Comments | rekling: for them that don't know it

rekling

for them that don't know it

Dec 09, 2008 20:59

I'm going to Israel on a free "come be a zionist" trip for young Jews. This is in January.

In the meantime, I would like to catch up on my history (especially since the history the trip will provide is quite biased).

What books do you recommend about the middle east, particularly Israel or the Israel/Palestine struggle?

Comments 7

lightcastle December 10 2008, 02:08:21 UTC

Wow! Awesome.

I have no books to recommend.

I just happen to have a reading list handy. dr_memory December 10 2008, 02:10:22 UTC

These ones.

Also, ask cos if he's read anything recently worth adding to the list.

Re: I just happen to have a reading list handy. cos December 10 2008, 15:31:34 UTC

Hey, that's my list circa 10 years ago with a couple of additions :)

P.S. for some more additions, see my comment further down on this page.

anonymous December 10 2008, 02:26:36 UTC

Israel is, in my opinion, the most fascinating country in the world.
Well history in Israel is impossible to separate from politics. The best thing is to read as much as possible from good authoritative sources.

I might start with the classic Leon Uris novel Exodus. It presents one side of the story and is a bit propagandistic, but it will give you some preparation for the worldview of the Birthright group.

Six Days of War is excellent, but it may get too much into the details of one conflict for a beginner. Michael Oren's other book, Power Faith and Fantasy is not really about Israel but is a fascinating look at US/Middle East relations going back to the American Revolution.

I thought Benny Morris' book 1948 was very good. I have not read his other book, Righteous Victims. I have somehow not read Beirut to Jerusalem, but it is also a classic. Also recommended is Jeffrey Goldberg's book Prisoners and Dennis Ross' The Missing Peace.

I would read Haaretz and

anonymous December 10 2008, 02:49:43 UTC

So I'm just a random SR alum browsing the SR livejournal group ( ... )

cos December 10 2008, 15:50:22 UTC

I've read both Benny Morris books, and they're key history books about this stuff, but probably not good ones to start with. They're the books you go to when you already know what happened in general and want to learn more in detail.

Ha`aretz is my favorite Israeli paper. http://haaretz.com/ is in English.

cos December 10 2008, 15:48:43 UTC

From Beirut to Jerusalem is very readable so it might be a good entry point.

The Siege is pretty much *the* telling of "the story of Israel" from a political, Israel-centered point of view. Keep in mind what he says in his introduction: although there are others involved, this book is Israel's story, not theirs.

A Peace to End All Peace is the essential book for figuring out "how did the Middle east come to be this way? and what were they thinking??"

All three of these are fairly enjoyable to read and I would start with them.

Add Said Aburish's Children of Bethany, a well-told story of an Arab family from what is now the west bank, and how the events of the 20th century affected their lives and towns and people.

If you want to delve into the complexities of modern Israel/Palestine and the political conflicts involving ethnic & nationality issues, I recommend:

In the Land of Israel by Amos Oz - get the 1994 "Harvest in Translation" edition which has an extra chapter at the end that I think is important. Oz's debate with the ( ... )