Book Reviews

Colin Shindler’s book undoubtedly ‘sheds much-needed light on the conflict’. However, it is more of a history of Zionism and Israel than of the Israel-Palestine conflict, because it contains much less of the Palestinian narrative.

‘The Gaza I knew, and whose length and breadth I’ve travelled, has ceased to exist.’

Three British police recruits in 1930s Palestine confront violence, political turmoil, and personal dilemmas during the Arab rebellion, discovering the complexities of colonial rule, land disputes, and their own motivations for serving.

How do you learn about a contentious and divisive history like that of Israel and Palestine? Don’t shy away from the two competing narratives – seek them out, lay them side by side, and immerse yourself in both.

‘Forgotten’ is a search for hidden or neglected memorials and places in historic Palestine and what they might tell us about the land and the people who live on our small slip of earth between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

Speeches, intelligence briefings, diplomatic correspondence, contemporary newspaper articles, and other historical documents from across three centuries.

A unique, factual and evocative narrative that raises awareness of Britain’s historic responsibility and role in the Israel Palestine conflict.

Ilan Pappe unveils how over a century of aggressive lobbying changed the map of the Middle East.

Fergusson gives voice to the fears and aspirations of the region’s inhabitants and highlights the centrality of water in negotiating future peace.

The untold story of Britain’s role in the Israel–Palestine conflict. Shortlisted for the Palestine Book Awards 2025.

On the centenary of the Palestine Mandate, Peter Shambrook reveals the truth of how the Israel–Palestine conflict was born in Britain.

In this comprehensive and stimulating overview, Middle East expert Michael Scott-Baumann charts its history from the late nineteenth century to the present day.

Weaving together the personal and the political, Three Worlds offers a fresh perspective on Arab-Jews, caught in the crossfire of Zionism and nationalism.

Tim Llewellyn reviews a forensically researched account of the activities of Israel’s advocates in Britain.

‘Stranger in My Own Land’ chronicles a desperate, at times surreal, search for a homeland between the Galilee, the West Bank and the diaspora.

We are republishing this review of ‘Collusion Across the Jordan’ (1988), the first book to demonstrate conclusively that in 1947–8, Britain, Jordan and the Zionists worked to ensure there would be no Palestinian state.

Israel and its acolytes have long pushed the agenda that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Jewish racism. A new book shows how this endeavour came at the expense of Palestinians and diaspora Jews alike.

Jerome Segal describes in detail how the PLO Declaration of Independence was composed less than a year after the outbreak of the first Intifada, by whom and for what purpose.

A subtle psychological portrait of the author’s relationship with his father during the twentieth-century battle for Palestinian human rights.

Looking at the writing of – and literally on – Jerusalem, Wallach offers a new reading of the Israel/Palestine conflict through its material culture.

An evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.

This book brings together meticulously sourced evidence to illuminate a reality that differs starkly from the prevailing narrative.

Priya Satia’s ingenious way of presenting empire steers us through a significantly new understanding of the imperial past, establishing her as an original historian.

James Barr’s new book adds some spice to the usual accounts of this decisive moment in the history of the Middle East. It was a cynical act of imperial greed.