My family, with all my numerous in-laws, is going on a cruise from S.F. to Alaska on Friday, so I'll be out of touch for 10 days or so.
I read a fine biography of Ehud Barak in Hebrew -- it took me a couple of months. He has had an amazing life; most of his secret missions as head of Israel's elite special forces are still secret, and couldn't be discussed, but the ones that are public are brilliant enough (hijacked Sabena airplane, Tunis, Beirut, Entebbe). Bibi Netanyahu was one of his soldiers, and Yonatan Netanyahu was his best friend -- their families lived on different floors of the same apartment building so they could be together, and their wives spent much of every day together. It's nice to know how well the political class in Israel know each other, even on opposite sides. Barak had such profound respect and love for Ariel Sharon as a soldier that he always treated him with the utmost courtesy, even while they were heading rival campaigns, Barak for Labor and Sharon for Likud.
Now I'm reading a life of Ivan the Terrible by Henri Troyat, translated from French to Russian. Troyat is very good -- thorough and open-minded; I might read more of his many, many biographies.
The book that has enchanted everyone here is Fukuyama's latest history of the world. I can't wait to read it when my father is finished. I won't wait for a Russian or Hebrew translation to appear. The father of the bride at the above wedding, for example, called Fukuyama to tell him how much he reveres the book, and he said he would see him when he comes out this way next.
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