The Yom Kippur War

October 6, 1973. Yom Kippur. The holiest day of the Jewish calendar. At 2 p.m. a blinding shower of high explosives rains down on a collection of concrete bunkers and observation posts sunk in the Sinai sand. Minutes later, 600 Egyptian tanks roll onto pontoon bridges to cross the Suez Canal. Simultaneously, 100 Syrian MiGs and Sukhoi bombers scream through the skies above the Golan Heights.

Burning at both ends, Israel was caught completely by surprise. In two weeks' time, the U.S. armed forces would be on Def Con III and nuclear tensions would be mounting with the Kremlin. The Yom Kippur War is a harrowing, minute-by-minute account of that fateful October when Israel was almost lost and the two superpowers stared down the barrel of the nuclear gun.

Praise

"A brow-moistening tale of nuclear brinkmanship."—Kirkus Reviews

"A superior work . . . The Yom Kippur War conveys to the reader the sheer intensity of the military and political situation of a war that Israel and the world never thought possible. With his well-crafted, edge-of-your-seat narrative, Walter Boyne gives us a riveting history lesson."—Wings

"Walter Boyne has produced riveting account of the '73 Yom Kippur war and an expert analysis of the decisive role played by [the] American airlift. A great read about one of the pivotal conflicts of the late twentieth century."—Fred Smith, Chairman and CEO of FedEx

About the Author(s)

Walter J. Boyne

Walter J. Boyne, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, served as director of the National Air and Space Museum from 1983 to 1986. His bestselling titles include The Wild Blue with Stephen Thompson and The Smithsonian Illustrated History of Flight. He lives in Ashburn, Virginia.

photo: Jan Carson

Visit Walter J. Boyne's Website

Become Walter J. Boyne's fan on Facebook

Find Walter J. Boyne on Goodreads

Visit the IMDB Page

Visit Walter J. Boyne's Wikipedia page