How was it that an ancient community, so long oppressed suddenly sprang up in 1948 to beat 5 Arab armies? It was through more then 100 years of training and discipline whereby a small group of young Jews, tired of being robbed and persecuted by thier Arab neighboors, took up the gun to defend their settlements. How these romantic men, wearing traditional Arab clothes, took up the rifle and the sword and fought pitched battles with bands of savage Arabs, bent on causing terror(like they do today)vowed to protect the innocent settlers. This book details this period greatly. Shwoing how these Jews sometimes got out of hand. How they formed gorups that eventually grew into the Haganah, and today the IDF, one of the greatest military forces ever seen by the world, better then any army King David ever fielded. This is an important work that fills the gap in the scholarship dealing with the Jewish community in Palistine(the Yishuv) prior to 1948. Pick up a copy of 'Terror out of Zion' for more reading if you want to learn about truly tough Jews.