Rating: 
Summary: A MUST READ!!!
Review: The whole issue (Arab vs Israel)is laid out in 210 easy-to-read pages. For a pittance, you get the historical context (10,000 BC to AD 1993), you get the quotes of the men who made Israel. You find out about the Brits "contribution" to MidEast history.Perhaps most important, the author asks the SIMPLE QUESTIONS at the heart of this terrible conflict. You will be wiser, once you have read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: It's a shame more people do not read this book
Review: I bought this book and I have to give it a 1. For the simple reason that it is not more widely distributed. It is exceedingly fair, and very informative. Please, do not take my word for it. Get the book yourself, and note that every single thing the author says, who is Jewish, is backed up by verifiable facts. The shame is that these facts, while absolutely concrete in international law and agreements, have been largely ignored. The author is NOT an anti-semite, and critises that are. He is not a Holocaust denier, and he is very sympathetic to it( of course, he is Jewish after all).Just because his chapter titles are quirky doesn't mean that the information contained therein is false; read it, he backs up everything by quotes from leaders, and history that is not denied by anyone, even by Zionists. It is something that everyone should read, since US tax dollars are what fund the Israeli regime more than anything else. We should know what that pays for.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific!
Review: This book is an eye opener of huge proportions; I have never read such an honest book. Yes, he is anti-Zionist, but he defines Zionism as being the illegal appropriation of land, and the eviction of people who have lived there for generations upon generations; who can blame him? He is not racist( in fact, he is Jewish) and despises all forms of racism, which he makes clear here: Nazism, Zionism and all sorts of racism are clearly condemned for him. The facts are here, and hard to read if you do not have an open mind. As for it being silly and un researched, then why does Arthur Goldschmidt of the 'Concise Hisory of the Middle East' say, "Arabs and Israel for Beginners definitely deserves a large audience." and John Mahoney of the Americans for Middle East Understanding speak of it so well? Hard facts, supportive of freedom and justice; this is the book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: An informative read
Review: I picked up this book momentarily, and flicked through it. I was so astonished by the writer's facts, that I had to order it. He does waste a bit of time writing about events prior to 1850, but that doesn't really affect the rest of the book, which catalogues some of the most disgusting violations that the Israeli regime has perpetrated. I am also dismayed that some of the readers have chosen to attack the book with obvious lies: nowhere does Ron David behave like a racist( in fact, he is very clear on that point), nor does he ever claim that Turkey or Iran are Arab countries( in fact he comments on his wonder why other people do), he does not minimalise the Holocaust. In any event, the book is on the Arab-Israeli conflict, not the Holocaust; there is another book called the Holocaust for beginners, which also mentions how the Israelis have unfairly persecuted the Palestinians. David's book is unsettling, because he enforces every single opinion by hard facts, based on democracy and self-determination, and archives the official documents that are verifiable by any researcher. If you want a book that really shows what the Palestine-Israel conflict is about, without being Nazi-like, or anti-Arab, by an American whom I am told is of Jewish blood, then buy this. We have so much info on the few bad things that the Arabs, who are trying only to go home, do in desperation. How about a little info on the soldiers and police of the occupying armies of Israel and the struggle for freedom of the Palestinians? Here it is. The only thing is: things are actually much worse. But this book will shock you. Be advised, this a book based solely on rights granted by democracy and justice, nothing else.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed...but still outstanding
Review: I grabbed this book off the shelf almost on a whim. I had read others in the series and, although the documentary comic book style doesn't really work for me, I couldn't decide which of the dozens of more "serious" books on the subject to start with. I'm glad I chose this one. . He opens VERY strong, an does a really nice job of sorting out the ancient history. He is similary clear and strong at sorting out the more recent stuff, with the accusations and counteraccusations that fly back and forth in this troubled part of the world like Scud missiles. And, yes, as another one of the reader-reviewers notes, he is clearly anti-Zionist, without ever being anti-Semitic. That said, he makes it very clear that the book presents its facts to arrive at the conclusion, not that it was intended solely to be an anti-Zionist diatribe, regardless of the facts. I, like the author himself, and many readers of the book, had always assumed that the Israelis were the "good guys" (at least MOST of the time). I, too, had always had doubts about some things, little scraps of information and tidbits of history that didn't fit into what I understood to be the larger picture. I appreciated the book helping me to reshape the larger picture -- and, like the other books I have read in the series, helping to point me in the right direction with regard to further reading and study. . Is the book disturbing? Unsettling? Yes. I suspect that shattered illusions are as painful, and take as long to heal, as broken bones. . So why, if I liked it so much, do I only give it a "7"? The last twenty pages or so are a mess. The slow and progressive build of arguments more or less breaks down, and I saw too much of the author and not enough of the topic. It was one of the few times in the book that I felt he was TELLING me what to think, rather than giving me the facts and letting me decide for myself. That said, I couldn't help but notice the raw pain (and anger, and outrage) of these pages, as the author tried to deal with the horror of what he thinks has happened in Palestine, but at the same time not become the sort of self-loathing Jew that a couple of these other posts imply he is. This might be a really interesting topic for another book, but it distorted the end of this book a bit. . So, is the book anti-Zionist propaganda? NO. And the fact that some readers almost inevitably accuse it of being this merely proves his argument that our understanding of this region is hugely influenced and distorted by pro-Zionist propaganda. The book tries to avoid being propaganda for either side, and, as such, is bound to upset some -- especially because he does very clearly take sides stating that, in his opinion, an historical injustice has been committed (and continues to be committed). . Since reading this book, I have tackled some others on the subject (including Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem, which he doesn't mention, but which I found brilliant) -- and hope that other readers, too, will use this brief introduction as a gateway to further reading and study. As an introduction, it's very, very good. It can't, however, hope to be definative.
