# Suggest a book about Israel/Palestine

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-book-about-israel-palestine/576454>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 30, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-book-about-israel-palestine/576454 "2011-03-30T01:59:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-book-about-israel-palestine/576454/1 "2011-03-30T01:59:36Z")

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I’d like to learn more about the nuances of the situation in Israel/Palestine. Is there a book out there that gives a more or less objective history lesson about that area of the world? I hesitate to just go browsing Amazon because I don’t want to read something that is very slanted one way or the other.  
Any suggestions?

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-book-about-israel-palestine/576454/2 "2011-03-30T03:09:13Z")

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If you’re looking for some history, I’d recommend starting with _A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East_ by David Fromkin.

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**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-book-about-israel-palestine/576454/3 "2011-03-30T08:37:51Z")

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You won’t find any book giving an objective history, but although it’s rather dated, but in my opinion [O Jerusalem!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Jerusalem!) is one of the better books to start with. While it lacks some modern research, it does capture the essence of the conflict.

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**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-book-about-israel-palestine/576454/4 "2011-03-30T10:24:48Z")

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An excellent question and I’m interested in suggestions too. I have educated myself on the history and issues and confess to considerable cynicism regarding the plight of the Palestinians. But sympathy too.

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-book-about-israel-palestine/576454/5 "2011-03-30T14:19:49Z")

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RIGHTEOUS VICTIMS by Benny Morris is pretty good.

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**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-book-about-israel-palestine/576454/6 "2011-03-31T00:37:35Z")

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Thanks! I’m going to try the Fromkin and the Morris. 1400 pages of Middle East history. That should at least give me the beginnings of an idea of what’s going on.