ebooks The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions; Direct Answers (Skeptic's Guide) by Dale Hanson Bourke in History

Review

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Good but basicBy ewaffleThe sixty-six year conflict between the Israelis and the Arab world (counting from the founding of Israel in 1948) seems as intractable as any that lasted for centuries and become known simply by a place name—Northern Ireland; Cyprus or Kashmir for example. Gaza now heads that dire list. There is plenty written about the troubles; indeed the propaganda war is as important as either (a) the struggle for self-determination by the citizens of the Occupied Palestinian Territories or (b) the defense of the Promised Land by the descendants of Abraham.It seems well-nigh impossible to find what one may call an objective or neutral view of the history; culture and even the geography of the area. Dale Hanson Bourke has made valiant to provide one and has largely succeeded. She takes a straightforward “just the facts; ma’am” approach with brief but well rendered answers to typical questions. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions; Direct Answers is like an extended; specialized version of an entry in the “The World Fact Book” published by the CIA; a source she references a few times and which I feel is as unbiased a source as one will find in English on the nations of the world. This book is an excellent primer for readers who want a basic introduction of the people and places of Israel/Palestine.The book is aimed at Christians in the United States and is published by InterVarsity Press; a Christian publisher which gives rise to my only real quibble with it. The Holy Land— Calvary; Nazareth; Bethlehem; Jerusalem; etc.—is full of sites vital to Christianity and includes the locations of every minute of the life of Jesus. Christians in in both Palestine and Israel are part of living; vibrant communities of faith with rich spiritual and theological traditions—but there aren’t very many of them and they have little (if any) political or economic power. It is a matter of emphasis—Christians living in the Holy Land now are barely a blip on the radar screen of those in power there. Again this makes sense—a Christian author would include much of interest to her co-religionists who probably make up the majority of her audience but from a secular; unchurched; worldly point of view—mine—it is unnecessary.InterVarsity did a great job with copy prep and production for this ebook--it is very easy to do a slapdash; mediocre presentation of visual aids. I read the Kindle version and this is about the best rendition of graphic material I have seen in a book on that platform. Sharp pictures; legible flow charts and maps that you can actually read add a lot to its value.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. uniquely honest and balancedBy Todd D.In taking a very complicated; polarizing subject and reducing it to its component parts; Dale Hanson Bourke has managed to make a very complex issue accessible. She has done this by posing all the questions you might ever think to ask about the basics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and then in providing honest answers in a way that betrays no agenda other than a search for understanding. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone interested in learning who the Israelis and Palestinians are and in trying to sort out the facts and issues that so divide them. This book is one of a kind.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Love the Question - Answer FormatBy CarissaThis book helps you get answers to questions you've probably wanted to ask about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. As a Christian reading in the bible about all the places that are part of the current conflict and seeing the root of it also in the bible; I wanted to understand more about the issues. This book is straight-forward; it's easy just to look up something you want to know. I bought it as a companion to bible studies that touch on many of the people and places related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is also a great complement to the excellent book Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour.