Ben-Gurion's Political Struggles, 1963-1967: A Lion in the Winter Zaki Shalom With piercing insight into one of the principal figures of Zionism and modern Israel, this book explores David Ben-Gurion's political career in the years leading up to the Six-Day War and details many of the crucial issues and events the world is still grappling with. This book traces David Ben-Gurion's waning years in the Israeli political arena. After his resignation from the office of prime minister in 1963, the"Old Man" soon lost faith in his self-chosen successor, Levi Eshkol, and ceaselessly tried to undermine the latter's premiership, eventually forming a breakaway party. The events preceding the Six-Day War in June 1967 caught Ben-Gurion by surprise. During the weeks-long "waiting period" before the outbreak of hostilities, he paid little attention to daily security issues. But when war did erupt, he displayed one of his key leadership skills - the ability to formulate an accurate independent assessment of the situation. Of interest to scholars of Israeli politics and history, the book is a lucid, thoroughly researched account of the sunset years of the driving force behind Israel's nation-state. Zaki Shalom is a senior researcher at the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, Ben-Gurion University and a former Israeli military intelligence officer. His areas of interest include modern Israeli history and Middle East politics.