The Arab-Israeli Conflict
in Print
Recommended By Richard Herman
A brief list of histories, commentaries, reference works, and novels
by acclaimed writers. Widely available at book
sellers and public libraries. Note: Price and delivery from Amazon.com and Borders are
given merely as being indicative of price and delivery from book sellers generally. Compiled
by Richard Herman, Costa Mesa, California. August
2003.
“If you want peace, work for justice.” -- Pope
Paul VI
Histories
The Question of Palestine
Edward W. Said
A history of the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom
and self-determination written by an extraordinary scholar and Palestinian leader.
Vintage Books 1992 320
pages
ISBN 0679739882 paperback Borders
$14.95 Amazon $10.47 Usually ships in 24 hours
Bitter Harvest: A Modern History of Palestine 4th Edition
Sami Hadawi
Bitter Harvest tracks the long years of Palestine’s recent
history. Beginning at the turn of the century,
it moves through the years leading up to the fateful Balfour Declaration of 1917, through
the years of loss, dispossession and occupation, and on to the triumphs and tragedies of
the historic uprising began in 1987. With
clarity and force, Hadawi provides a work of impeccable scholarship and passionate
politics.
Interlink Publishing Group
March 1998
46 Crosby St., Northampton, Mass. 01060
800-238-5465 sales@interlink.com www.interlinbooks.com
ISBN 0940793814 hard
cover 384 pages $29.95 Amazon
$29.95 Usually ships in 3 - 5 weeks
ISBN 0940793768 paperback 384 pages
$14.95 Amazon not avail except used. Available direct from publisher.
Righteous Victims: A
History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001
Benny Morris
The author is one of the new generation of Israeli historians who
objectively write the history of Palestine, replacing
the chauvinistic, glorified histories that were standard fare for decades. Tracing the origins of political Zionism back to
the pogroms of Russia and the Dreyfus Affair, Morris describes the gradual influx of
Jewish settlers into Palestine and the resistance by its Arabs and the surrounding Arab States
to the establishment of the State of Israel. He
continues through the Arab-Israeli wars, the various
peace plans, and the two Intifadas.
Vintage Books/Random House August
14, 2001 784 pages
ISBN 0679744754 paperback Amazon
$12.60 Usually ships in 24 hours
The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle
East Conflict 6th
Edition=
Walter Laqueur
(Editor), Barry Rubin
(Editor)
Penguin USA August 7, 2001 580
pages
ISBN: 0140297138 paperback
Amazon $11.90 Usually
ships in 24 hours
The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel
and the Palestinians
Noam Chomsky and Edward W. Said
A critical and comprehensive history of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and of the U.S. roles in that conflict.
South End Press 2nd
edition October 1999 578 pages
ISBN: 0896086011 paperback Amazon $15.40 Usually
ships in 24 hours
South End Press 2nd
edition June 1999 600 pages
ISBN: 089608602X hardcover Amazon $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours
The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World
Avi Shlaim.
A comprehensive and critical history of the Israel-Palestine-Arab
conflict.
W.W. Norton & Co January
2001 704 pages
ISBN 0393321126 paperback Amazon $12.57 Usually
ships in 24 hours
W.W. Norton & Co. December 1999
670 pages
ISBN 0393048160 hardcover Amazon $22.75 Usually ships in 24 hours
Homeland: Oral
Histories of Palestine and Palestinians
Staughton Lynd, Alice Lynd, and Sam Bahour
“Highly recommended; should
become a staple in college courses on the Middle
East and Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” -- Choice
“...riveting and moving...an invaluable resource...” -- Alixa
Naff, Smithsonian Institution
Interlink Publishing
ISBN 1566561337 March 1998 hardbound 288 pages
Amazon $35.00 Usually ships in
24 hours
ISBN 1566561329 March 1998 paperback 288 pages
Amazon $14.95 Usually
ships in 24 hours
Middle East Conflicts
Francois Massoulie
The post-WW I colonial division of the Arab world stands at the root
of many of today’s conflicts. From Syria
and Lebanon to Iraq and Kuwait, state were established with arbitrary borders that
continue to spark conflicts. The
establishment of Israel one world war later and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian Arabs from their ancestral homes set the stage for a continuing region-wide
cycle of occupation and resistance.
Interlink Publishing January
1999 160 pages
ISBN 1566562376 paperback Amazon $10.50. Usually ships in 2-3 days.
In the Land of Israel
Amos Oz
In the early 1980s, Israel's
celebrated novelist Amos Oz traveled throughout his country, recording its history as
spoken by its inhabitants. First published in English 10 years ago, this timeless,
astonishingly relevant work has been updated to include events of the past decade.-- Commentary
by the Ingram company, a book wholesaler:
Harvest Books October 1993 Reprint edition 304 pages
ISBN 0156481146 paperback
Amazon $11.20 Usually ships in 24 hours
Commentaries
They Dare to Speak Out: People
and Institutions Confront Israel’s Lobby
3rd Edition
Paul Findley
The author served as an Illinois congressman for 22 years and was a
senior member of the House Middle East Committee.
