Eighteen Days in October

The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East

By: Uri Kaufman

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

October 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a conflict that shaped the modern Middle East. The War was a trauma for Israel, a dangerous superpower showdown, and, following the oil embargo, a pivotal reordering of the global economic order. The Jewish State came shockingly close to defeat. A panicky cabinet meeting debated the use of nuclear weapons. After the war, Prime Minister Golda Meir resigned in disgrace, and a 9/11-style commission investigated the "debacle."

But, argues Uri Kaufman, from the perspective of a half century, the War can be seen as a pivotal victory for Israel. After nearly being routed, the Israeli Defense Force clawed its way back to threaten Cairo and Damascus. In the war's aftermath both sides had to accept unwelcome truths: Israel could no longer take military superiority for granted—but the Arabs could no longer hope to wipe Israel off the map. A straight line leads from the battlefields of 1973 to the Camp David Accords of 1978 and all the treaties since. Like Michael Oren's Six Days of War, this is the definitive account of a critical moment in history.

©2023 Uri Kaufman (P)2023 Tantor

gripping history

M. Kaufman has written a concise and gripping account of a complex two-front war and of the diplomacy that ended it. He has done the invaluable service of challenging the conventional understanding of the war. I came to the book believing that Israel had suffered a moral, if not martial defeat, that Golda Meir had failed as a war time leader, and that Richard Nixon had proven to be a surprising but steadfast friend of Israel. Mr. Kaufman shows that none of these views is correct. He has given me new appreciation for PM Meir's excellence in guiding the Jewish state-- a woman in "orthopedic shoes" successfully standing up, at various times, against Soviet threats, American pressure, and, of course the combined Egyptian-Syrian onslaught.
Mr. Kaufman's always crisp prose occasionally soars to poetic heights, giving striking images of war's terrible beauty. He also has an admirable sense of humor, and his wit is enhanced by the narrator's excellent timing. Another of Mr. Kaufman's gifts is his ability to relate an anecdote that captures a historical figure in a few strokes.
This book is exceptional, a great work of scholarship that is also a page turner. it is worth your time.
I would add that, at the war's end, both Syria and Egypt were not only beaten but vulnerable to further devastating blows. In the fifty years since the war, neither nation has shown any interest in a sequel. Perhaps there is a lesson here for American policymakers who want to see quiet (peace is too tall an order) in the Middle East, that roughest of neighborhoods.

Was this a lesson learned?

This is an extraordinarily well written, well read and informative book! After reading about how unprepared Israel was in 1973 and comparing that lack of preparation to what happened on October 6, 2023, I am left with a concern that some lessons are not well learned and can be repeated to Israel's detriment. Regardless, this book is fantastic! 

Ongoing regional issue

I liked the detail given to aid an understanding to the reader of a complex regional issue that may never happen until both peoples can live together inspite of religious differences compounded by land awarded by super powers that amounted to theft by those already living there.

Gem of a book - highly recommended!

I've read many books about Israel's military history, and this is one of the best.
I can't believe it has so few ratings.

First, it is obviously very well researched, and includes facts that emerged only recently. It changed my perception of the Yom Kippur war. I thought of it as a disaster, but now I think of it differently. It also changed my perception of Golda Meir and many others.

Second, it is a well written book. I found it hard to stop listening when I had to get back to work. There are well written history books; and there are well written books, period. This one is of the latter category. Witty, engaging, informative, and with a point of view. Again great writing.

Third, very good descriptions of battles, you can follow along easily; and of personalities, the main characters in this drama. Hard to find both in the same book.

Lastly, I had been listening to this because of the 50 year anniversary of the Yom Kippur war,,, and then October 7 2023 happened. Listening to this helped me both appreciate the magnitude of what just happened by contrasting with 1973 (I learned from this book that in 18 days of war in 1973, 2,222 Israelis died, almost all soldiers; compared to about 1,300 in a single day, a large proportion of them civilian, in 2023) and it was somehow therapeutic, as Israel has been in bad spots before.

Enlightening and Dynamic Read

I thoroughly enjoyed the carefully researched accounts from multiple perspectives throughout the War. I appreciated the historical context and description, balanced by anecdotes or personal remarks of figures discussed. The effect of this blend served to create a novel-like reading experience where I was consistently drawn into each chapter. Additionally, the use of maps (placed in the front of chapters) and the selected images through the book further reinforced the narrative. I am a true beginner in my studies of Middle Eastern history, but with the support of these features I was able to quickly grasp the strategic significance of maneuvers and visualize key moments. 5/5 strongly recommend.

Well, written history

The book was a very up-to-date summary of the Yom Kippur war, and provided many new details not previously published.

Another Israeli story

The history of a beleaguered nation and its story of survival. Enjoyed the details of the stories presented.

Excellent History

This is an excellent history and narration. Tragically, only months after its publication, it is both most timely and outdated.

Exactly What I Was Seeking

After reading (by audiobook) Michael Oren’s Six Days of War, I wanted to find its analog for the Yom Kippur War. A friend serving as an American diplomat in Israel told me in mid-August 2023 that he did not know of one. So I next listened to Uri Bar-Joseph’s The Angel, which covers certain aspects of the war and, especially, its run-up. After finishing that, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this book, apparently just as it had been released. It recounts the run-up to and waging of the war in lucid and, it seems, even-handed detail gleaned from a wide array of sources. The book does so with insight, drama, and at several points even humor. While it does not seem to have the benefit of the primary source material from what I assume to be Arab government archives that Six Days of War does, the author uses memoirs and other published accounts to provide Arab, especially Egyptian, perspective. American and Soviet perspectives are included as well. In addition to setting forth the book’s narrative, the author also provides his opinions (with his reasoning) on various aspects of the events that are the subjects of historical disagreement or competing accounts. In short, I found the book to be exactly what I was looking for, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning, or learning more, about this important aspect of the modern history of Israel and the Middle East. (The narrator uses much more inflection than I would have preferred, but many people may appreciate that more than I do, and, in any case, it did not interfere with my enjoyment of or learning from the book, which I was sorry to hear end.)

The blow-by-blow story of the Yom Kippur War and its complexity -

There was much, much more day-by-day, blow-by-blow battle detail than I expected. I'm afraid I tended to tune out, then suddenly reaize "Wait! Who did what???" I thoroughly enjoyed the political and personality tangles, resonating with my own struggles when in leadership, and the preponderance of strong personalities which tend to rise (push their way?) to those positions.

I remember that my high-school world civ class in early 1969 was divided into two halves - Palestinian Arabs and Palestinian Jews - and we had to represent "our side" to find a compromise acceptable to both parties. Through the whole semester, we failed (but hot good grades for valiant effort!) It was one of the most powerful classes I ever took, even through university.

This book was inside info to that struggle, and I appreciated that. The epilogue was wonderful.