Reddit reviews The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East (Nation Books)
We found 5 Reddit comments about The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East (Nation Books). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
Great choice of interest - I have studied Israel for the last couple of years and it has been very interesting.
There are two books I would recommend:
Martin Gilbert, Israel: a History. Almost 800 pages, but you could read it selectively. I recommend this because I often find that in order to understand something about Israel you need to know something about its background. The conflict starts a long time before the formation in 1948 when Jews bought land from the locals.
David Hirst. The gun and the olive branch. More focused on the conflict(s), but also sets out from the time before the declaration of state. Slightly shorter and more readable than Gilbert's book.
Both of them are well known books on the subject and perhaps more likely to be available from a nearby library. They also come as reasonably priced paperbacks.
http://www.amazon.com/Zionism-Real-Enemy-False-Messiah/dp/0932863647/
http://www.amazon.com/Zionism-Enemy-David-Becomes-Goliath/dp/0932863663/
http://www.amazon.com/Zionism-Real-Enemy-Conflict-without/dp/0932863698/
http://www.amazon.com/The-Gun-Olive-Branch-Violence/dp/1560254831
http://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Palestine-Israels-Experiments-Despair/dp/1848130317
If you're looking for scholarly history research, the first books from Benny Morris like 1948 and After are as unbiased as you can get in this controversial issue. His later books, on the other hand, are more complete and include new relevant information that came since to the light, but you'll have to take into account that he went to the far-right politically by then.
If you are looking for lighter reading, O Jerusalem!, from Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins is pretty balanced (though still slightly pro-Israel). I still prefer the The Gun and the Olive Branch, from David Hirst, but the author does not hide his sympathy for the Palestinians' plight in that one. Not such a bad thing, I would say, as long as you stay true to the facts and your heart is in the right place.
Essential
Prepare yourself for some harsh comments.
Try The Gun and the Olive Branch, by David Hirst. I feel you'll like it.