I got this book (and had it signed) on Election Night. Lévy had come to visit the Stanford Hillel, to philosophize with students and watch as the votes were called. A student asked him at one point how he could be so certain that the West and its allies would triumph over the rising Axis of Resistance. I remember I was struck by his response: “Of course they will. It is good against evil, the evil must lose. It will be defeated. That is what happens.”
This book will do little to convince those who may disagree with what it has to say. It presents few novel facts to those who share his positions. It is a position piece: a statement, for anyone who is interested, to read and comprehend the contours of Lévy’s beliefs.
Two further notes:
- However much of a conversational tone I believe myself to impart on my writing, Lévy has vastly more.
- I have never appreciated how vastly different the Francophone world is from its Anglophone counterpart.
I would be interested in hearing how Lévy’s thoughts have evolved in the time since the publication of Israel Alone. It is not quite that the book is outdated, but with the pace of change in the Middle East today, there is certainly much more to discuss.