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Reviews
Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel's War Against the Palestinians by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky
readerziyya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
This book was dense and took me a loooooong time to read but I did it. I am deciding not to give this a star rating as this is my first non-fiction read on this topic and I believe my knowledge is not enough to warrant that, but I will highlight some of my thoughts.
It had some good insight into Israel's war on Gaza and Palestine as a whole, including highlighting the extent to which the United States has been involved, which was confronting and eye opening.
It was absolutely shocking to read this and realise it was published in 2010, which is fourteen years ago, and have it still feel relevant to what we are observing today.
Some of the chapters, particulalry the one drawn straight from an academic paper, felt a little too complicated for me, with this being my first non-fiction read on the topic after becoming more educated on the extent of what is happening in Palestine recently, and some of it went over my head. In saying this, even though I didn't grasp everything outlined in this book, it was useful in deepening my knowledge and I learned a lot from reading it.
I would recommend others who are new to non-fiction books on this topic start elsewhere and read this once a solid basis on the topic has been formed.
It had some good insight into Israel's war on Gaza and Palestine as a whole, including highlighting the extent to which the United States has been involved, which was confronting and eye opening.
It was absolutely shocking to read this and realise it was published in 2010, which is fourteen years ago, and have it still feel relevant to what we are observing today.
Some of the chapters, particulalry the one drawn straight from an academic paper, felt a little too complicated for me, with this being my first non-fiction read on the topic after becoming more educated on the extent of what is happening in Palestine recently, and some of it went over my head. In saying this, even though I didn't grasp everything outlined in this book, it was useful in deepening my knowledge and I learned a lot from reading it.
I would recommend others who are new to non-fiction books on this topic start elsewhere and read this once a solid basis on the topic has been formed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Racism
faliiza's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Another informative collaborative collection of articles essays and articles by Chomsky and Pappe, edited by Frank Barat. Gives good insight into the history of Gaza, including the many atrocities, as well as possible future solutions. As it is a collection of individual writings, there’s some overlap and repetitiveness. Very academic.
majasbooks's review against another edition
informative
3.0
this is the first time I read a historical/political non-fiction, so I don’t really know how to evaluate this but I looked at some other reviews of this book and it seems I’m not alone in my conclusions. Of course, very informative and educational, but it could use better organisation for sure. I also think it’s quite heavy on American politics in the first half, which is understandable considering their influence and American government’s involvement with Israel, but the way American politics were discussed was a bit more in depth and therefore not easily readable to those (me) who aren’t American nor well-informed on American politics especially of the 20th century. I think it could’ve been made more accessible for sure with the way some things were explained (or in fact not explained). But it did achieve its goal ultimately of imparting information so?
terrypaulpearce's review against another edition
4.0
This is an outstanding account of the history and complexities of what has led up to the crisis in Gaza. Written before the most recent period of open war, it more or less predicts it, and explains very clearly the realities of what led to the current sorry state of affairs. It's a real eye opener, because the government of the US (and to a lesser extent the UK), and much of the media, have told a very different, very cynical and very false story for a long time. If most people people knew more of this and disbelieved the spin, it's hard to see how the pressure to end the war on Gaza and the Palestinians would fail to reach an irresistible level, with the result that there would be less (or no) killing and misery in this small space of land, as well as more security and happiness for everyone in Israel.
barksbeachesbooks's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Especially good option for those who call the Israel/Palestine conflict "too complex". This is a great historic through present day and very informative read on the current state of Palestine and especially Gaza.
sapphicwarlord's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective