Rating: 
Summary: A decidedly one-sided view of the Arab-Israel Conflict
Review: Mr. David's effort is an unashamedly one-sided portrait of the Arab-Israeli conflict in which he paints the Israelis as a war-mongering, terroristic people. On the other hand, Mr. David can say no wrong of the Palestinian people. A simplistic approach to this conflict, Mr. David's work is not recommended for those who have no background in this area. For those who do, Mr. David's decidedly partisan views will either amuse or inufriate
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent effort although many will not like its conclusions
Review: This is a book written for ignoramuses and prides itself as such. Written in an unabashedly populist style the author takes the approach of a regular guy trying to get to the bottom of what the Arab-Israeli conflict is all about. Quite correctly he concludes that the essential problem is that, however you look at it, the issue is one of land. In Palestinian and most Arab eyes, Zionists simply have taken the indigenous population's lands by hook or by crook and now rule a land in which they are relatively new arrivals at the expense of the indigenous inhabitants. He is very tough on both Zionists and the State of Israel, at times calling them terrorists, warmongers, murderers and worse. If you can't open your mind to this way of looking at it then this is not the book for you. The author makes a point of not being anti semitic, in fact I assume the author is Jewish, but he is certainly anti-Zionist. This book is an antidote to the usual knee-jerk pro-Israel US world view that generally prevails in the West. If you are a Zionist you will hate it, but if you are not, or are undecided, then you will find it food for thought.
Personally, I found his populist language rather trying after a while and he seemed very naive. Who really is surprised to find that the CIA have done "bad things" in the past and continue to do so, for example? He seems to find it necessary to tell the readers that Arabs and Islam are worthwhile and have culture associated with them - something I would hope is a given. He is also very unsophisticated in explaining the motives of the powers involved. For example, the Cold War does not really enter into his analysis of the Arab-Israel problem at all. It doesn't make the events easier to bear, but it does help to explain the motives of those involved. In general, I found this book illuminating and a guide to further reading about the subject. If all you have read about the founding of the State of Isreal is Leon Uris' Exodus, then you must read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is one of the best written books on the Arab-Israeli
conflict. The first part of the book is on the history of the region and how it impacts on the present political situation. The second part is on the genesis of the arab-isreali conflict in the twentieth century.
As befits any good introductory text, it is well referenced and contains suggestions for further reading.
Rating:
Summary: Anti-Israel Propaganda
Review: My recommendation is that you skip this one. The authors present a wholly one-sided Israel-bashing view of the conflict which ignores most of the well documented history of the conflict.
I suggest you google instead. The only reason it gets one star is that this propaganda leaflet masquerading as scholarship has some minor amusement value...did make me laugh. Also, one star is the lowest rating possible. Ultimately it would be a shame if anyone actually believed the content of this book although I'm confident that few objective readers will fall for it. If you must read it though, make sure you go to the Israeli Embassy website to read a more balanced viewpoint.
Beware any document on the Arab-Israeli conflict which demonizes the opposing viewpoint. Also, beware of books recommended by those who *liked* this one! Whew.
Rating: 
Summary: Can this conflict be objective?
Review: First of all let me state for the record: Even more than the bloodshed between Jws and Arabs is what I detest in the relentless attack on scholarly endeavors by both sides. If you go to any book on Israel/Palestine and read the reviews you will find that each side will have complaints. Having said that, this book is different because it proclaims to be "fact" and not the authors opinion. I know, I know there are many books written by an Israeli perspective that will leave out certain important peices. But the difference is that since this is supposed to be an objecitve portrayal of the conflict, through an organization that proports to give the "facts" to the reader, this is problematic for me. Yes this book is the definition of bias. I'm happy if a person wants to write a book from the Palestinian perspective, but simple facts are just that, facts, e.g., A large majority of the Palestinians forced off the land in 1948 had migrated to Israel within the last 50-75 years (not mentioned here), this is important because it will dispute the claim that "all" Palestinians are natives to the land, like the Indians of the US. What else, I could go on and on. The best way to find the "facts" about Israel/Palestine is to first realize that there aren't any. Everything has been tainetd by a huge abundance of baiosed information on both sides. If you want to know the truth, find the extreme perspectives on both sides and curt it down the middle. It's a start!
One more thing that I can't stand is how people think because the authors are Jewish this somehow gives more credence to their anti-Israel perspective. If you follow this line of reasoning, then read anything by Fouad Ajami, Khalled Mohammed, Sheik Palazzi, Irshad Manji, etc to name a few Muslims who don't necessarily agree with the Palestinian genocide against the Jews
Rating:
Summary: Unscholarly material
Review: I can see from the other reviews that this book has an audience. But it is simply antizionist propaganda with little connection to reality. I do not recommend it.
Oh, there's some great storytelling. You'll discover that the ancestors of the Arabs (but not the Jews) lived in the area over 12,000 years ago. And founded Jericho! And you'll find out that the Jews were absent from the area for 1900 years. And much, much more. Even if such statements were true, they would be irrelevant to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
If you want to know something about the Arab-Israeli conflict, there are plenty of reasonable books on the subject. My advice for a beginners level book is "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict," by Mitchell Bard. I also recommend "Islam and Dhimmitude," by Bat Ye'or. And yet another reasonable book is "The Rape of Palestine and the Struggle for Jerusalem," by Lionel Casper.
Rating:
Summary: Best Intro Available
Review: Packed with information, fun to read, and much more reliable than many similar titles.
Rating:
Summary: Important facts for the uninitiated
Review: Arabs and Israel for Beginners was the first progressive book that I ever read, and it still does not fail to impress me. At the time I read this book I knew that the American media's portrayal of Israel as an innocent country who only attacked Arab countries in reaction to a previous attack was a outright lie, and I knew about the high amount of aid that Israel received from American tax dollars, but I needed facts. That's exactly where this book came in. In addition to learning the reality behind Israeli policy, its formation and the part America plays in it, I also learned about the history of the Arab people, my ancestors, who the original Arabs where, what they were like, and where they were located. The book gives a detailed history of both peoples, from ancient times to the present. The book is perfect for those who need an introductory reading on the Middle East and its history, as the name implies. I can understand why Zionists and Right Wingers would be angry with this book; it presents a contradiction to their most fundamental beliefs about the Middle East. It was written at a time when the media whitewashed everything Israel did to make it seem like self defense, a time not very different from now. Although the book does not go into very much detail about the American interventions in the Arab world, that would have made the book much more informative. I suppose it is only natural that this book would be labeled as anti-Semitic; there are few books that give information about Israeli violence in the Middle East and escape that accusation. For example, the book, "They Dare to Speak Out," was labeled as anti-Semitic by many, even though the writer told of the shortcomings of both the Israeli and Arab governments. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the history of the Arab and Jewish world.
Rating:
Summary: good, but slanted
Review: If, like me, you wonder what in the world the conflict in the Middle East is all about, this book is a good place to start. The facts that will astound you. The author educates with a sense of humor, and in no time at all, you understand the answer to the question of our time: why do they hate us? I recommend this book to every citizen in our democracy. For me, the "news" this book delivered was as big a revelation as if I'd just, for the first time, learned about slavery.
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