The Road to Power

Book excerpt: This is a clearly conceived, meticulously executed, and lucidly written study of the Herut Party, and it will stand for many years as the definitive study of its subject. Its major strength is the account of the turning points in the evolution of the Revisionist Party's character under Jabotinsky's leadership, and later of Herut Party under Begin's leadership, through interaction with the Polish and Israeli societies respectively. The author addresses the pertinent influences and organizations that interacted with the Revisionists and Herut and provides a clear sense of the parameters within which these parties evolved. In short, even though Herut is viewed by many, including the author, as an atypical party that adheres to myths and as a Manichean worldview, Shapiro makes sense of it roots, character, and evolution in sociological terms.