Zionism The Formative Years [Paperback]

The book's superb readability, wide contextual perspectives, and fine organization make it most suitable for classroom use...One can only look forward to the volumes to come. They promise to constitute a definitive history of Zionism. --American Historical Review

The foremost authority on modern Zionism...He is at his most brilliant in his analysis of the inner mood of the Zionist movement and the meanings, definitions and goals which its first and second rank leaders imposed upon it. --American Jewish History

A lively and important treatment of a crucial period in the development of modern Zionism, the period between 1897, when Theodor Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress, and 1906, when, Vital argues, the Zionist movement assumed its definitive shape...Provide[s] excellent, detailed accounts of Herzl's efforts to win international recognition for a Jewish homeland in Palestine...Excellent. --The Historian

An excellent treatment of the subject, far more detailed than the more general work by Walter Laqueur. --Perspective

Highly recommended to students of Zionism, Israel, and Jewish history and to all who appreciate a well-crafted history. --Orbis

Vital writes with masterly command of historical data. Anyone who now writes of Zionism seeking knowledge of the background of European nationalism will welcome Professor Vital's responsibly written book. Its contribution as a background to the study of the Palestine problem is at once evident. --The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

The first great virtue of Vital's work is that he has thoroughly digested the vast amount of material he has used, and done so with what one can only call magisterial judgment...Vital's approach allows him to give the most comprehensive account of the whole range of the Zionist-related developments in this period yet written. --Studilsö