Ehud Barak served as Israel's Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001, during which time he worked to engineer a sustainable peace between Israel and Palestine. He was the leader of the Labor Party until 2011, and Minister of Defence as well as Deputy Prime Minister in Netanyahu's second government from 2009 to 2013. Before entering politics, he was a key member of the Israeli military, occupying the position of Chief-of-Staff. Barak was born on a kibbutz in pre-state Palestine. He holds degrees in mathematics, physics, and economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Stanford.
The life of Ehud Barak is the story of a warrior who became a statesman. My Country, My Life, an aptly titled memoir, is honest, captivating, and moving. -- Henry Kissinger A riveting memoir of war and almost-peace by Ehud Barak, one of Israel's wisest modern leaders. Barak describes his missions for Israel's toughest commando unit with the passion of a born soldier. The most poignant passages of this book describe Barak's unsuccessful struggle as prime minister to hammer out a peace deal with the PLO's Yasser Arafat-in what proved to be one of the Middle East's tragic 'near misses.' Barak's love for Israel animates every page of this book. -- David Ignatius, columnist for the <i>Washington Post</i> and bestselling thriller writer