A Blood-Dimmed Tide

Rating:
Summary: Amos Elon KNOWS
Review: A blood-dimmed time is a fine and worthwhile book. Amos Elon is an intellectual in the midst of the war zone. Though his book ends before this current war, he is always lucid, always eloquent and full of insights from Jerusalem.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting account of people, places, events and history
Review: Elon is gifted writer with an even-handed perspective. His analysis of history, and the people who make it, is rich and personalized. Littered throughout his reports are nuggets of little known facts which greatly enhance the reading experience. His detail of observation and grip on the facts make you trust him. Its a reflection of the author's long association + first-hand experience with the issues, and wisdom. The book variously reads like a report, biography, travelogue, and history. The one I enjoyed most was the piece on Alexandria - made wish I could see the place.

You know how it is when you read editorials of respected newspapers/magazines - hoping to get a wise and real perspective on issues - this book is a bit like that.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning insight into a complex conflict
Review: The introduction alone provides a good starting point for anyone who wants to gain insight into the hundred year old Arab Israeli conflict. Amongst other things, Elon describes the experience of reserve duty in the six-day war, Israels political paralysis in dealing with the West Bank, Gaza and the Palestinians, and economic crisis under the Begin government. The most astounding essays in the book include those on trips to Egypt and Jordan on the verge of the 1978 and 1994 peace treaties. He describes how ordinary Egyptians welcomed him in an extraordinary Cairo bus scene, with cries of "Israel good" and "Peace Good". Later chapters deal with Israels coalition governments, which themselves were a major obstacle to reaching peace, most notably with Yitzhak Shamir's veto of Peres' "Jordanian Option". This book is very "left", but doesnt stink of agenda the way the work of the "New Historians" does. Every non-radical left-wing Israeli ideologist should read it.