The two volumes of this work comprise the first comprehensive history of the kibbutz movement in any language.

Origins and Growth covers the first thirty years of this fascinating story, from the formation of the kibbutz in the

opening years of the twentieth century to the eve of the Second World War. It is a masterly analysis of the

genesis and expansion of the kibbutzim and their relations with the world around them.

It considers not only the various components of the kibbutz movement but also the pioneering youth movements from which its members came.

Henry Near's analysis of the ideological, political, economic and social development of the kibbutz movement is illustrated throughout  by excerpts 

from historical sources, affording a wealth of colorful insights into the changing quality of kibbutz life as experienced by its members.  

It was awarded the Ben-Shemesh Prize for Historical Research in 1994.

The second volume, Crisis and Achievement, 1939-1995, extends the detailed historical analysis to

1977 and gives a comprehensive overview of subsequent developments.