Rating:
Summary: A difficult, but important, read for many Americans
Review: This book will be difficult for many Americans to read only because they have been subjected to and follow a seemingly endless onslaught of pro-Israeli propaganda. This book is not entirely objective, but it at least shares pieces of history that have been woefully absent in American political discourse. People will ask you not to read this book and I don't want to pretend to know their reasons, but I imagine they must fear that you will begin to ask what justifies America's often seemingly blind support of Israel. Much more importantly, however, readers of this book might begin to see Israel as a land that has been inhabited for thousands of years by non-jewish human beings with a history and rights of their own -- A history that is denied and rights that are no longer honored in this land. Buy this book, read it, and then start paying attention to the many different sides at work in Palestine/Israel.
Rating:
Summary: Finally: someone who isn't afraid to say both sides
Review: As a student of law, it always struck me how the Israeli regime(which bears far more similarities to the apartheid regime in South Africa than a democratic one)were always so able to break international law without being forced to adhere to the law of the world. This book just shows how little people in general really know what Israel is and what it stands for; racist prejudice, lies and bigotry, that does not honour the memory of the innocents killed in Nazi Germany; it only adds to their number more innocents.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent foil to prevailing discourse on this issue.
Review: In school, were you ever taught that Menacham Begin and Yitzak Shamir were big time terrorists? e.g. assassinating UN diplomats, British Lords,...blowing up the King David Hotel to further their goals? I wasn't. Written in a casual, sometimes puerile tone; Mr. David factually contradicts many popular notions about the roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict. His thesis is that Israel, not the Arabs, has been the aggressor in the Middle East for most of this century. Furthermore, he uses the words and actions of many Israeli leaders to back his claims.
If you've ever wondered why the words "Arab terrorist" roll off the tounge but "Israeli terrorist" is almost beyond the boundary of expressable opinion; this book is for you. Depending upon your political orientation, you'll either love or hate it.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly engrossing and informative, yet casual
Review: Ron David provides an impressive, introductory overview of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Beginning with a general ancient, midieval, and modern history of the Middle East, he traces the inception and development of the Semitic civilizations. From there, he hones in on the political and historical figures and events making up the entire conflict-all the way to the early 1990's. Although Mr. David uses a refreshingly candid tone, making it an easy read, he can, at times, be a bit too casual in his approach. Personal comments and suspicions are blatantly, sometimes cynically, introduced alongside historical facts, making the work seem more polemic than presentative. However, it's still quite an impressive piece of historical journalism, raising penetrating questions. I must admit that I came away from it more informed and challenged than I had been. I believe that everyone could learn something from this work.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read! (The other side of the story)
Review: This fantastic and remarkably concise narrative of the long conflict should dramatically alter the perspective of any open-minded reader. While the style is certainly popular, the bibliographical sources are scholarly and impressive (Hannah Arendt, Noam Chomsky, etc.). This is the first time many people will hear the Palestinian version of the story, and it only takes 2 or 3 hours! The Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War are here; but, have you ever heard of the Two Week War or Deir Yassin? Clearly, the purpose of this book is to offer the facts through the eyes of the Palestinian people, who view some Israeli leaders as little better than Milosevich. In fact the author actually offers clear examples of ethnic cleansing by Israel. Balanced? Well, this book should help readers balance the popular version of history. The truth likely lies somewhere between the extremes. If you've spent years reading books like "Exodus" and "Oh, Jerusalem", spend a COUPLE OF HOURS reading the other side of the story. T
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