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The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East
 
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The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East (Paperback)

by David Hirst (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press; 3rd edition (5 Aug 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1560254831
  • ISBN-13: 978-1560254836
  • Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14 x 4.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 331,001 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

More than a decade before Israel's New Historians revolutionized the study of Israeli history, English journalist David Hirst wrote The Gun and the Olive Branch, a classic, myth-breaking general history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hirst, former Middle East correspondent of the Guardian, traces the origins of the terrible conflict back to the 1880s to show how Arab violence, although often cruel and fanatical, is a response to the challenge of repeated aggression. The Gun and the Olive Branch is an absorbing, potentially controversial, history of the Middle Eastern conflict that is indispensable to anyone with an interest in world politics and by partisans of both sides. This classic and controversial account of the origins of the Middle East conflict returns to print updated with a lengthy introduction that reflects on the course of recent Middle Eastern historyespecially the abortive Israeli-Palestinian peace process and 9/11.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and balanced history of Israel, 16 Oct 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: The Gun and the Olive Branch (Paperback)
David Hirst is a very brave man. He has chosen to take on a topic that is covered by a fog of lies, half-truths and deceit. A subject where anybody who tries to speak the truth can be sure of one of two responses. A harsh and merciless character assasination or silence. The former discredits, the latter succeeds in ensuring that the book is read by very few.

The author describes the origins of the zionist movement and provides a detailed explanation of how Israel was created, from the behind the scenes political manouvering first in the Britain and then in the US, to the brutal persecution of the Palestinian people.

David Hirst shows how the weakness of Palestinian leaders and their abject faith in the essential decency of British intentions was one of the reasons why the Palestians lost their land.

It is one thing to massacre and subjugate a people. I think that in the case of Israel this is the first time in world history, that the oppressor has donned the garb of the victim. The level of media manipulation is breathtaking; there are people who believe that it is the Palestinians who have occupied Israel!

This book should be at the top of the list for anybody who wishes to comprehend the origins of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Honest Reporting............At last, 7 Jan 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: The Gun and the Olive Branch (Paperback)
An excellent, thought provoking and well written account of the palestinian/Isralie conflict.

A must read for anyone who is interested in the goings on of the Middle East and what lies behind the news headlines we are constantly bombarded with.

David Hirst has done a remarkable job in getting to the heart of the conflict and reporting it in a honest, factual and unbiased manner.

Absolutely Brilliant!

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging and thorough analysis of the Palestinian Crisis, 6 Jan 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: The Gun and the Olive Branch (Paperback)
~This book is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the Palestinian Question. It is thoroughly well researched and convincingly argued, raising awareness of the origins of the plight of the Palestinian people. It documents the rise of early Zionist movement in the 1880s onwards and the gentle trickling of Jewish settlers into Palestine from the early 1900s, culminating in the flood of Jewish people from 1948 onwards and the establishment of the State of Israel. It is unashamed in putting forward the argument of how the Palestinian people have been wronged - both by Israel and the international community - it does not claim to put forward a so-called objective and neutral analysis. This in itself is refreshing, that is, for the author to make his/her position clear from the outset, rather than hidden behind claims of finding an 'objective truth'. The writer is a well known and respected journalist and it is written in an engaging manner. It was extremely informative and covers a whole century's history, and the new edition has a Forward of 100 or so pages bringing the reader up to date with the recent historic and political events from the late 1980s to 2003,including a lucid analysis of the political standoff between the PLO and Israel. As this kind of book spans a huge timescale and covers politics and history encompassing other Arab nations - Jordan, Egypt and Syria - and their involvement in the Israeli/Palestinian crisis, it means that a reader with little knowledge of this area of history may find him/herself overwhelmed. However, I would strongly recommend this book for its in depth historical and political analysis; I feel it has encouraged me to now broaden my own knowledge by reading more about the history of these arab nations, and in particular, to now read another partisan book, putting forward Israel's perspective, in order to make up my own mind that if 'the truth' can be found, where it may lie.
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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Honest attempt, pity about the writing style and editing
I bought this book, I suppose like most of the other readers here, hoping to glean a better understanding of the historical reasons for the Middle East conflict. Read more
Published on 25 Jul 2007 by Moore Paul Patrick

4.0 out of 5 stars Unbalanced?
I have to disagree with the last but one reviewer who claims that this is biased and anti-israeli. Considering the emotive nature of the subject matter of this book, Hirst has... Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2007 by Mr. G. O'doherty

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
I bought this book believing it to be a fairly written piece that would offer yet another angle on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
It wasn't. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2004

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