The obituaries of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon touch on virtually every aspect and character trait—from the physical courage, military acumen, and political wisdom to the sense of humor, warmth, and prodigious appetite—of the nearly legendary statesman and soldier who died today at the age of 85. His was one of the exemplary lives on the 20^th century, and the last of Israel’s founding generation who nonetheless understood that much remained to be done. For instance, in the New York Times obituary, Ethan Bronner quotes the former prime minister in an April 2001 interview with Haaretz: “The war of independence has not ended … The end of the conflict will come only when the Arab world recognizes the innate right of the Jewish people to establish an independent Jewish state in the Middle East. And that recognition has not yet come.”

Other notable reminiscences of Sharon include Benny Morris writing for Tablet, where there’s also a brief interview with former Sharon aide Raanan Gissin. The Times of Israel features a solid recap of Sharon’s career, while Benjamin Kerstein, writing at the Tower, explains how Israel will long live under the shadow that Sharon casts over it.  Tom Gross has a thorough round-up at his Mideast Dispatch website, and Jeffrey Goldberg writes of his several meetings with Sharon through the years.  “Once, we captured a Lebanese fishing boat,” Sharon told Goldberg. “We filled it with Lebanese food and newspapers and we put our soldiers in it, dressed as Arabs, who spoke Arabic. And they landed on the beach in Gaza, and the Palestinians hid them. They thought they were their people, fugitives. And we were pursuing them ourselves, making believe they were hunted terrorists. The Palestinians took them to meet an important group of terrorists in the northern part of the Gaza district. And when they met them our soldiers killed them. Then they were evacuated out of Gaza. You have to think of things like that. You have to be creative.”