Wednesday, August 05, 2009

On My Nightstand: Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East

For anyone who wants a serious treatment of the Six Day War and the Modern Middle East, Michael Oren's Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East is one of three books I would highly recommend. I've read it before, but I feel that the time is right for a rereading. The book traces the origins of the Six Day War and the fallout.

No examination of the region's conflicts is complete without understanding what occurred over the course of those six days in June, 1967 and how it transformed the region and Israel's position - for better and worse.

The other two are William Quandt's Peace Process and Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem. Friedman focuses on the cultural divide, and while it is dated, the underlying lessons remain valid (particularly how the Arab regimes deal with threats to their regimes as compared to Israel and the world reaction to same).

Quandt's book should be read as a companion to Oren as the focus is more on American foreign policy during that time, and I found it an invaluable resource when writing my Master's Thesis.

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