"An excellent tool in Middle Eastern politics classes [and] an intellectual resource for experts who want to learn more about the complexities of Israel."— Reading ReligionAmericans debate constantly about Israel, its place in the Middle East, and its relations with the United States. Essential Israel examines a wide variety of complex issues and current concerns in historical and contemporary contexts to provide readers with an intimate sense of t...

Nearly 125 years after the First Zionist Congress in August 1897, Theodor Herzl remains Israel’s iconic founder. Herzl was not the first to say that “the Jews are a people,” or that this harassed, belittled, detested, oppressed people needed a state in their homeland. But he said it in the right way at the right time. His efforts solidified the Zionist idea and launched the Zionist movement, which came to fruition half a century later, in 1948, with the founding of the State of Israel. In ...

Since October 7, many students—and their parents—have been reeling. Hamas's rampage through Israel unleashed waves of anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, and anti-Americanism—which had been building for decades, especially on campus. In these letters to his students, Professor Gil Troy, American presidential historian and Zionist activist, pushes back against the growing despair regarding America and the assault on Zionism, Israel, and the Jews.Recounting the journey he and his family too...

For most first ladies, their years in the White House are their sole claim to fame. For one—Hillary Rodham Clinton—that tenure was just another step in a remarkable political career. Neither a “hit job” nor a facile tribute, Gil Troy’s lively and refreshingly nonsensational new book provides a revealing look at arguably the most polarizing First Lady in history and undoubtedly the most prominent American woman of our time.Troy, named by History News Network one of America’s Top 15 ...

Some see the 1980s as a Golden Age, a "Morning in America" when Ronald Reagan revived America's economy, reoriented American politics, and restored Americans' faith in their country and in themselves. Others see the 1980s as a new "Gilded Age," an era that was selfish, superficial, glitzy, greedy, divisive, and destructive. This multifaceted exploration of the 1980s brings together a variety of voices from different political persuasions, generations, and vantage points. The volume feature...

A classic account of courage, integrity, and most of all, belongingIn 1977, Natan Sharansky, a leading activist in the democratic dissident movement in the Soviet Union and the movement for free Jewish emigration, was arrested by the KGB. He spent nine years as a political prisoner, convicted of treason against the state. Every day, Sharansky fought for individual freedom in the face of overt tyranny, a struggle that would come to define the rest of his life.

Nearly 125 years after the First Zionist Congress in August 1897, Theodor Herzl remains Israel’s iconic founder. Herzl was not the first to say that “the Jews are a people,” or that this harassed, belittled, detested, oppressed people needed a state in their homeland. But he said it in the right way at the right time. His efforts solidified the Zionist idea and launched the Zionist movement, which came to fruition half a century later, in 1948, with the founding of the State of Israel. The...

A political historian's insightful and engaging assessment of President Clinton, his administration, and the turbulent era he helped define.The 1990s saw seismic shifts in culture, politics, and technology that radically altered the way Americans did business, expressed themselves, and thought about their role in the world. At the center of it all was Bill Clinton, the charismatic yet flawed Baby Boomer president and his polarizing yet popular wife Hillary.Wi...

The most comprehensive Zionist collection ever published, The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland—Then, Now, Tomorrow sheds light on the surprisingly diverse and shared visions for realizing Israel as a democratic Jewish state. Building on Arthur Hertzberg’s classic, The Zionist Idea, Gil Troy explores the backstories, dreams, and legacies of more than 170 passionate Jewish visionaries—quadruple Hertzberg’s original number, and now including women, mizrachi...

Nearly 125 years after the First Zionist Congress in August 1897, Theodor Herzl remains Israel’s iconic founder. Herzl was not the first to say that “the Jews are a people,” or that this harassed, belittled, detested, oppressed people needed a state in their homeland. But he said it in the right way at the right time. His efforts solidified the Zionist idea and launched the Zionist movement, which came to fruition half a century later, in 1948, with the founding of the State of Israel. Eve...

George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy-most would agree their presidencies were among the most successful in American history. But what made these very different men such effective leaders? According to presidential historian Gil Troy, these presidents succeeded not because of their bold political visions, but because of their moderation. Although many of the presidential hopefuls for 2008 will claim to be moderates, the word cann...

"They called it the Reagan revolution," Ronald Reagan noted in his Farewell Address. "Well, I'll accept that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense." Nearly two decades after that 1989 speech, debate continues to rage over just how revolutionary those Reagan years were. The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction identifies and tackles some of the controversies and historical mysteries that continue to sw...