The Balfour Declaration : the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict

by Jonathan Schneer

Paper Book, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

956.04

Publication

New York : Random House, c2010.

Description

The Balfour Declaration paints an indelible picture of how Arab nationalists, backed by Britain, fought for their future as Zionists in England battled diplomatically for influence. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to either side or even to most members of the British government, Prime Minister David Lloyd George was telling Turkey that she could keep her flag flying over the disputed territory if only she would agree to a separate peace. --from publisher description.

User reviews

LibraryThing member pineapplejuggler
Unbiased, comprehensive, and relevant. Author does a great job of setting the scene(s).
LibraryThing member douboy50
This the best volume I have read on the Middle East in the First World War. The author does a fine job of explaining the relationships and motives between the stakeholders in this critical theater of the war. He covers the actions of Great Britain, Russia, France, Turkey, the various factions of
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the Jews and Arabs, and Germany, even the U.S. Due the number of individuals introduced in this complex adventure, the author includes a 10 page Glossary of Names so the reader can keep track of who is who as the story unforlds.

Even though the story is complex, the author takes you through the events step by step; keeping the narrative readable throughout the 376 pages of text. It is a newer book published in 2010.

Highly recommend this book. Next I will be reading "Shadow of the Sultan's Realm" by Daniel A. Butler. This also a new book on the same subject.....will be interesting to compare them.
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LibraryThing member otterley
A very interesting book, clearly the product of an immense amount of research and written in a generally dispassionate way that is unusual given the emotional resonance of the subject - the path to the 'Balfour declaration' of support for a Jewish home in Palestine, and the seeds of the conflict
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that still mars the middle east today. This is one of those episodes in history where everyone's motives are understandable. Arabs and (some) Jews wanting land and liberty; the western powers desperate to find any way of reaching a breakthrough in the impasse that was decimating their populations in the first world war. Hindsight is a marvellous thing, but one that the author resists very well in favour of describing the key players and articulating their actions and motivations within the context where they took place
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Awards

National Jewish Book Award (Winner — Writing Based on Archival Material — 2010)

Language

Original publication date

2010

Physical description

xxix, 432 p.; 25 inches

ISBN

1400065321 / 9781400065325

Pages

xxix; 432
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