Amy Kaplan's 'Our American Israel' examines how Americans have imagined Israel and how those imaginations have served American purposes across changing historical circumstances. Kaplan, a scholar of American culture, argues that Israel has functioned as a mirror in which Americans see idealized reflections of themselves: pioneering settlers, plucky underdogs, democratic oasis in hostile territory. The book traces how these images developed from before Israel's founding through the present, showing how different generations have projected their own concerns onto the Israeli canvas. Kaplan examines popular culture, from Leon Uris's 'Exodus' to contemporary television dramas, alongside political discourse to show how emotional attachments to Israel have been cultivated and maintained. She argues that the 'special relationship' serves American needs for national self-understanding as much as any strategic interest, allowing Americans to identify with conquest and settlement while disavowing their own history. The book also examines how critics of Israeli policy have struggled to gain purchase against narratives so deeply embedded in American culture. Readers interested in U.S.-Israel relations will find a cultural history that complements more conventional diplomatic and political analyses.