Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land

This was an outstanding book. Over 500 pages packed full of information and insight. The book goes in depth on the problems in Israel and the Middle East. Not just the problems that we hear about on TV. But the people problems. The author goes to the deep underlying problems. The people and their customes and beliefs. Covering the stereo types, the religious differences, their histories. The book interviews people about their fears. The author talks to both Arabs and Jews. He talks to Christians, Muslims and Jews. He reviews incidents of terrorism on all sides of the conflict. This is a must read book if you are interested in understanding the problems of the Middle East. Although it is full of information it is not hard to read. It goes a long way at explaining things. We all know that the problems in the Middle East are not easy to solve but this book showed me how truly deep the problems run. The prejudices from all sides are astounding. This is an outstanding piece of writing and research! Read it and enjoy.

Subtitled "Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land", the author won a Pulitzer Prize for this book in 1987. He's a journalist for The New York Times and was assigned to Jerusalem from 1979-1984. The book has been updated in May of 2002 and now includes references to 9/11 as well as other more recent events in the Middle East. Now, more than ever, this book is relevant for an understanding of what is going on today. Mr. Shipler, who makes a point of saying that he is neither Jewish nor Arab, has an impartial American's point of view. The book is dense with facts and I found his explanations of the history of the region clear and balanced.The major part of the book, however, is devoted to a great many interviews of both Arabs and Jews. And, through their eyes, the reader is thrust into the human element of the conflict. Often, it is repetitive as over and over again he makes his point of contrasting the viewpoints from the different sides. But that only added to the intensity of the experience of reading this book, which was assigned as required reading for a course I am taking at NYU about the Middle East. I've taken other courses that dealt with the facts, but this book goes well beyond the facts. It goes into the hearts and minds of the people.In contrasting chapters he brings out the viewpoints of the opposing groups. The Arabs view the Israelis as violent, craven, and alien with a superior attitude. The Israelis view the Arabs as violent, craven, primitive and exotic. Both have fears and fantasies regarding seduction and intermarriage, and even though sometimes there is a mingling of cultures, fear and distrust usually prevails. The first edition of the book seems to end with a bit of hope as there are visits back and forth between Arab and Jewish schools, and some group activities inspired by the human potential movement. Some young people were even sent to camp together in Maine, and friendships were forged. However, by 2002, all this had turned to ashes as the last few years have again divided people and left each group with hatred for the other. Now I understand the reasons why.Reading this book was uncomfortable at times, but I'm well aware that it is more than merely uncomfortable for the people involved. Mr. Shipler has given me the opportunity to appreciate an experience that has always seemed strange and distant to me. It is not light reading. It's 531 pages of well-written prose that manages to unravel the threads of complexity and make it all seem real. I applaud Mr. Shipler for writing this book.

As someone who is neither Arab nor Jew and who has lived in Israel for a few years, I can say that this book pretty much mirrors my experiences. If you want an objective view (which is pretty hard to get in mainstream media these days) this book is a must read. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand more about what the real situation is like in Israel.

If you want to read a book about the Arab-Israeli conflict in order reinforce your position, this is not the one. This book offers no solutions nor presents any new arguments. In fact, its poignant depiction of suffering on both sides will make you question any prior views you've held, and that's a very difficult choice for some people to make. The prose is almost hypnotic, transcending the dryness of most non-fiction books. There hasn't been a book like Shipler's Arab and Jew in the last fifteen years. This book was written before the first intifadah, so some of the statistics are out of date, and rhetoric has intensified. I only wish Shipler could update this great work.

David Shipler's journalistic skills are enormous; the book is assembled nearly perfectly, with balance, insight, and compassion. I've read it through twice, and have never found another book that comes close in terms of presenting the truth of the Middle East conflict. For American readers, the greatest service this book offers is an uncompromisingly fair, even wise, portrayal of the Palestinian side of the conflict in this region, if only because of America's historically pro-Israel policies; policies, incidentally, which have not always concerned themselves with truth. Because of that act of journalistic justice, the peculiarly touching aspect of Israel's unavoidable internal sorrow at her predicament becomes, perhaps for the first time, something understandable and noble. It is an easy thing to take sides in a situation such as one finds in the Middle East; it is not so easy to patiently explore the myriad strands of time and fate that weave through both sides of such an 'unsolvable' conflict. This book goes a long way toward making an attempt to do just that. This is a clear-headed book 'spoken' by the very people involved; it is wise and engaging, and full of David Shipler's heart. It is no wonder that it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Highest recommendation!