This book only quotes leftist Israelis and Arabs. No mainstream Israeli historians are considered. The book takes a side while claiming to be an unbiased historical work.

This book only quotes leftist Israelis and Arabs. No mainstream Israeli historians are considered. The book takes a side while claiming to be an unbiased historical work.

Despite the fact that this book contains work of the 'New Historians' it contains their strongest arguments rather than their weaker ones. The New Historians have tried to examine the history of Israel in a critical matter, trying to re-examine key events and re-write portions of them due to new research. In some cases such as Pappe this has meant a distortion of the historical record, however in the case of Morris and Parsons this has merely meant a true excavation of the historical record.

This is a collection of short essays, most of which are in book form elsewhere. Parsons deals with the Druze relationship and efforts by both the Druze and the Zionists to craft a shared history, Morris examines the refugee problem and Shlaim looks at the 'collusion' with Jordan. A good taste of newish history of Israel, however some of the work is a bit dated today. This book does not stand alone, it examines a few key elements of the conflict, there are better books on the 1948 war, for instance O'Jerusalem, or Genises 1948.

Seth J. Frantzman