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by: Gregory Harms, Todd Ferry
Amazon.com's Price: $75.00 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 11 to 12 days
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.94
EAN: 9780745323794
ISBN: 0745323790
Label: Pluto Press
Manufacturer: Pluto Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 230
Publication Date: July 05, 2005
Publisher: Pluto Press
Sales Rank: 2634909
Studio: Pluto Press
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Especially after the September 11 attacks, books on the Middle East are flooding bookstore shelves. Yet, regarding the Palestine-Israel conflict -- the most notrious and ingrained conflict of the twentieth century -- the general reader is left with very little in the way of introductory explanations. The Palestine-Israel Conflict: A Basic Introduction provides the student and general reader with a comprehensive yet clear and easy rendering of not only the conflict, but the entire history of the region (Canaan and Palestine). By including the ancient background, the common assumption that the Israelis and Palestinians have been 'fighting for thousands of years' is put to rest.
Broken up into three sections -- Background History, Pre-Conflict, and Conflict -- the reader is walked through Ancient Israel, Muhammad and Islam, and on through two world wars and up to the current situation covered on the evening news. In addition to the brief history, the
reader is also provided with further direction, such as detailed citing of sources, and suggested reading lists and resources (books, periodicals, web sites, etc.).
Written in a comfortable style, people wanting to look beyond the myths and death-tallying news coverage now have available to them a balanced and accessible introduction to the nucleus of Middle Eastern affairs.
'An indispensable, basic introduction ... There is no better single volume -- [this is] objective in every way.'
-- Gabriel Kolko, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at York University in Toronto, and author of Another Century of War?
' Written with a relaxed informality, [this book] is especially good at highlighting key issues.'
-- Arthur Goldschmidt Jr., Professor Emeritus of Middle East History at Penn State University, and author of A Concise History of the Middle East
'Comprehensive, detailed, yet lively and readable ... A tour-de-force in the depth and breadth of its research and in its clarity.'
-- John K. Cooley, veteran foreign correspondent, and author of Unholy Wars
About the Authors:
Gregory Harms is a freelance writer and researcher. He lectures on the
Middle East and US foreign policy, and has traveled throughout Israel,
the West Bank, and Gaza.
Todd M. Ferry studied Syro-Palestinian archaeology at the University of
Chicago and has worked as a supervisor at both the sites of Ashkelon
and Tel Beth Shemesh in Israel.
Both authors live in Chicago.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A balanced, accessible primer on the conflict
This is an excellent primer, covering everything from scholarship about the Biblical and pre-Biblical settlement of the Levant, to the Al-Aqsa intifada.
The style of the book is accessible and non-academic -- a change when compared with most books on the Middle East -- but not "cutesy" in the style of Dummies or Idiot's books. A high school student should not have a problem reading this book, but some other readers might find the definitions and asides jarring (like the one explaining ... Read More
Rating: - The Paistine-Israel Conflict
Good quick summary of history. Necessarily limited for its brevity, but a useful primer. Reasonably balanced.
Rating:  - A detailed and fair overview of both perspectives
Of the books I have read this is by far the most balanced description of the conflict. I have purchased and read several books in an effort to get a better understanding of the nature of the conflict in the Middle East. The two prior books on the subject claimed objectivity, but but were soon to show a clear favoritism. One book strongly favored the Arab side, while the other was blatant propaganda for Israel.
This book delivered was the least biased of any I have read, providing an ... Read More
Rating:  - A wolf in sheeps clothing
I had not read a history of the conflict before reading this book. I liked the quotes on the back of the book about it being a basic introduction and being "balanced". I was a little teeny bit leery of the references to Chomsky in the reading list, but not enough to pass it by.
As I read the book, I became increasingly suspicious that I was not getting an unbiased perspective at all. One example of this is the author spending only one paragraph on the holocaust, saying that is was basically ... Read More
Rating: - Excellent Primer.
This is a good book to pick up if you want to spend a day or two finding out about what is at the heart of the Palestine-Israel conflict.
Unlike mainstream sources of US media and blatent anti-Palestinian sources of information, this book actualy deals with the social and historical issues at hand.
Read this if you want a source heavy on HISTORY and INFORMATION and light on POLEMICS.
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