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The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace
by Aaron David Miller

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2178544.The_Much_Too_Promised_Land_America_s_Elusive_Search_for_Arab_Israeli_Peace?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41CQ0GfdxeL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2178544.The_Much_Too_Promised_Land_America_s_Elusive_Search_for_Arab_Israeli_Peace?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/338443.Aaron_David_Miller">Aaron David Miller</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27345599?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars Part memoir, part history, part journalism, this book by a veteran Arab-Israeli peace negotiator should appeal to Mideast junkies who still believe in the "peace process." 
 A disclaimer: I covered many of these same events as State Dept. correspondent for Reuters from 1989-94. I was present at some of the events Miller describes; I traveled with Secretaries Baker and Christopher. I even interviewed Miller himself on background a number of times. (He seemed to like chatting to reporters on background but he rarely revealed anything new or interesting). For more on me, go to www.alanelsner.com.
 As stated, this book is an uncertain mix of different genres. The personal memoirs I found the most interesting. I wish there were more of these. I'm interested in the various characters Miller dealt with -- Rabin, Peres, Arafat, King Hussein, Presidents Mubarak and Assad. I'm interested in what went on behind the closed doors because I already know what emerged on the public record (I covered a lot of it). Unfortunately, Miller remains coy and discreet. He was never one to give much away and he apparently hasn't changed. 
 The history in which Miller analyzes the successful Middle East negotiations conducted by Kissinger and President Carter one can basically read elsewhere. 
 The journalism -- he interviewed many of the key players, is somewhat interesting. But all these actors have a deep interest in presenting events to their best advantage and Miller doesn't really challenge them. 
 His chapter of the power of the American-Jewish lobby and the fundamentalist Christian-Zionist lobby contained little new. 
 I picked up a couple of points I disagreed with: Miller claims the Madrid Peace Conference came as a big shock to the press. Not so. The only surprise was the venue. We'd all assumed the conference would be in Lausanne and had already booked hotel rooms. 
 Miller's account of Baker's trip to see the Kurdish refugees created after the first Gulf War conveniently leaves out the fact that these million plus refugees had fled their homes after the United States allowed Saddam Hussein to crush their revolt -- which they launched at the urging of President Bush. 
 The true hero of this book for Miller is Jim Baker who I agree was a successful Secretary of State who used the favorable circumstances he was presented with to achieve some modest progress on the Middle East. (Baker and Bush did less well on anticipating Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait or the war in former Yugoslavia).
 Miller gives relatively low marks to Clinton who got too bogged down in the details of the negotiations, leaned too far toward Israel and committed to an ill-prepared summit at Camp David that was always destined to fail. Miller loved Rabin, had little time for Netanyahu and is scathing about Barak. He is harsh, but not sufficiently so, about Arafat. 
 After all the failures and frustrations, Miller is still a true believer. He still believes in the possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians and lays out some conditions for that to happen. There may have been some hope in the 1990s (although I personally doubt that Arafat was ever ready to make peace with Israel) but it seems quixotic to hope for much today with Hamas ruling Gaza, the Iranian-backed Hizbollah controlling Lebanon and U.S. prestige so far eroded after eight years of Bush. 
 This book is recommended for those who already know a lot about the Middle East but would like to know a little about what it was like to be in the middle of those negotiations. 
 But it falls a little short in my view of what it could have been.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/978990?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Alan's review
rating:

Part memoir, part history, part journalism, this book by a veteran Arab-Israeli peace negotiator should appeal to Mideast junkies who still believe in the "peace process."
A disclaimer: I covered many of these same events as State Dept. correspondent for Reuters from 1989-94. I was present at some of the events Miller describes; I traveled with Secretaries Baker and Christopher. I even interviewed Miller himself on background a number of times. (He seemed to like chatting to reporters on background but he rarely revealed anything new or interesting). For more on me, go to www.alanelsner.com.
As stated, this book is an uncertain mix of different genres. The personal memoirs I found the most interesting. I wish there were more of these. I'm interested in the various characters Miller dealt with -- Rabin, Peres, Arafat, King Hussein, Presidents Mubarak and Assad. I'm interested in what went on behind the closed doors because I already know what emerged on the public record (I...more Part memoir, part history, part journalism, this book by a veteran Arab-Israeli peace negotiator should appeal to Mideast junkies who still believe in the "peace process."
A disclaimer: I covered many of these same events as State Dept. correspondent for Reuters from 1989-94. I was present at some of the events Miller describes; I traveled with Secretaries Baker and Christopher. I even interviewed Miller himself on background a number of times. (He seemed to like chatting to reporters on background but he rarely revealed anything new or interesting). For more on me, go to www.alanelsner.com.
As stated, this book is an uncertain mix of different genres. The personal memoirs I found the most interesting. I wish there were more of these. I'm interested in the various characters Miller dealt with -- Rabin, Peres, Arafat, King Hussein, Presidents Mubarak and Assad. I'm interested in what went on behind the closed doors because I already know what emerged on the public record (I covered a lot of it). Unfortunately, Miller remains coy and discreet. He was never one to give much away and he apparently hasn't changed.
The history in which Miller analyzes the successful Middle East negotiations conducted by Kissinger and President Carter one can basically read elsewhere.
The journalism -- he interviewed many of the key players, is somewhat interesting. But all these actors have a deep interest in presenting events to their best advantage and Miller doesn't really challenge them.
His chapter of the power of the American-Jewish lobby and the fundamentalist Christian-Zionist lobby contained little new.
I picked up a couple of points I disagreed with: Miller claims the Madrid Peace Conference came as a big shock to the press. Not so. The only surprise was the venue. We'd all assumed the conference would be in Lausanne and had already booked hotel rooms.
Miller's account of Baker's trip to see the Kurdish refugees created after the first Gulf War conveniently leaves out the fact that these million plus refugees had fled their homes after the United States allowed Saddam Hussein to crush their revolt -- which they launched at the urging of President Bush.
The true hero of this book for Miller is Jim Baker who I agree was a successful Secretary of State who used the favorable circumstances he was presented with to achieve some modest progress on the Middle East. (Baker and Bush did less well on anticipating Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait or the war in former Yugoslavia).
Miller gives relatively low marks to Clinton who got too bogged down in the details of the negotiations, leaned too far toward Israel and committed to an ill-prepared summit at Camp David that was always destined to fail. Miller loved Rabin, had little time for Netanyahu and is scathing about Barak. He is harsh, but not sufficiently so, about Arafat.
After all the failures and frustrations, Miller is still a true believer. He still believes in the possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians and lays out some conditions for that to happen. There may have been some hope in the 1990s (although I personally doubt that Arafat was ever ready to make peace with Israel) but it seems quixotic to hope for much today with Hamas ruling Gaza, the Iranian-backed Hizbollah controlling Lebanon and U.S. prestige so far eroded after eight years of Bush.
This book is recommended for those who already know a lot about the Middle East but would like to know a little about what it was like to be in the middle of those negotiations.
But it falls a little short in my view of what it could have been....less

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