The author approaches the intricate process of nation-building in Israel through an examination of transformations which took place within a major development sector, rural land settlement, during Israel's first decade of statehood. Based on four years of observation in Israel, the study analyzes the ways in which this state worked out the urgent problems that confront a new nation, and demonstrates in vivid ethnographic detail how the policies thus formed made themselves felt in particular communities. The result is a clear picture of the interaction of national planning and the realities of village life in post-statehood Israel, and an original contribution to the anthropology of complex societies. Originally published in 1968. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.