A Washington Post Bestseller. The
first book to speak out against the pervasive influence of the American-Israeli Public
Affairs Committee, AIPAC.
“A responsible effort to re-assert the importance of free
speech for our national institutions and well-being.” -- Library Journal
Lawrence Hill Books 2003 paperback 404 pages
ISBN 155652482X Borders
$18.95 Amazon $13.27 Usually
ships in 24 hours
To Rule Jerusalem
Roger Friedland and Richard Hecht
The authors are professors at the University Of California at Santa
Barbara.
A scholarly book which is among the best descriptions of the of the
role Jerusalem plays in the life of Palestinians and Israelis, of the struggle to control
the city, and possible peaceful resolution of the struggle.
L.A. Times Best Book of the Year in Nonfiction.
University of California Press; July 8, 2000 554 pages
ISBN 0520220927 paperback Amazon $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours
Israel A Colonial-Settler State?
Maxime Rodinson
An important study of the historical, political and cultural
similarities of Israel, the U.S. and Apartheid South Africa.
Pathfinder Press; March 2002 120
pages
ISBN: 0873488660 paperback Amazon $12.95 Usually
ships in 3 to 5 weeks
The New Intifada: Resisting Israel's Apartheid
by
Roane Carey
(Editor), Noam Chomsky, Gila Svirsky, Alison Weir
Verso Books October
2001 320 pages
ISBN 1859843778 paperback Amazon $14.00 Usually
ships in 24 hours
Remembering Deir Yassin: The
Future of Israel and Palestine
Edited by D. McGowan and M. Ellis
“The Deir Yassin
massacre is a bitter symbol of a long history of terror and repression, to which -- to our
shame -- we have contributed in many substantial ways, and still do.” -- Noam
Chomsky
Interlink Publishing June
10, 1998 160 pages
ISBN 1566562910 paperback Amazon $10.50
Usually ships in 24 hours
Unequal Conflict
John R. Gee
“As a phase of modern Palestinian history draws to a close in
defeat, what can be salvaged? Is Palestine
doomed, or can it be transformed and revitalized? These
fundamental questions frame this stimulating and original account.
[Gee] manages to cover gracefully a
great deal of topical and analytical territory.” --
MESA Bulletin, the journal of the Middle East Studies Association, University
of Arizona
Interlink Publishing January
2002 160 pages
ISBN 1566563038 paperback Amazon $10.50 Usually
ships in 24 hours.
Blaming the Victims: Spurious
Scholarship and the Palestinian Question
Edited by Edward Said and Christopher Hitchens
From
Publishers Weekly:
The aim of these exhaustive, detailed essays and book reviews is to highlight what
Said, a professor at Columbia, calls in his introduction the "grotesque, almost
parodistic garishness" of pro-Israeli, anti-Palestinian scholarship in the West,
particularly in the U.S., where, he says, "it is as if even the narrative of
Palestinian history is not tolerable."
From International
Journal on World Peace:
”... demonstrates with cold precision
... the consistent denial of truth about the Palestinians by governments and the media in
the West ...”.
Verso Books. New
edition September 13, 2001 304 pages
ISBN 1859843409 paperback: Amazon $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours
Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege
Amira Hass
Amira Hass, nominated for the Robert F.
Kennedy Award in Journalism, writes for the Israeli paper, Ha'aretz, and she was
the first Israeli journalist to live in Gaza. From
1987 to 1996 she listened carefully and heard the rhythms of life there. Ms. Hass
painstakingly relates life in Gaza as she came to understand it from her increasing number
of contacts, most of whom were curious why a Jewish woman would come to live among them. This book is a large fragment of their experience
together. --
Allan Solomonow is director of American Friends Service Committee Middle East Peace Program in the Pacific Mountain
Region.
It is the anecdotes that strike a chord in a not-so-new book about an
Israeli journalist who, to the surprise of her nation, lived for several years in Gaza.
Like the comment made by one of her Palestinian activist friends that while the Israelis
were around, they always wore their pajamas to bed. They didn't need to give IDF soldiers
another reason to belittle them if they came storming in during the night, Hass was told.
Or the daily routine of police loudspeakers blasting Hebrew songs and soldiers' duty
schedules throughout Gaza's Rimaal and al Shatti refugee camp. In retrospect, some of the
indignities visited by Jews on Arabs are unconscionable.
-- Al J. Venter, Middle
East Policy, the journal of the Middle East Policy Council
Owl Books June 2000 400
pages
ISBN 0805057404 paperback Amazon $11.20 Usually ships in 24 hours
Reference
Encyclopedia Britannica
See entries under Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Arabs, Jews, Zionism
The Middle East 9th
Edition
Compiled by CQ Press
A comprehensive reference book covering not only the Arab-Israeli
conflict but the entire Middle East. Each
chapter covers a specific topic. There are
many maps, tables, copies of the major U.N. documents, and a chronology.
“...an excellent,
up-to-date starting point for learning about the contemporary history and politics of this
important region.” -- Prof.
William B. Quandt, University of Virginia
CQ Press, A Division of Congressional Quarterly Inc. January 2000
ISBN 1-56802-100-3 paperback 500 pages
Amazon $39.95 Usually
ships in 24 hours
ISBN 1-56802-101-1 cloth 500 pages Amazon
$55.00 Usually ships in 24 hours
Novels
In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story
by Ghada Karmi
From a review by Edward W. Said: A “stunning new book...” , “...the frank and amazingly honest story of a
Palestinian woman of exceptional self-awareness.” “...it is a story of exile and
displacement., but it is also the story of residence in pre-1948 Palestine,
rich in detail and human experience...” “Lastly,
and perhaps most compellingly, her memoir is the story of a fascinating woman encountering
as well as negotiating the obstacles and the tragedies of family life in exile.”
Verso Books
December 2002 288 pages
ISBN 1859846947
paperback Amazon $18.20 Usually ships in 24 hours
A Lake Beyond the Wind
Yahya Yakhlif. Trans. by
M.Jayyusi and C. Tingley
From Palestine.
“Yakhlif’s meticulous picture of mid-century Palestine
(down to lists of fish and plants) helps him evoke the distress of the events Palestinians
still call ‘the disaster.’” -- Publishers Weekly
Interlink Publishing March 1999
paperback 160 pages
ISBN 1566563011 Amazon
$10.36 Usually ships in 24 hours
A Woman of Five Seasons
Leila al-Atrash
Translated my N. Halwani and C. Tingley
From Palestine.
Vividly explores an Arab woman’s consciousness as she seeks to
win her independence.
“Sharp, amusing, and memorable...” -- Kirkus
Reviews
Interlink Publishing February
2002 paperback
208 pages
ISBN 1566564166 Amazon $10.36 Usually
ships in 24 hours.
The Secret Life of Saeed
Emile Habiby
Translated by S.K. Jayyusi and T. LeGassick
From Israel.
Winner of Israel’s Prize for Literature..
This contemporary classic, the story of a
Palestinian who becomes a citizen of Israel and an informer for the Zionist state, combines fact and fantasy,
tragedy and comedy. Saeed is the comic hero,
the luckless fool, whose tale tells of aggression and resistance, terror and heroism,
reason and loyalty that typify the hardships and struggles of Arabs in Israel.
“In Arabic Habiby had no precursors, and has had no
successors -- acknowledging his debt to Voltaire and Swift, he has proved
inimitable.” -- Middle East Magazine. [Apparently this magazine is no longer published.]
Interlink Publishing September
2001 192 pages
ISBN 1566564158 paperback Amazon $10.36 Usually
ships in 24 hours.
Wild Thorns
Sahar Khalifeh
Translated by T. LeGassick and E. Fernea
From Palestine.
Family life for West Bank Palestinians under Israeli military
occupation.
“Rich with insights into the unspoken feeling of
Palestinians...The translators successfully conveyed in readable English the flavor of the
Palestinian idiom and sense of humor, as well as the Palestinian determination to
survive.” -- Middle East Journal
Interlink Publishing
September 1999 207 pages
ISBN 1566563364 paperback Amazon $10.36 Usually
ships in 24 hours.
A Balcony Over the Fakihani
Liyana Badr
Translated by P. Clark with C. Tingley
From Palestine.
This novella “...effectively represent(s) war and suffering
from the point of view of disenfranchised peoples, both Beirutis and Palestinians. Recommended...”
-- Library Journal
Interlink Publishing September
2002 128 pages
ISBN 1566564646 paperback Amazon $10.36 Usually
ships in 24 hours.
Habibi
Naomi Shihab Nye
The author is a noted Palestinian poet.
A
Romeo and Juliet story, set on the West
Bank
under Israeli occupation. The protagonists are
an Arab American girl and an Israeli Jew. Directed at a teenage audience but enjoyable to
adults as well.
Awards:
The American Library Assn.'s Best Book for Young Adults, ALA
Notable Children's Book, New
York
Public Library Book for the Teen Age.
Simon Pulse June 1999 272 pages
ISBN 0689825234 paperback Amazon $5.99 Usually
ships within 24 hours
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