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Rating: 
Summary: This stinks.
Review: I didn't like this book. I thought it was boring.
Rating: 
Summary: Most even-handed book on the conflict I've read
Review: I have read a few books on the Arab-Israeli conflict (and skimmed many more), and was pleasantly surprised at this one. Most books on this subject are clearly biased one way or the other and ridden with propaganda. I found this book to be one of the few (if not the only) that was balanced and gave equal time to both sides. Neither side is potrayed as innocent victims (because neither side in this conflict is innocent), nor is either side portrayed as bloodthirsty demons. Believe me, if you've spent any time looking at books on the Arab-Israeli conflict, you will know that this is truly rare. There is an abundance of primary source material included, which many books do not provide. Overall I found the book to indeed be concise (as the title claims), informational, and easy to read. This would be an excellent background book for anyone who knows nothing about the conflict in the Middle East and would like to learn more without being fed huge amounts of propaganda by either side. Anyone who already knows a great deal about the history of the area would probably be bored by this book, because it doesn't offer a great deal of analysis or theory, just information.
Rating:
Summary: Most even-handed book on the conflict I've read
Review: If you want clarity, balance, and documentation on the Arab-Israeli conflict during the 20th Century, this is a very useful resource. It contains dozens of documents from both sides and the middle: the speeches of political leaders, peace treaties, letters, political declarations, UN agreements. If you want numbers -- population figures, finances, maps,-- and words from the mouths of the chief statesmen, along with a systematic if somewhat dry narrative of the political events that have shaped modern ME history, this book gives a very good overview. I have found it extermely useful in discussing the subject with friends. If, however, you're looking for Lawrence of Arabia, as some of the reviewers below appear to have been, well, there's always Hollywood video.
Rating: 
Summary: A useful, fair-minded reference.
Review: If you want clarity, balance, and documentation on the Arab-Israeli conflict during the 20th Century, this is a very useful resource. It contains dozens of documents from both sides and the middle: the speeches of political leaders, peace treaties, letters, political declarations, UN agreements. If you want numbers -- population figures, finances, maps,-- and words from the mouths of the chief statesmen, along with a systematic if somewhat dry narrative of the political events that have shaped modern ME history, this book gives a very good overview. I have found it extermely useful in discussing the subject with friends. If, however, you're looking for Lawrence of Arabia, as some of the reviewers below appear to have been, well, there's always Hollywood video.
Rating:
Summary: This stinks.
Review: It was boring. I got nothing out of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Gives equal time to truth and lies
Review: Let's start with the good things about this book. It has extensive quotes from no less than 67 documents that are relevant to the conflict, along with five tables, two charts, and 23 maps. And it does supply plenty of facts.
But this book completely misses the big picture, partially due to bias and partially due to poor scholarship. Absurdly irrelevant events, such as Arafat saying (for the thirtieth time) that he might do something to promote peace, are given star treatment when they deserve no mention at all. Major aspects of the conflict, such as the training of a generation of Arabs to be nihilistic antisemites, get little attention. It is taken for granted that small details about borders are the main issues: the possibility that the fight is over something as fundamental as human rights is discounted.
The authors explicitly realize that the task of the historian is to determine truth, explain it, weed out lies, infer as yet unknown details, and predict the future. They simply fail in that task. Not only do they implicitly accept many manifest fabrications (only to take out their suspicions on those who ought not be mistrusted without good cause), they often fail to distinguish between errors of judgment and outright malice. It is sad to see such problems with what could have been a far more useful reference.
Rating: 
Summary: A new definition to the word boring
Review: The book gives new definition to the word boring. Anybody with sleeping problems will sleep within fifteen minutes. It get three stars for all the information you can find in there, but it is told in a very boring way. All figures will probably be correct, but next time can it be presented in a way which makes it more fun and interesting to read???
Rating:
Summary: The Search for Peace in the Middle East
Review: This accurate and concise chronology of events includes the texts of basic documents. It is an invaluable, in fact nearly indispensable reference for those interested in the history of Israel and relations between Israel and her Arab neighbors. Note that the Third Edition was released in 1998. A Fourth Edition covering the last two years of the Netanyahu period and the efforts at progress under Barak will be welcome indeed.
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