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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Well-written personal narrative that gives context, opinions, and a foundation on which he makes claims at the end of the book. Interesting minority perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and an interesting read after reading about historical events of the period.
I was given this book by a Jewish activist who supported the rights of the Palestinian people and opposed the Israeli occupation. It's a fascinating book from the perspective of the son of an Israeli military strategist leader whose views on what the army he created was doing to the Palestinian people evolved over time until he became an outspoken opponent of the occupation. That influenced his son, the author, to also become an outspoken opponent of the Israeli occupation of Israel. This book tells the story of that self-realization by the author, who was himself a member of the IDF. It's a sad reality check about what's really happening in Israel/Palestine from an author who had access to all the inside information. Great book. It is a fairly easy read, too, despite the heavy content.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I really enjoyed Miko Peled's perspective, especially as someone who is not Palestinian or Israeli. I do wish there had been more context provided to the relationship between the US and Israel, the political influence in the US with AIPAC, and the development of Hamas and how it was funded. That being said, I feel like he could write a second book now with all that has happened recently and detail the history of the making of Israel in a lot more contextual depth. As this was a memoir I can see why those topics were not covered, but I think it could be of value today.
Utterly remarkable book. Peled possesses a courage of honesty that is refreshing. I admit after the first third, I was not sold. But gradually he reveals more truths about the occupation and it is impossible to deny the brutality of the Israeli regime. There never was any intention of recognizing Palestine, of a Two-State Solution, or of treating Palestinians as humans, let alone as equals.
This book is simple in its writing, and effective in its message. The humanity runs throughout and it is immensely informative without being overwhelming or too much. I found the rather shifting narrative well articulated and the people introduced becoming fully realized characters in my head. Recommend completely.
Such a humanistic perspective of such heartache. This book teaches without patronizing, corrects workout blaming, and rethinks without apologizing. It takes a big heart to explore a narrative that directly contradicts the one you were raised to believe but Peled explores with a sense of responsibility and compassion. Politically informative but also extremely readable because the narrative and events are deeply connecting.
The first half about the General was rather slow moving; the second part about the son moved better. Of course it makes sense that there is more detail to one's own experience than what is available when telling someone else's, even one's father. The General's Son overlaps another book I read; I realized that the description of Rami's action after his daughter was killed in a suicide bomb attack sounded familiar. I had read elsewhere of an organization for bereaved families both Israeli and Palestinian, and of two men, an Israeli and a Palestinian, who traveled to speak together. Could this be the same Israeli man? I pulled up a record of the novel (based in fact) Apeirogon to see. Sure enough, Rami, whose daughter Smadar had been killed, was the Israeli of the pair. I recommend reading both books!
The journey to seeing the "other" as friend was encouraging. It is not enough alone, but it certainly is an important ingredient in the search for peace. It was interesting to read Miko Peled's argument for a one-state solution in this time where the two-state is being revived.
The journey to seeing the "other" as friend was encouraging. It is not enough alone, but it certainly is an important ingredient in the search for peace. It was interesting to read Miko Peled's argument for a one-state solution in this time where the two-state is being revived.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced