'Gelvin breaks new ground ? Interesting and stimulating ?' Ethnic and Racial Studies

The conflict between Israelis and their forebears, on the one hand, and Palestinians and theirs, on the other, has lasted over a century and generated more than its share of commentaries and histories. James L. Gelvin's new account of that conflict offers a compelling, accessible and up-to-the-moment introduction for students and general readers. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, when the inhabitants of Ottoman Palestine and the Jews of Eastern Europe began to conceive of themselves as members of national communities, the book traces the evolution and interaction of these communities from their first encounters, through to the present, as well as exploring the external pressures and internal logic that has propelled their conflict. The book, which places events in Palestine within the framework of global history, skilfully interweaves biographical sketches, eyewitness accounts, poetry, fiction and official documentation into its narrative, and includes photographs, maps and an abundance of supplementary material.

James Gelvin?s account of the Israel-Palestine conflict, from the first glimmerings of national consciousness among Jews and Ottoman Palestinians to the present, offers a compelling and up-to-the-moment introduction for students and general readers. It is interpretive with a thematically composed introduction, and set within the framework of global history.

The conflict between Israelis and their forebears, on the one hand, and Palestinians and theirs, on the other, has lasted over a century and generated more than its share of commentaries and histories. James L. Gelvin's new account of that conflict offers a compelling, accessible and up-to-the-moment introduction for students and general readers. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, when the inhabitants of Ottoman Palestine and the Jews of Eastern Europe began to conceive of themselves as members of national communities, the book traces the evolution and interaction of these communities from their first encounters, through to the present, as well as exploring the external pressures and internal logic that has propelled their conflict. The book, which places events in Palestine within the framework of global history, skilfully interweaves biographical sketches, eyewitness accounts, poetry, fiction and official documentation into its narrative, and includes photographs, maps and an abundance of supplementary material.

James L. Gelvin is Associate Professor in History at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research focuses on nationalism and the social and cultural history of the modern Middle East during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He is the author of Divided Loyalties: Nationalism and Mass Politics in Syria at the Close of Empire (1998), and The Modern Middle East: A History (2004).