Review by Choice Review
Based on Arabic, Hebrew, and English-language sources, this historical synthesis of the Palestinian experience since the 1830s is a useful summary for specialists and a good introduction for the uninformed. The authors delineate the nature of Palestinian Arab society and the evolution of a Palestinian national consciousness, which for them has been shaped by the Palestinian clash with and loss of heritage to Zionism. The Palestinian experience is depicted within its own context and as affected by external forces that regarded the Palestinians as an obstacle to their own ambitions. Regrettably, the American view of the Palestinians in a Cold War context is sparsely treated. The topical approach may confuse the chronology of events on occasion, but the level of discussion, sympathetic yet unsentimental, along with good maps, photographs, and a chronology of events, make the book a most welcome contribution to the literature on the Palestinians, one that greatly expands on Pamela Ann Smith's Palestine and the Palestinians, 1876-1983 (1984). General; undergraduate; graduate; faculty. C. D. Smith; Wayne State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The authors argue that the Israelis have failed to grasp the extent to which their own society has been shaped by its ongoing encounter with the Palestinians. In this compact, sobering, informative history of the Palestinians (``a people at the center of one of the most volatile conflicts of our time''), Kimmerling and Migdal assess the impact of Turkish, British and Israeli rule over the indigenous population, focusing primarily on the last 60 years. This period includes the Great Arab Revolt of the 1930s, the scattering of the Palestinian community in the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948, the Six-Day War in 1967 (when the majority of Palestinians came under Israeli control), the Intifada (``shaking off'') that began in 1987, and the international discrediting of the PLO leadership for backing Saddam Hussein during the Gulf war. The authors conclude that Palestinian self-determination will be realized only with the assent of a secure Israel, and that Israeli acceptance throughout the Middle East will need Palestinian approval. Kimmerling is an associate professor of sociology at Hebrew University in Jerusalem; Migdal chairs the international studies program at the University of Washington. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Sociologist Kimmerling and international relations specialist Migdal use their familiarity with the Middle East to write a sober historical examination of a people and their destined role in the world. Migdal builds upon his earlier work, Palestinian Society and Politics (Princeton, 1980), and with Kimmerling provides perhaps the best descriptive treatment of the Palestinians to appear in decades. The authors focus on the modern development of the Palestinians, from their revolt against Ottoman Turkish authority in 1834 through the intifada of 1987. They interweave individuals, families, and events to provide the reader with a first-rate historical picture of a people who play a disproportionate role in world politics relative to their number. A chronological list of major events provides an excellent historical panorama. This is a good supplement to the historical pictorials, such as Sarah Graham-Brown's Palestinians and Their Society 1880-1946 (Quartet, 1980) and Walid Khalidi's Before Their Diaspora (Inst. of Palestine Studies, 1984). Well recommended for general readers and specialists alike.-- Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba Coll., Salisbury, N.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Incisive, often wrenching history of the Palestinians, by Kimmerling (Sociology/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) and Migdal (International Studies/Univ. of Washington). The present status of the Palestinians is a media mainstay, but their history is less well known. Here, Kimmerling and Migdal contend that a Palestinian national identity--like that of most nations--has been forged during the last two centuries, primarily by three events: the brutally quashed 1823 revolt against Egyptian overlords; the revolt against British rule in 1936-39; and the Intifada against Israel, which began in 1987. Starting in the late 19th century, agricultural advances made by Jewish farmers, mechanization, a cash economy, and reliance on world markets marginalized Palestinian farmers. Many became laborers, and, during British rule, an increased deterioration of village life created a landless underclass. The 1936-39 revolt resulted in the exile of the main indigenous Palestinian political institution, the ayan--a group of families that had produced leaders since Ottoman days- -leaving the Palestinians, at the birth of the Israel, without leaders or spokespeople. Between 600,000 and 750,000 Palestinians- -half the population--became refugees, their land taken over by Israelis. And those who stayed, the authors say, became second- class citizens, shunned by other Arabs. Since then, Palestinian efforts to form a political structure have been tied intimately to the goal of gaining a homeland. Kimmerling and Migdal detail the rise of the PLO and the Intifada, which occurred when Palestinians realized that the increasingly harsh occupation of the West Bank would not be temporary, and that they once again were in danger of being pushed aside by Israeli settlers. This revolt has resulted in a fervent sense of community among Palestinians--but also in declining income. A detailed report that provides much-needed context to the Arab-Israeli debate.
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Review by Choice Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
