in Israel form some of the most interesting reading in the book. After all, how can you separate the early story of Israeli settlement life from the man who was molded by this experience? It’s clear that this formative experience guided his treatment of the Arabs & Palestinians. He understood their ways, respected their traditions, and, he was one of the few Israeli's in the national government, and Army, that spoke Arabic and some of the local dialect. He was a solitary man in his youth and later as a military man. He followed his path, but, in the end, he fought to preserve the essence of Israeli national defense. His personality was difficult, but, his determination was there. He was a reluctant politician, but he was a superb tank tactician. The last third of the book gets weighted down with some heavy discussions of Israeli politics. This part was heavy going, I think, for any casual non-Israeli reader. We have a story here of a great man, who gave his full measure to the defense of the country he loved. Moshe Dyan was a solitary man on the half-track. This is where Moshe Dyan belonged and his country benefited from his devotion.