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Pete Sikora's Reviews > One Palestine Complete
One Palestine Complete
by
by
A fascinating read, told with acid compassion. Ok, so I stole that line from the Times' review on the book jacket. Sue me. No, actually, please don't sue me.
Anyway, the times' review is a great one liner about the book. One Palestine, Complete offers a range: street level story-telling, mostly from primary sources, to opinion. Of course, the topic may be the most argued history in the world. But this seems like a real story.
However, I don't think I agree with the thesis, which is that the pre-war brits anti-semitism, revealed as their belief that the jews were all-powerful, led them to curry favor with the zionists.
That seems suspect, and too simplistic... but the book doesn't really carry it's thesis too heavily. Only the beginning really argues this idea. The rest of it is a nice history, told from a variety of all-too-human perspectives that reveal the composit. "Acid compassion" indeed.
The book also forced me to remember that history is the sum of a lot of individual actors. Not an easy trick to pull off without boring the reader to tears with too much detail. Overall, a really great read, even if the thesis is weak.
ps the title refers to the receipt handed over from one brit overlord to another upon transfer of power. It was a joke... such cheek those brits!
Anyway, the times' review is a great one liner about the book. One Palestine, Complete offers a range: street level story-telling, mostly from primary sources, to opinion. Of course, the topic may be the most argued history in the world. But this seems like a real story.
However, I don't think I agree with the thesis, which is that the pre-war brits anti-semitism, revealed as their belief that the jews were all-powerful, led them to curry favor with the zionists.
That seems suspect, and too simplistic... but the book doesn't really carry it's thesis too heavily. Only the beginning really argues this idea. The rest of it is a nice history, told from a variety of all-too-human perspectives that reveal the composit. "Acid compassion" indeed.
The book also forced me to remember that history is the sum of a lot of individual actors. Not an easy trick to pull off without boring the reader to tears with too much detail. Overall, a really great read, even if the thesis is weak.
ps the title refers to the receipt handed over from one brit overlord to another upon transfer of power. It was a joke... such cheek those brits!
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One Palestine Complete.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
March 1, 2008
–
Finished Reading
April 18, 2008
– Shelved
