A fascinating new one-volume history of Israel by the eminent Israeli historian Anita Shapira explains Arab thinking about partition back in 1947 and the many other unexpected and real events that have comprised Israel’s history from the beginnings of the Zionist movement in the 1890s through the second intifada in 2001. Unlike other histories that often tell Israel’s story by jumping from one war to the next, this one, called “Israel: A History” (Brandeis University Press), captures the nation’s diversity and cultural richness along with its existential struggles.