Lone Soldiers

They pick up and leave family, friends, home, cars, first-tier universities, and often top jobs for a land in which, in most cases, they don't have relatives, and are unfamiliar with the language, culture, food, and mentality. Once there, they choose one of the harshest, most difficult frameworks possible in which to immerse themselves: the army. They are Israel's lone soldiers. Lone Soldiers: Israel's Defenders from Around the World tells a tale, engagingly written by Jerusalem Post diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon, with accompanying pictures by noted photographer Ricki Rosen. This book tells the personal stories of fourteen of these volunteer lone soldiers - including one, Michael Levin, who fell in the Second Lebanon War - and of an ''old school'' kibbutznik, Lt.-Col. (res.) Tzvika Levy, known as the ''father of the lone soldiers,'' whose life mission is to take them under his wing and make their landing in Israel and the IDF as painless as possible. Their stories are living proof of Israel's enduring strength and Zionism's vibrant appeal.