Michael B. Oren’s memoir of his time as Israel’s ambassador to the United States—a period of transformative change for America and a time of violent upheaval throughout the Middle East—provides a frank, fascinating look inside the special relationship between America and its closest ally in the region.

Michael Oren served as the Israeli ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013. An American by birth and a historian by training, Oren arrived at his diplomatic post just as Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton assumed office. During Oren’s tenure in office, Israel and America grappled with the Palestinian peace process, the Arab Spring, and existential threats to Israel posed by international terrorism and the Iranian nuclear program. Forged in the Truman administration, America’s alliance with Israel was subjected to enormous strains, and its future was questioned by commentators in both countries. On more than one occasion, the friendship’s very fabric seemed close to unraveling. Ally is the story of that enduring alliance—and of its divides—written from the perspective of a man who treasures his American identity while proudly serving the Jewish State he has come to call home. No one could have been better suited to strengthen bridges between the United States and Israel than Michael Oren—a man equally at home jumping out of a plane as an Israeli paratrooper and discussing Middle East history on TV’s Sunday morning political shows. In the pages of this fast-paced book, Oren interweaves the story of his personal journey with behind-the-scenes accounts of fateful meetings between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, high-stakes summits with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and diplomatic crises that intensified the controversy surrounding the world’s most contested strip of land. A quintessentially American story of a young man who refused to relinquish a dream—irrespective of the obstacles—and an inherently Israeli story about assuming onerous responsibilities, Ally is at once a record, a chronicle, and a confession. And it is a story about love—about someone fortunate enough to love two countries and to represent one to the other. But, above all, this memoir is a testament to an alliance that was and will remain vital for Americans, Israelis, and the world.


本書為邁克．奧倫的回憶錄，寫的是他擔任以色列駐美大使的經歷，當時正值美國社會歷經劇變、中東情勢動盪，本書深度剖析那時美國與以色列之間的關係，內容引人入勝。

奧倫生於美國，原受史學訓練，後來於 2009 至 2013 年間出任以色列駐美大使，時值以色列總理尼坦雅胡、美國總統歐巴馬及國務卿希拉蕊就職。
奧倫任職期間，以、美兩國正致力推動以巴和平談判、因應阿拉伯之春及解決國際恐怖主義和伊朗核武計畫對以色列的威脅。
美國與以色列在杜魯門總統執政時建交，但一直以來雙邊關係數度緊張，未來發展也遭到兩國專家的質疑，畢竟以美關係瀕臨決裂也非一次兩次之事。
奧倫珍惜自己身為美國人，同時也自豪能為這個他稱之為故鄉的猶太國度奉獻，作者便是以這樣的情懷出發，講述以美兩國長久友好卻同時充滿分歧的關係。恐怕沒人比奧倫更能勝任鞏固以美關係的職務。他不論作為以色列傘兵從飛機上一躍而下，或在周日晨間政治節目上大談中東歷史，都顯得勝任駕馭。
這本節奏明快的書中，奧倫結合自身經歷，記錄歐巴馬與尼坦雅胡重要會面的私下談話、歐巴馬與巴勒斯坦解放組織主席馬哈茂德．阿巴斯之間關乎重大的高峰會、以及記錄加劇兩國之間緊張情勢的外交危機。

奧倫的經歷是典型的美國故事，寫一個年輕人不畏困難堅持夢想，奧倫的經歷也同為典型的以色列故事，寫他承擔艱鉅的責任。本書是一則紀錄、是一部編年史，是一段自白，同時也是一個關於愛的故事，關於一個人有幸能同時愛兩個國家且能身為其中一國派駐到另一國的大使。但最重要的是，這本回憶錄不論在過去或未來，對於美國、以色列和全世界來說都會是以美關係重要的證明。