The Lion's Gate

On the Front Lines of the Six Day War

By: Steven Pressfield

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Length: 14 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

The best-selling author of Gates of Fire and Killing Rommel delivers his first work of military nonfiction - an epic narrative of the Six Day War.

June 5, 1967: The fearsome, Soviet-equipped Egyptian Army and its 1,000 tanks are massed on Israel's southern border. Meanwhile, the Syrian Army is shelling the much smaller nation from the north. And to the east, Jordan and Iraq are moving brigades and fighter squadrons into position to attack. Egypt's President Nasser has declared that the Arab world's goal is no less than "the destruction of Israel."

June 10, 1967: The combined Arab armies are in ruins, their air forces totally destroyed. Israel's citizen-soldiers have seized the Gaza Strip and the entire Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan. The land under Israeli control has tripled. The charismatic, eye-patch wearing Defense Minister Moshe Dayan has barreled through the Lion's Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, meeting up with a gang of paratroopers who have already raised the blue and white flag that frames the Star of David.

How on earth did this happen?

Only Steven Pressfield could get the real story from the fighter jocks in the air, the tank commanders through the sand, and the infantrymen on the ground. Through more than 300 hours of interviews conducted in Israel, he has written a gripping chronicle of the six days that changed the Middle East forever. He also captures the universal experience of individual soldiers compelled to stare down mortal fear and move headlong into a firestorm.

The Lion's Gate blends the immediacy of Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down, the esprit de corps of Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers, and the soul of James Bradley's Flags of Our Fathers. It will join the indispensable canon of military nonfiction.

©2014 Steven Pressfield (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Amazingly fascinating

A great production, another great Steven Pressfield book. I really Winnipeg’s the retelling of stories by actual vets, a true boots on the ground account of the Sixth Day War.

Excellent Book

This book was excellent. I was really impressed with how the author captures the experiences of soldiers and airmen who fought in the 6 Day War, as well as the National mood (if that’s a thing) during that time. I would recommend this book more to people that already know the basic history of the war but want to understand some of the internal nuances that affected Israel’s performance. Those looking for a history book of the war would likely be disappointed.

Overall Excellent Six Day War Memoirs

These are real and simulated first-person memoirs of Israeli soldiers, pilots and some of their family members from the Six Day War in 1967. The aspects I liked best about the book were the historical sketches from the 1948 and 1956 wars as well historical backgrounds of the prominent military leaders. They paint a stark picture of how alone Israel was in 1967 and how international powers had basically deserted them to be at the mercy of Soviet-supported Arab militaries. Previous good behavior by Israel in turning over the Sinai after the 1956 war to a neutral buffer zone was rewarded with betrayal and desertion by international powers. Accounts of leadership, courage and determination with intense training leading up to the 1967 war are vivid and colorfully presented. Civilian and military accounts strengthen the understanding that the 1967 war was an existential battle for the State of Israel and for the continued life of millions of Israelis.
The only negative to the book is that after the initial success and bloodiest battles, accounts drift into arrogant crowing about how brilliant, brave and superior Israelis were to opposing Arab powers. Egypt got a chance to deflate some of this bombast in 1973.
All in all, it was an excellent book that helped me better understand why the Israeli air force is considered to be one best in the world and why Israel must continue to maintain extremely strong military forces and why it is reluctant to turn over territory that has been paid for with so much of their blood.

Makes pivotal history personal

It's the interweaving of the stories. Narration terrific. One two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve.

Fascinating story

This book was a great glimpse into the struggle that brought about as real as we know it today… Told in small stories from different characters is the perspective

An interesting military narrative

Lots of interesting stories and experiences from a handful of Israeli units during the Six-Day War. Definitely not a history lesson, but you get the jest of what's going on anyway. There are many names, and much of them are in Hebrew, so it gets a little difficult to remember who's who.

A look into the character of a nation

The Lion's Gate presents personal stories of Israeli soldiers from all walks of life and various vantage points leading up to, during, and after the seven day war. What struck me most throughout the various accounts of soldiers, from those in the trenches to the commanders n the war room, were the honorable character traits evident in each of their lives: The value placed upon life, belonging, justice, loyalty, duty, and respect; the demonstrated commitment to service, leadership, ingenuity, integrity, ownership, and sacrifice for others. The reader will gain insight into Israel's historical past and unfolding history through the short but revealing stories from this six day war.

Provides deeper understanding of the complexity of winning the war

An excellent book about courage, determination and succeeding against tremendous odds. Truly inspiring.

There were many story lines being told from many participants points of view. Keeping up with the characters was occasionally confusing.

Good Read

Excellent narration.
Book gives detailed insight into the men who fought and died and those who fought and lived. For those who, like me, are not well informed about the geography of the land or scenes of battle, I Still did get an appreciation into the level of commitment and mystical, if you will, bond of being a Jewish Warrior and the cost of that. It would be much more appreciated by someone who knew the geography and Jewish culture, history.

Extraordinary in Every Way

The research, build of the story, narration and the way it was carefully stitched together from scores of viewpoints was truly incredible!