Product Description

Narrates the history of the conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine since the 1880s, from the arrival of the first Zionist pioneers. This updated edition of Hirst's classic work explains why the history of Palestine is still relevant to what is happening in the region now.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107447 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

About the Author
David Hirst was for many years the Middle East correspondent at the Guardian.

Customer Reviews

Well researched and balanced history of Israel
David Hirst is a very brave man. He has chosen to take on a topic that is covered by a fog of lies, half-truths and deceit. A subject where anybody who tries to speak the truth can be sure of one of two responses. A harsh and merciless character assasination or silence. The former discredits, the latter succeeds in ensuring that the book is read by very few.

The author describes the origins of the zionist movement and provides a detailed explanation of how Israel was created, from the behind the scenes political manouvering first in the Britain and then in the US, to the brutal persecution of the Palestinian people.

David Hirst shows how the weakness of Palestinian leaders and their abject faith in the essential decency of British intentions was one of the reasons why the Palestians lost their land.

It is one thing to massacre and subjugate a people. I think that in the case of Israel this is the first time in world history, that the oppressor has donned the garb of the victim. The level of media manipulation is breathtaking; there are people who believe that it is the Palestinians who have occupied Israel!

This book should be at the top of the list for anybody who wishes to comprehend the origins of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Honest Reporting............At last
An excellent, thought provoking and well written account of the palestinian/Isralie conflict.

A must read for anyone who is interested in the goings on of the Middle East and what lies behind the news headlines we are constantly bombarded with.

David Hirst has done a remarkable job in getting to the heart of the conflict and reporting it in a honest, factual and unbiased manner.

Absolutely Brilliant!

An engaging and thorough analysis of the Palestinian Crisis
~This book is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the Palestinian Question. It is thoroughly well researched and convincingly argued, raising awareness of the origins of the plight of the Palestinian people. It documents the rise of early Zionist movement in the 1880s onwards and the gentle trickling of Jewish settlers into Palestine from the early 1900s, culminating in the flood of Jewish people from 1948 onwards and the establishment of the State of Israel. It is unashamed in putting forward the argument of how the Palestinian people have been wronged - both by Israel and the international community - it does not claim to put forward a so-called objective and neutral analysis. This in itself is refreshing, that is, for the author to make his/her position clear from the outset, rather than hidden behind claims of finding an 'objective truth'. The writer is a well known and respected journalist and it is written in an engaging manner. It was extremely informative and covers a whole century's history, and the new edition has a Forward of 100 or so pages bringing the reader up to date with the recent historic and political events from the late 1980s to 2003,including a lucid analysis of the political standoff between the PLO and Israel. As this kind of book spans a huge timescale and covers politics and history encompassing other Arab nations - Jordan, Egypt and Syria - and their involvement in the Israeli/Palestinian crisis, it means that a reader with little knowledge of this area of history may find him/herself overwhelmed. However, I would strongly recommend this book for its in depth historical and political analysis; I feel it has encouraged me to now broaden my own knowledge by reading more about the history of these arab nations, and in particular, to now read another partisan book, putting forward Israel's perspective, in order to make up my own mind that if 'the truth' can be found, where it may lie.