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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dinah on July 30, 2006, at 12:14:52
I fear that I don't know enough about the history of the conflict in the Middle East, or many other conflicts for that matter.
It is difficult to form any coherent thoughts in the lack of good information. Although perhaps being bewildered by it all is as good a way as any to be neutral.
Does anyone know of any good *neutral* books on the topic? Otherwise I'll have to read an offsettingly non-neutral book to any non-neutral books I read, and I'd really prefer that the author did that and presented a neutral account to me.
Posted by Declan on July 30, 2006, at 14:23:16
In reply to Any book recommendations?, posted by Dinah on July 30, 2006, at 12:14:52
I think finding a neutral book on the Arab/Israeli wars is really difficult. A year ago (or so) a book was reviewed that managed to annoy everyone and was said to be the most dispassionate account yet of the various wars. I think that it might have been by someone Jewish, maybe Israeli. I'll see if I can find it in my back issues of the LRB, I couldn't get it from the website search engine.
Posted by ClearSkies on July 30, 2006, at 17:59:28
In reply to Any book recommendations?, posted by Dinah on July 30, 2006, at 12:14:52
> I fear that I don't know enough about the history of the conflict in the Middle East, or many other conflicts for that matter.
>
> It is difficult to form any coherent thoughts in the lack of good information. Although perhaps being bewildered by it all is as good a way as any to be neutral.
>
> Does anyone know of any good *neutral* books on the topic? Otherwise I'll have to read an offsettingly non-neutral book to any non-neutral books I read, and I'd really prefer that the author did that and presented a neutral account to me.There is an interesting book that explains how the present day borders came to be decided upon. "The Desert Queen"
Posted by AuntieMel on July 31, 2006, at 14:28:10
In reply to Any book recommendations?, posted by Dinah on July 30, 2006, at 12:14:52
I'm not sure exectly *how* accurate it is, and it's just an overview, and it is in fiction form, but my first real knowledge of the area came from reading Michner's "The Source"
It is very neutral, and I don't recall anything in it that turned out to be untrue.
In fact, I was just thinking this weekend that I ought to read it again.
Posted by Dinah on August 2, 2006, at 13:24:01
In reply to Re: Any book recommendations? » Dinah, posted by AuntieMel on July 31, 2006, at 14:28:10
Thanks, everyone. I've ordered one or two, and will see what happens.
Mel, I read "The Source" back in college. It was the source of my foray into agnosticism. :)
Posted by Jost on August 3, 2006, at 17:56:45
In reply to Any book recommendations?, posted by Dinah on July 30, 2006, at 12:14:52
Great Question.
I looked around a little and came up the the following books, several of which I plan to order also.
They're probably neutral, because they come from a diary on a blog I often read, which asked for books for an introductory course on the Middle East. These are the more interesting, less academic ones.
1. O Jerusalem Collins and Lapierre ( "gripping and balanced account of events leading to Israel's independence") originally published 1972
2. Jerusalem Beseiged. Eric Cline ("four thousand years of struggles for control of Jerusalem, a city central to three religions")
3. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam - Karen Armstrong
4. No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam - Reza Aslan (very recent)
I would give links to amazon, but I'm not sure how to link.Jost
Posted by 10derHeart on August 4, 2006, at 0:48:19
In reply to Re: Any book recommendations?, posted by Jost on August 3, 2006, at 17:56:45
> They're probably neutral, because they come from a diary on a blog I often read, which asked for books for an introductory course on the Middle East. These are the more interesting, less academic ones.
>
> 1. O Jerusalem Collins and Lapierre ( "gripping and balanced account of events leading to Israel's independence") originally published 1972
>
> 2. Jerusalem Beseiged. Eric Cline ("four thousand years of struggles for control of Jerusalem, a city central to three religions")
>
> 3. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam - Karen Armstrong
>
> 4. No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam - Reza Aslan (very recent)Sounds totally fascinating..gosh, sometimes I wish I could just read and read all day, every day!!
> I would give links to amazon, but I'm not sure how to link.
I can help :-) Basically, you type double-double quotes around the titles. It's explained in Dr. Bob's FAQ ( http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html ) like this:
>> This site lets you link book, movie, and music titles to Amazon.com and thereby help others find them (and support online education and self-help by buying them). Just put a title in double double quotes, and the server will automatically search Amazon.com and link to the first match. When you confirm your post, you have the option of linking to a different title (or not linking at all). If you get too many matches double-double-quoting just the title, you can also include the author or artist to narrow down the search. So, for example, you can turn "E-Therapy" into "E-Therapy" or "E-Therapy (Hsiung)" into "E-Therapy (Hsiung)". :-)
Sorry, but this only works with double quotes (not underscores or anything else) and Amazon.com (not Amazon.co.uk, etc.).
FYI, this is an application of Amazon.com Web Services.<<
Here, I've done a couple for you....
"O Jerusalem "
"A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam "
Posted by Jost on August 4, 2006, at 17:27:14
In reply to Re: Any book recommendations?, posted by Jost on August 3, 2006, at 17:56:45
"O Jerusalem" Collins and Lapierre ( "gripping and balanced account of events leading to Israel's independence") originally published 1972
2. "Jerusalem Besieged" . Eric Cline ("four thousand years of struggles for control of Jerusalem, a city central to three religions")
3. "A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam" - Karen Armstrong
4. "No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam" - Reza Aslan (very recent)
Posted by 10derHeart on August 4, 2006, at 23:43:08
In reply to Re: Any book recommendations? test links, posted by Jost on August 4, 2006, at 17:27:14
Posted by Jost on August 5, 2006, at 13:26:48
In reply to yup, you've got it +thanks for the book links :-) (nm) » Jost, posted by 10derHeart on August 4, 2006, at 23:43:08
This is the end of the thread.
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