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go2hellstephanie's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This was supremely informative read that I absolutely needed. I've never been much of a history person, but with history being made and an ongoing genocide, I needed to educate myself.
Pappé does an excellent job at providing full context about modern day Palestine and how the Zionist movement started before the Nakba in 1948.
I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about the history of Palestine.
Pappé does an excellent job at providing full context about modern day Palestine and how the Zionist movement started before the Nakba in 1948.
I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about the history of Palestine.
zbookandtea's review against another edition
3.0
Was hard to get through because of the intense focus on government and war instead of people's history. Also was somewhat biased but author did try to cover himself in the last couple chapters.
lunabbly's review against another edition
4.0
I think this is an ideal book for anyone who already has some context of modern Palestine and the struggle towards liberation. I had zero context and I took everything slowly, but there was still a lot of googling and searching to make sense of it all, references, names, organizations, etc...
I still feel that Ilan Pappé gave us the "what you need to know" about major historical events and thoughtful analyses on issues like "the road to suicide" and radicalization, common American narratives told about this region in the world.
It took me a while to read as I was digesting this information and further googling. I watched a lot of companion videos to better understand and gain a deeper analysis, and will be referring to more texts and videos.
I still feel that Ilan Pappé gave us the "what you need to know" about major historical events and thoughtful analyses on issues like "the road to suicide" and radicalization, common American narratives told about this region in the world.
It took me a while to read as I was digesting this information and further googling. I watched a lot of companion videos to better understand and gain a deeper analysis, and will be referring to more texts and videos.
cjhubbs's review against another edition
4.0
An even-handed 20th century history of Palestine. Very readable and engaging.
keithfarrell's review
5.0
Ilan Pappe is less objective in his analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than he contends in the beginning of the book, but I still found it to be an essential read, and it elucidated multiple, complex layers to the decades of unrest that I never read in the NYTimes or saw on cable news.
Particularly, I enjoyed learning about the various class divisions within Israel, especially among the various groups of Jewish citizens. What you realize in those passages is that even if you removed the Palestinian refugee crisis from the equation altogether, Israel remains a nation-state run by (at best) flawed elected officials and, at worst, far-right conservatives. It never was and never will be a Utopian safe-haven for ALL Jewish people, even if you somehow separated it from the rest of the Middle East and made it an island onto itself. As such, activists of all stripes must continue to question and doubt the actions of the political elite (i.e. assume the leadership is guilty until proven otherwise) and continually push it forward, in the name of justice and humanity.
Particularly, I enjoyed learning about the various class divisions within Israel, especially among the various groups of Jewish citizens. What you realize in those passages is that even if you removed the Palestinian refugee crisis from the equation altogether, Israel remains a nation-state run by (at best) flawed elected officials and, at worst, far-right conservatives. It never was and never will be a Utopian safe-haven for ALL Jewish people, even if you somehow separated it from the rest of the Middle East and made it an island onto itself. As such, activists of all stripes must continue to question and doubt the actions of the political elite (i.e. assume the leadership is guilty until proven otherwise) and continually push it forward, in the name of justice and humanity.
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