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Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History with Documents

Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History with Documents
By Charles D. Smith

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Product Description

Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict provides a comprehensive, balanced, and accessible introduction to the multi-faceted history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Smith’s widely respected analysis examines how underlying issues, group motives, religious and cross-cultural clashes, diplomacy and imperialism, and encroaching modernity shaped this volatile region. The book’s narrative and supporting documents, maps, photographs, and chronologies consider high and low politics with perspectives from all sides of the struggle, while the final chapters include the latest developments.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #112125 in Books
  • Published on: 2009-10-06
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 608 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
'In addition to being well written and easily accessible for students, the text is also authoritative. Smith's treatment of the conflict is fair and analytically thoughtful.' - Toby Jones, Rutgers University, USA 'The text is clear and concise. The introductions and conclusions to each chapter will keep students on track.' - John Calvert, Creighton University, USA Praise for the previous edition: 'I would recommend Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict because of its comprehensive treatment, logical presentation, clear language, and balanced discussion of a controversial subject.' - Sohail Hashmi, Mount Holyoke College, USA

About the Author

CHARLES D. SMITH is professor of Middle East history in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of Arizona. He has held numerous grants for research in the Middle East, was a Fulbright scholar in Egypt, and served as a member of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has published scholarly articles on many topics, including Egyptian Islam, Anglo-French imperialism in the Middle East, and nationalism and identity. Author of Islam and the Search for Social Order in Modern Egypt, he is currently writing a study of Anglo-French relations and European imperial goals in the Middle East during World War I.

Customer Reviews

Scholarly well-documented history5
"Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict" provides a concise and impartial history of Palestine, a topic which is the subject of much distortion and outright propaganda. Charles Smith, the author, relates the relevant historical facts, without judgemental commentary or extraneous information. His sources for significant facts are thoroughly documented in plentiful footnotes at the end of each chapter, which is probably why this book is often used as a text in university courses.

Smith's factual and scholarly approach to such a sensitive topic contrasts sharply with that of Mitchell Bard, author of the ubiquitous, though propagandistic, "Idiot's Guide to the Middle East Conflict", which sets a new standard for one-sided apologetics. Bard has worked for AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group, and one of the most effective and powerful lobbying groups in America.

Some of the facts impartially reported by Smith invariably collide with popular misconceptions, which probably explains the defensive reactions reflected in some of the above polemical reviews of the book. In summary, if you want to know what events have led to the current situation in Palestine, without judgement of either side, read Smith's book.

Actually, it's almost balanced.4
Smith's book provides good detail on plenty of issues and benefits from attempting to be balanced even if he tends to blame Israel more for problems , especially in the last 30 years. Essentially, Smith tries to give the flavor of how each side sees events, rather than doing all the interpretation for you. While more entrtaining, David Fromkin's 'A Peace to End all Peace' in no way treats the Palestinians as having legitimate interests, while Noam Chomsky's books have no empathy for the Israeli position. Another author with a fairly balanced perspective is Itamar Rabinovich.

Excellent, objective introductory text5
Much ink and paper has been wasted on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by propagandists claiming to be historians, so it is a rare pleasure to actually come across a solid, objective and even-handed introductory text such as this that anyone can use to gain an insight into the root causes of this conflict. Unlike the author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Middle East Conflict", the author of this book has no personal involvement with either side, and he does not try to spin-doctor, excuse or justify the atrocities committed by either said in this long historical conflict.