Books like Israel and Palestine by Avi Shlaim

Thomas L. Friedman’s award‑winning non‑fiction book offers an in‑depth look at Israeli‑Palestinian relations, the PLO, Israeli politics, Lebanese factions, and the role of journalism in the Middle East.

A concise, scholarly examination of the Middle East’s political evolution, tracing four phases of external influence—from Ottoman rule to American involvement—to explain current conflicts and diplomacy.

President Carter, who was able to negotiate peace between Israel and Egypt, has remained deeply involved in Middle East affairs since leaving the White House. He has stayed in touch with the major players from all sides in the conflict and has made numerous trips to the Holy Land, most recently as an observer in the Palestinian elections of 2005 and 2006. In this book, President Carter shares his intimate knowledge of the history of the Middle East and his personal experiences with the principal actors, and he addresses sensitive political issues many American officials avoid. Pulling no punches, Carter prescribes steps that must be taken for the two states to share the Holy Land without a system of apartheid or the constant fear of terrorism. The general parameters of a long-term, two-state agreement are well known, the president writes. There will be no substantive and permanent peace for any peoples in this troubled region as long as Israel is violating key UN resolutions, official American policy, and the international “road map” for peace by occupying Arab lands and oppressing the Palestinians. Except for mutually agreeable negotiated modifications, Israel’s official pre-1967 borders must be honored. As were all previous administrations since the founding of Israel, US government leaders must be in the forefront of achieving this long-delayed goal of a just agreement that both sides can honor. Palestine Peace Not Apartheid is a challenging, provocative, and courageous book.

Professor Shlaim chronicles King Abdullah's relationship with the Zionist movement from his appointment as Emir of Transjordan in 1921 to his assassination in 1951.

At the end of the Second World War, when the full horror of the Holocaust was revealed, a United Nations resolution was taken to enable to establishment of two states on the same small piece of land - a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish people accepted the resolution. The Arabs rejected it and declared war. Israel stood alone, whereas the Arabs were one of twenty-two states. The land was poor and practically unliveable: swamps and mosquitos in the north, and desert and stones in the south. Water was scarce, with only two lakes, one dead (the Dead Sea) and the other dying (the Kineret Lake). The only river, the River Jordan, was blessed with fame but short of water. There were no natural resources, neither gold nor oil. The Jewish community that lived in Israel at the time was far outnumbered - 600,000 Jews to forty million Arabs. Yet Israel discovered that it had one natural resource - a hidden one - which would turn out to be the most important of all: its people. The daring of the dreamers, the ingenuity of the builders, the courage of the fighters, the spirit of the nation, the readiness to volunteer. The former President of Israel, Shimon Peres, has been instrumental in shaping his nation. He has chosen six of the key decisions that many people considered unrealistic: the breaking of the arms embargo imposed by the US, Britain and France; the Suez Operation; the building of a nuclear reactor which could desalinate water and use solar energy; and the famously daring Operation Entebbe in 1976.