Summary of Steven Pressfield's The Lion's Gate

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

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#1 Nechemiah and I had a conversation about the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, when we were both young soldiers. We knew that war would not come to the Holy City, and neither of us wanted it to.

#2 I had two brothers who were in the Israeli military: one who died in Gaza on the first day of the war, and another who died in Jerusalem on the last day. I was constantly flying throughout the war, and I didn’t know anything about what had happened to my brothers.

#3 The Arab world had a leader in Gamal Abdel Nasser, the president of Egypt. His vision was pan-Arabism: one state stretching from Central Asia across the Middle East and Africa to the Atlantic. He wanted a modern Arab world, secular, socialist, and armed with the latest weapons.

#4 The Israeli military was very pro-socialist in those days. There were no salaries, and meals were taken in the communal dining hall. The economy was struggling to absorb hundreds of thousands of immigrants, many of whom had been expelled from Arab countries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669369158

IRB Media

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Insights on Steven Pressfield's The Lion's Gate

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Nechemiah and I had a conversation about the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, when we were both young soldiers. We knew that war would not come to the Holy City, and neither of us wanted it to.

#2

I had two brothers who were in the Israeli military: one who died in Gaza on the first day of the war, and another who died in Jerusalem on the last day. I was constantly flying throughout the war, and I didn’t know anything about what had happened to my brothers.

#3

The Arab world had a leader in Gamal Abdel Nasser, the president of Egypt. His vision was pan-Arabism: one state stretching from Central Asia across the Middle East and Africa to the Atlantic. He wanted a modern Arab world, secular, socialist, and armed with the latest weapons.

#4

The Israeli military was very pro-socialist in those days. There were no salaries, and meals were taken in the communal dining hall. The economy was struggling to absorb hundreds of thousands of immigrants, many of whom had been expelled from Arab countries.

#5

The Israeli government was constantly changing its mind about whether or not to go to war with Egypt. Every day that passed without a decision gave the Egyptian army more time to prepare, more time to bring up tanks and guns, and more time to dig in and fortify.

#6

I flew back to Israel on May 25, 1967. I had dinner with my father that night, who was visiting the fighting units at the front. Egypt now had nearly a thousand tanks in Sinai, threatening our southern border. If you were offered a post, Amit had asked my father, would you take it.

#7

The issue with Eshkol was that his intent was to preserve Israel at any cost, but the nation couldn’t be at the beck and call of the Western powers. The only way to handle a bully is to punch him in the face.

#8

Every fighter squadron, and probably every operational unit in the world, breaks down into two generations: the old guys, who are the captains and majors at the top of the food chain, and the young lieutenants at the bottom.

#9

I wanted to test myself at the military boarding school in Israel, and I wanted to be a part of the serving elite. The best of the best were not motivated by money or fame, but by the desire to serve the nation.

#10

The Israel Air Force was able to turn 202 planes into 404 by the skill of its ground crews. The only fear I felt during the waiting period was when I heard that the Egyptian 4th Armored Division had been