Book Review: Yes, It's Possible, by Ehud Diskin
When I think of memoirs that are interesting and worth reading, I think of memoirs of world leaders, of people who changed the world with an innovation, of celebrities who saw much and affected much.
Ehud Diskin doesn't have all that, and when I fist started reading Yes, It's Possible, I was thinking to myself - why shuold I be interested? Who are you to write a memoir? Everybody experiences thing sin his life, and what makes your memoir worth reading? Does this mean I can write a memoir? Sort of like a "who do you think you are" question.
Yet, Yes, It's Possible was a very interesting, and captivating book.
And, yes, I realized that even if we are not all world leaders or people changing the world, we all have interesting stories to tell, interesting experiences to learn from, and even us nobodies have changed the world somewhat and have the ability to do so more.
There were three things in Particular I liked about Diskin's book.
1. Ehud Diskin was born in Jerusalem a few years before the formation of the State of Israel. Diskin grew up religious, in Jerusalem, at the time. The story is partially the story of the State of Israel. Diskin describes his memories of his childhood at the time. Fascinating. I love reading the histories of people at the time with their first-hand accounts of what the times were like. This also includes the larger portion of the book where he remembers his considerable time in the IDF, and specifically the parts where he describes his roles in the various wars.
2. While describing his role in the IDF, I found it fascinating how he advanced to the rank of full Colonel (how he advanced more than the fact that he advanced). Diskin told them what he wanted, what he expected, and they complied. His rise in the ranks was definitely not the standard way it works. Part of the time he was continuing to rise as an external contractor. Diskin made demands, demands that to the reader seem unreasonable, but he was good at his job and that gave him the power to make those demands. It shows that not everything needs to be done in the conventional way.
3. In the later portion of the book, Diskin describes how he went into the business world and eventually succeeded, after some very difficult periods. While he had some connections from the army that helped along the way, Diskin was a self-made successful businessman, and his insights and memories along the way describing how it happened are interesting. Especially how he did not wallow in his failures - either his personal failures (e.g. failed relationships) or his business failures, and always found a way to turn things around for himself.
Even though Ehud Diskin is not a world leader, he has a very interesting, and fascinating at times, tale to tell in Yes, It's Possible.
Buy Yes, It's Possible from Gefen Publishing
Buy Yes, It's Possible from Amazon
NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.
------------------------------------------------------ Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel ------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.
Book Review: Yes, It's Possible, by Ehud Diskin
When I think of memoirs that are interesting and worth reading, I think of memoirs of world leaders, of people who changed the world with an innovation, of celebrities who saw much and affected much.
Ehud Diskin doesn't have all that, and when I fist started reading Yes, It's Possible, I was thinking to myself - why shuold I be interested? Who are you to write a memoir? Everybody experiences thing sin his life, and what makes your memoir worth reading? Does this mean I can write a memoir? Sort of like a "who do you think you are" question.
Yet, Yes, It's Possible was a very interesting, and captivating book.
And, yes, I realized that even if we are not all world leaders or people changing the world, we all have interesting stories to tell, interesting experiences to learn from, and even us nobodies have changed the world somewhat and have the ability to do so more.
There were three things in Particular I liked about Diskin's book.
1. Ehud Diskin was born in Jerusalem a few years before the formation of the State of Israel. Diskin grew up religious, in Jerusalem, at the time. The story is partially the story of the State of Israel. Diskin describes his memories of his childhood at the time. Fascinating. I love reading the histories of people at the time with their first-hand accounts of what the times were like. This also includes the larger portion of the book where he remembers his considerable time in the IDF, and specifically the parts where he describes his roles in the various wars.
2. While describing his role in the IDF, I found it fascinating how he advanced to the rank of full Colonel (how he advanced more than the fact that he advanced). Diskin told them what he wanted, what he expected, and they complied. His rise in the ranks was definitely not the standard way it works. Part of the time he was continuing to rise as an external contractor. Diskin made demands, demands that to the reader seem unreasonable, but he was good at his job and that gave him the power to make those demands. It shows that not everything needs to be done in the conventional way.
3. In the later portion of the book, Diskin describes how he went into the business world and eventually succeeded, after some very difficult periods. While he had some connections from the army that helped along the way, Diskin was a self-made successful businessman, and his insights and memories along the way describing how it happened are interesting. Especially how he did not wallow in his failures - either his personal failures (e.g. failed relationships) or his business failures, and always found a way to turn things around for himself.
Even though Ehud Diskin is not a world leader, he has a very interesting, and fascinating at times, tale to tell in Yes, It's Possible.
Buy Yes, It's Possible from Gefen Publishing
Buy Yes, It's Possible from Amazon
