"As a case study of Project Renewal, this book will become the benchmark analysis. Lazin's examination of Project Renewal describes the role of institutions and personalities paying particular attention to the organizational context in Israel and the capacity of politicians to use institutions as instruments of political rivalry. He has sorted out the multiple layers of institutional involvement within Israel and also in the Jewish communities outside of Israel which provided crucial economic resources. That sorting out is, itself, an extraordinary accomplishment, but Lazin's book goes much further. He explains the dynamics between local and national governmental structures and describes the relationship of these structures to political party dynamics, a crucial and little understood issue even among specialists. Lazin is as sensitive to issues of style and personality as he is to organization. This is an important study for those interested in both the theory and practice of politics." — Donna Robinson Divine, Smith College