Even though the memoir ends in 1989, it’s Informative in light of the Gaza war, highlighting 19th C Zionism, UN partition plan, the six day war, Camp David accords,etc. I was especially struck to learn about how neighboring Arab nations treat the Palestinians as pawns in their own geopolitical games (eg Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt). Friedman’s “present” begins with the Lebanese civil war. Friedman combines historical and political information along with his colorful personal experience of the events as they occurred (including Friedman’s Beirut apartment being bombed while he was away). Friedman’s first hand experience through interviews with key regional players makes him abnormally objective. He’s sharply critical and sympathetic to all players.

Friedman's personal account provides an energetic and passionate narrative of some of the most tumultuous years of the conflict in the middle east. It's an enthralling story of living in two capitals central to the conflict in the 70s and 80s. Very readable and has withstood the test of time since it was published ~35 years ago.

Quite insightful. Best part that Friedman offers practically implementable options for initiating a process that in the long run ensures never-ending peace in the Middle East. I wish such a solution makes way into Indo-Pakistan dispute as well.

Unfortunately, I only had the abridged version at my disposal. But still this remained a very insightful book about life in Beirut during its prolonged period of civil war. This account is made especially engrossing by Friedman’s singular ability to reflect so vividly and intensely on his time living in Lebanon as a US journalist. Furthermore, as the title suggests, Friedman also covers Israel’s history quite extensively - from its creation in 1948, the 1947-1949 Palestine war, the 1956 Sinai war, the 1967 Six-Day war and Israel’s 1982 invasion of Beirut and so on. Friedman not merely provides historical context but, alongside it, also engages in matters of a more visceral nature, such as some of his personal meditations on Jewish identity, the madness of war, human resilience and people’s remarkable ability to cope and adapt in times of continuous tribulation

I soon hope to read the entire 550 pages, but even with only a fifth of the book or so, this was still an illuminating read.

Reads at times like a long Friedman Op-ed, but it is a very informative view of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. I would not say that it is totally unbiased as some have said.

Great & necessary! Regardless of my issues with the book, you should read it. It’s not perfect but so damn important and really damn good. Maybe a little dated but really as relevant as ever. So just read it.

But for my issues with it (because I always have to be a little mean to great books) first comes with no (or a very minor) acknowledgment of how Israel stole land from Palestine in order to exist. I agree that israel does exist and it’s too late to go back and tell them to completely leave, but I do think it’s important to acknowledge that even in Tel Aviv and such places they are living on stolen land. I don’t think the book acknowledged this enough for me. Yes, it’s of the past and it’s too late to go back, but it’s very important.

Next, the book is clearly written for an American audience at the end. Not a bad thing but just a thing to note. It kind of annoyed me in how it seemed to say America was the key in making some compromise there because I felt it overblew America’s importance in the world, but maybe not and also Friedman is very clear in saying that America can’t force a compromise, israel and palestine have to want it and America can be the friend who helps them. So just be ready for a lot of America at the end (which wasn’t my favorite part personally).

Finally, I wish he told more stories from being there and made us really feel his presence in Beirut and Jerusalem known. I think the book is a lot like Lenin’s Tomb but slightly less good because it seems to be more spouting history and I got less of a feel for Friedman actually on the ground than more theoretical or historical things. The book started really strong but lost steam, and by the end anyone could have written the stuff about America. I wanted more of a feel for what it’s like to live in each place and less big political things that anyone could write, even someone who’s never been to the Middle East.

For these reasons it is not on my best of the best list. However, despite not being perfect, it was a very fun, interesting, and necessary read and I would easily recommend it to anyone and everyone. So read it.

Also in a side note it’s so sad how little has changed in thirty or so years between Israel and Palestine.

Từ một người ko ham j lịch sử với chính trị mà có thể miệt mài đọc hết ~750 trang sách thật ko phải bình thường:)) Phần hay của sách là ko chỉ nêu ra sự kiện, đưa ra tin tức mà còn giúp ng ta hiểu dc cuộc sống, suy nghĩ của người dân tại thời điểm đó.
Cuốn sách cũng giúp mình trả lời dc phần nào 2 câu hỏi băn khoăn bao lâu là Tại sao ng Hồi giáo lại tàn bạo như vậy? và nguyên nhân của xung đột giữa Israel và Palestine.

This was a hard book for me to digest. It's well written from a unique point of view, but for someone with little to no knowledge of the history leading to the conflict, it is hard to follow. I was hoping to learn the history from this book, but I think it would be better appreciated by a more well read historian.

I'm not a huge fan of Friedman lately, but this book is great. I thought the section on Beirut to be more autobiographical in terms of relating directly to his experience as a journalist there. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem section seemed more broad. I can't help but wonder (I'm sure I can read his NY Times column if I wanted to find out)how he views events since- post- assasination of Rabin, premiership of Netanyahu, second intifada. At any rate, this is a must read for anyone interested in that area of the world.

Pasaulis yra milžiniškas katilas, kuriame nuolatos verda gyvenimas. Jis pripildytas istorijos, geopolitikos, religijos, politikos. Todėl suprasti arba bent kažkiek geriau suvokti tam tikrus įvykius yra be galo sunku. Kiekvienas sako "savąją tiesą", nuslėpdamas dalykus, netinkančiui jo kuriamai istorijai, pridėdamas savo detalių ir pan.
Gyvendami savo mažajame pasaulyje, globalųjį pasaulį matome, tarsi, džiugles, tankias ir painias. Kartais mums sunku susigaudyti, kas vyksta savajame kieme, o ką jau kalbėti apie kitas kultūras, religijas, istorijas..

Ši knyga, tai mažas šviesos spindulys, leisiantis bent kažkiek geriau suprasti artimų rytų gyvenimo virtuvę.

This book is older than I am.
But, I had read it while I was in Lebanon - and while dated, time hasn't changed the underlying commentary in the book.

What would normally spark quite a heated debate is broken down and approached from a historical/empirical view of the matter that highlights the different dynamics of both Lebanon and Israel.

It's well-written, it's informative and got my 24-year old adolescent brain actually thinking about a topic I've been oblivious to.

Hands down, the best book I have read about Israel and Lebanon and the entire Middle East. I thought I knew a lot about this part of the world but this book proved just how little I knew.

Mr. Friedman, a New York Times reporter and contributor for over 40 years, dissects and illuminates, layer by layer the country of Israel, from the time of its creation in 1947 until 2012, and Lebanon (Beirut) from 1978 to 2012.

The book originally published in 1988 has been expanded a couple of times with Mr. Friedman meticulously analyzing its subjects right up to 2012. In the final pages of this book he literally predicts the current tragedy that is today's headlines.

For people really interested in the back story behind today's headlines this is the one book you should read. Amazing!!!!!!!!!