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lizziaha's review against another edition
4.25
Essential reading!!! This was really my first foray into learning about the history of Palestine, and I think the onslaught of information made it hard for me to stay engaged at times. I might revisit once I’m more familiar with the subject matter. From the river to the sea 🇵🇸
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Deportation, Islamophobia, Murder, Religious bigotry, War, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Suicide, and Grief
historicalmaterialgirl's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
5.0
This book was comprehensive without being intimidating. I found it very easy to read actually, providing the insight into the colonial history of Palestine that many try to complicate and obfuscate.
Even for people who understand the fact that Israel is colonizing Palestine, it has so much to offer: for instance, this book illustrates the histories of Palestinian political groups and their attempts for liberation as well as Palestine's international status/relationship with other countries.
I feel like I have a broader yet clearer understanding of how Israel came to be and what it would take to see Palestine free. Incredibly well done! Highly recommend!
Even for people who understand the fact that Israel is colonizing Palestine, it has so much to offer: for instance, this book illustrates the histories of Palestinian political groups and their attempts for liberation as well as Palestine's international status/relationship with other countries.
I feel like I have a broader yet clearer understanding of how Israel came to be and what it would take to see Palestine free. Incredibly well done! Highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Racism
dragongirl271's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Racism, and Police brutality
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Child death
danaslitlist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I, like many others, am reading this in the midst of a genocide taking place in Palestine by the hands of the Israeli government and aided by the US (through support and funding) and the UK (through inaction). This book does an amazing job of taking you through the history of Palestine in a way that is accessible while remaining very academic. I appreciate the author using stories from his own family's experiences as well. We see such a pattern of behavior, of history repeating itself over and over again when it comes to the wars (if you can call some of these "conflicts", wars when the Palestinian people do not have an army) and it is so important that non-Palestinians make sure we are absorbing this information and sharing it.
Elevate Palestinian voices. Write to your state representatives, protest, share what is happening.
Elevate Palestinian voices. Write to your state representatives, protest, share what is happening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, War, and Genocide
dithorba's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Absolutely required reading on the formation and history of Israel and it's continued colonization and subjugation of Palestine.
From river to sea, Palestine will be free. 🇵🇸
From river to sea, Palestine will be free. 🇵🇸
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation, Religious bigotry, War, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
billynev's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Khalidi expertly mixes his own experiences and historical research to craft a compelling history of the conflict between Zionism and the indigenous populations of Palestine. The book is structured according to what Khalidi perceives to be the six declarations of war against the Palestinian people ranging from the Balfour declaration in 1917 to the current dynamic in the conflict starting in the 21st century, whereby escalating colonial violence and settler activity is increasing (always with implicit or explicit backing of the United States). The narrative constructed by Khalidi is sweeping and especially the personal anecdotes and family history are very interesting and illuminating. The chapter on the Lebanese civil war and the PLO’s expulsion from Beirut was really powerful and in my view, the highlight of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
amanda_marie's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Incredibly informative, steeped in knowledge and personal anecdote, I feel I now understand the conflict much better while having gotten a valuable mix of third party nonfiction and memoir. Works of this nature and understanding should be more widespread.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
michaelsbirthday's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.75
Rigorous and academic without feeling inaccessible to a lay reader, the book offers a vital Palestinian perspective on the colonisation of Palestine and the Palestinians. The book delves deeply into the global political architecture that has aided and abetted Israel’s violent suppression of the Palestinians, as well as other factors such as media bias and the failure of Palestinian resistance movements to realise the power that Western politics and media hold over their struggles. The author’s first person accounts complement the narrative and serve to bring the human cost of violence, colonisation and oppression into sharp focus.
I have knocked off points from a five star rating as I found the book a little difficult to get into in the first few chapters. It may have helped if subsections of the discussion within the chapters were signposted/titled, as I sometimes felt the narrative jumped around a bit and I was left struggling to catch up with where we were. However, this might have been a me problem, and once I got used to the flow of the writing, it was much easier to comprehend. Truly a must-read for everyone.
I have knocked off points from a five star rating as I found the book a little difficult to get into in the first few chapters. It may have helped if subsections of the discussion within the chapters were signposted/titled, as I sometimes felt the narrative jumped around a bit and I was left struggling to catch up with where we were. However, this might have been a me problem, and once I got used to the flow of the writing, it was much easier to comprehend. Truly a must-read for everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Deportation, and War
Minor: Torture
caidyn's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.25
An emotional read about the Israeli colonisation of Palestine. I loved how personal it was with the stories Khalidi had that his family were a part of.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, and War
jemima_reads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: War and Violence