Thomas Friedman
Some of Friedman’s observations about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians will make some supporters of Israel uncomfortable.
Published on September 1, 1991
(Personal review:) This is supposed to be THE quintessential book on the Middle East conflict. The last chapter is skippable – it’s a lot of Friedman’s predictions and advice to Israel and Palestine that haven’t aged particularly well. But the rest is fantastic. I feel like I gained a much better understanding of modern Middle Eastern history and politics, from 1967 up to the early 90’s. Much of the book is Friedman’s personal anecdotes and reflections about his experience as a New York Times correspondent living in Lebanon and Israel, rather than just dry recitation of facts. This firsthand perspective comes with a fair amount of bias, but Friedman is generally pretty clear about this and doesn’t try to pass off his opinions as objective truth. A secular American Jew, Friedman doesn’t shy away from documenting Israel’s many missteps and abuses of power. The book ends with high praise for Israel’s embrace of technological innovation and “flat world” economics. Friedman’s Clinton-esque faith in the power of technology and markets to bring peace where centuries of tribalism failed rings a bit hollow now, in the wake of October 7. But the book remains one of the more insightful and detailed accounts of the region, with many valuable lessons for the present day. A definite “must read” for anyone trying to gain an understanding of the forces that shape modern-day Israel and its neighbors.