This is hardly the first time the child of an Israeli politician has written about his or her parent. Yaakov Sharett edited and published the personal diary of his father, Moshe Sharett, the second prime minister of Israel, and it would be difficult to overstate the importance of this volume. Ofra Nevo-Eshkol wrote a book about the humor of Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, in which she humanizes her father, and Yael Dayan wrote “My Father, His Daughter,” which candidly depicts the riotous sexual behavior of her father, Moshe Dayan.
Gilad Sharon’s “Sharon: The Life of a Leader” differs from these works in that it is a detailed and heavily documented biography of sorts. Ariel Sharon held onto everything, including the scribbled notes passed to him by colleagues at cabinet meetings. It serves as an unmitigated statement of defense for its subject. The book is dedicated “To my beloved wife and children, my brother, my mother, those who preceded us, and especially for you, Dad – you are the hero of the book, the hero of our lives.” The dedication is the first indication that in this book, the author is attempting to fill the role of the late Uri Dan, the most illustrious of the propagandists whom Sharon employed in his byzantine court.
Brave, daring – and contentious
For better or for worse, Ariel Sharon played a significant role in the annals of the State of Israel. In the first part of his public life he was a soldier and general who fought in every war and became renowned as a brave military leader and a daring strategist. At the same time, he was also considered a quarrelsome and contentious person who was incapable of respecting authority, did not always speak the truth, and was wont to be involved in blood-spattered incidents.
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