Reviews for Israel and Palestine

The average rating for Israel and Palestine based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-05-05 00:00:00 Aaron Wright 400 pages. 52 chapters. 8 pages per chapter, roughly. The structure of Washington: The Indispensable Man was perfect for this reader. I read one or two chapters per sitting and never strayed from the path into a forest of detail. I have longed to read about Washington for several years, but not got round to it. I went as far as going into four bookshops in London and St.Albans before going on holiday last year. Not one word on the man. I was shocked that such a gigantic figure was absent from the shelves. In fact, I could not believe it. But it was true. The shop was full of celebrity cook books and diet books I noted on my way out - bookless. I know Washington discomforted more than one important Britisher, in fact he founded his whole career on discomforting us. But it was a long time ago and he did ad value to the transplantation of Anglo-Saxon ways across the water and take the project on a little. He even wanted to join the British army. I was in tears when I finished reading James Thomas Flexner's masterly biography. I cld see Tobias Lear, secretary and friend, ministering to the old boy. I cld sense his earlier concern at Washington sitting there in sodden clothing after riding his farms in vile weather. "Would you take a little something for that sore throat?" asks Lear. No, says Washington. And then Washington can hardly, breathe, is dying. It all happens swiflty. The prospect of the doctors bleeding the sick man time and time again was unbearable. "You idiots!" screams the modern reader, "No, no!" but that is how it was. So, too, that is how it was over the slaves. They, Washington included, were all slave owners. They sought freedom from we British while keeping others as slaves. Except Washington was a little different. Unwilling to free his slaves during his lifetime for fear of provoking his peers and possibly prompting a split in his infant country, he deftly provided in his will that they were to be freed. It seems he has his critics though. Perhaps I don't understand the politics of his time or of modern America to comprehend why, but for he remains an overwhelmingly inspiring man on many counts. His hospitality, conviviality, and, once out of office, his desire for good company and conversation were strongly endearing traits. His energy and enthusiasm for his beloved farms, his joy of riding out, his taste and creativity in designing his own home were also the marks of a fine spirit. His leadership was masterly. He held things together against the odds. The farmers were not up to a pitched battle with the British regiments and so they mostly avoided them, allowing the British to blunder to defeat, with a little help from the cheese-easting surrender monkies. I was astonished to learn that Washington cld if he had wished it probably become a king. But he did not wish it. Unlike Oliver Cromwell, he waled away from the army, to the astonisment of European aristocrats. He gave up power and thus won eternal fame and brought in a new form of government. Yet he was no Napoleon. Things often seemed to not go right for him. But his genius was that he persisted in spite of this. The army is cross with him. They have not been paid. They are rebellious. He speaks to them. Things could easily slide out of control. He fumbles to pull out a pair of spectacles. There is something about his demeanour, something about his vulnerability, something about him. He wins them over. This happens time and time again. He wins people over. Jay goes off to London and comes back with a treaty which the Jefferssonains hate. Washington talks people round. He takes people with him. Flexner did the same for me. He took me with him in the strength of his portrayal of Washington the man, which was on a par with his portrayal of Washington the titan of history. I felt as if I knew Washington as I read those 52 chapters. I did not feel as if I was reading about a remote figure. I was at Washington's side every step of the way. The issue of how to react when revolutionary France and Britain went to war felt acutely real. Washington must have been tormented by the frictions between Hamilton and Jefferson, with the French doing their best to stir things up. And then he is president, and then he is president again. And then he finally gets a break, with the thunderous roars of a loving crowd ringing in his ears. But it doesn't last. He's called back yet again to organise and army to face a possible French invasion. He just wants to stop. But they won't let him. His estate is in poor shape. All his managers have died or been inadequate. Those glasses, the humanity of the man. The new nation needs him, he is truely 'The Indispensible Man'. He is also lucky. Another general closes his eyes as Washington is in the middle of a blue on blue firefight. He is sure to be killed. Bullets fly past him from both directions. He survives. He goes on. So, too, he survives the stresses of blue on blue politics. The nation is only a few years old and the seeds of future divisions are clear to see. All of which makes me make a mind mark to read about the American Civil War, in the hope that one excellent read will lead to another. Yes, I enjoyed Washington: The Indispensable Man immensely and am greatful to a colleague from America for lending it to me. She tells me there are no films about Washington. This I find absolutely shocking. Ron Askew

Review # 2 was written on 2021-04-13 00:00:00 Katherine Gorman If you were fortunate enough to work at Saudi Aramco in the 1980's you would have at almost every site, however remote--Dhahran, Udhaliya, Ras Tanura, Abqaiq, etc., at your disposal a modern American library. I was there a decade and was able to begin planned reading programs in such a library. Time somehow stands still when you are isolated abroad. It was a nice way to relax, while staying cool in the hot Saudi weather, to ease into the quiet air-conditioned library among tall date palms to load up with several weeks' reading. Having discovered Flexner's biography of George Washington one summer night, I realized that a good way to study American history would be through the biographies of its presidents. I was lucky to have discovered Flexner's series on our first president. This led me later to other presidential biographies which I have continued to do wherever I might be. I had thought that American history was boring while in high school and at university, but when I realized over the years that I was participating in one of the most unique experiments and adventures in human history, U.S. history became a burning interest of mine. One of the best ways for young students to understand where their place is in history is to latch on to well written presidential biographies, of which this one certainly is.