Israel in the Middle East: Documents and Readings on Society, Politics, and Foreign Relations, Pre-1948 to the Present (The Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry Series)

The book is a fine addition to our library and arrived early, which was nice. But who at Amazon thought it was a good idea to send this large paperback book in a (slightly) padded envelope with no shrink wrap or cardboard supports? New $44 book arrived with corners bumped. Bummer.

Textbook cost more at the school bookstroe, but shipping pushes it over the logic for savings.

was what I expected.

Thanks

I took off one star for the editors allowing their Left leaning bias to show through at times, although it was, to their credit, very subtle. It is a collection of documents -- Israeli, American, and Arab -- that vividly show the miraculous nature of Israel's survival and thriving.The documents take the reader through the herculean struggles, against all odds, of Israel's wars for survival, of massive immigrant settlement with extremely tight resources, and of finding fickle friends in international politics. Israel's leaders come through as desperate for peace and friendship at almost any price; the Americans as well-meaning, but often indecisive; and the Arabs as able to work together to articulate a goal and stick to it over time. It was amazing to see, for example, how the strategy of creating a homeless Palestinian people and using them, along with oil embargoes, to isolate and de-legitimize Israel, was actually promulgated in Arab conferences more than forty years ago.All in all, one of the best books for getting a sense of Israel's history that I have seen so far.

A useful book for its many source documents. However the editors' commentary is sometimes insufferable propaganda with no place in a serious reference work. For example, miraculously, the editors leave Israel completely out of the equation in explaining the Palestinians' loss of control over their lives (p87), and state that a Palestinian neighborhood in Haifa was empty and available for immigrants because the Palestinians "deserted" it in 1948-49 (p164). One's political views are irrelevant here --- this is simply nonsense.

I ordered the book at the beginning of my winter quarter for an Israel class. It got to me within a week and a half and I used the regular shipping option. Until then I was able to borrow material from classmates. I was pleased with the book's condition and prompt shipping. Content wise it is great as a tool for reading the important documants of Israeli history.