A State at Any Cost

As the founder of Israel, David Ben-Gurion long ago secured his reputation as a leading figure of the twentieth century. Determined from an early age to create a Jewish state, he thereupon took control of the Zionist movement, declared Israel's independence, and navigated his country through wars, controversies, and remarkable achievements. And yet Ben-Gurion remains an enigma-he could be driven and imperious, or quizzical and confounding.