The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict

by Mitchell G. Bard

You're no idiot, of course. You know that the Middle East is always in the news. But the situation there is so complex and tangled up you just can't keep track of it all. Was King Hussein related to Saddam Hussein? Why all the fighting over the West Bank? And what's oil, water, and sand got to do with it all? Don't let your brain get parched yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict sorts through the political and military quagmire of the Middle East in language anyone can understand. In this Complete Idiot's Guide, you

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Middle East, Reference, World History, Israel

496 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 12, 2002

About the author

Mitchell Bard is the Executive Director of the nonprofit American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and one of the leading authorities on U.S.-Middle East policy. Dr. Bard is also the director of the Jewish Virtual Library (www.JewishVirtualLibrary.org). Bard holds a Ph.D. in political science from UCLA. He has appeared on local, national, and international media outlets and written and edited 23 books, including After Anatevka - Tevye Goes to Palestine, Will Israel Survive? 48 Hours of Kristallnacht and The Arab Lobby.

Reviews

[Allen Rudd]

I stopped after 100 pages. The bias got too much.
If I wanted to read an Israeli propaganda book I’d ask the IDF for their crap....This was supposed to be an objective text. It was far from it.
Avoid and look for a more balanced text.

I’d give it less than 1 star if possible.

[Sean Sexton]

This book follows the well-established pattern of the rest of the Idiot's Guide series--a single-volume, comprehensive summary of a particular topic. In this case, the topics covered include the history of the Middle East, as well as current and historical conflicts. The book's title, however, should include the word "conflicts", rather than "conflict"--given it covers not only the Arab-Israeli conflict, but also the Iran-Iraq War, as well as the First Gulf War and the ongoing U.S.-Iraq conflict.

Overall, this book presents a very complete history of the Middle East and provides an excellent overview of the various players in the region, as well as their motives and goals. Bard also does a good job of describing the various attempts that have been made over the years to bring peace to the region and all of the associated problems.

As I was reading the book, however, I started noticing various comments appearing in the text that seemed to be highly slanted towards Israel and the Jewish viewpoint. They seemed quite out of place, given the general approach of this book of trying to present the viewpoints of all parties involved. I was a little confused at these asides until I did a little reading on the author, Bard, to discover that, far from being an impartial student of the region, he is the Executive Director of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise and, basically, a proponent of the Jewish point of view in the region.

Despite the obvious political nature of some of the comments in the book, it still includes enough detailed history and chronology to be well worth a look. The reader should just make sure to also include one or more other books that are more sympathetic to the Arab point of view.

[Brenda]

A novice's guide to the Middle East and it's conflicts.

I naively thought that such a primer as this would be relatively free from bias. As I read through it, however, the book seemed to be painting the Israelis as innocent victims in virtually every clash between themselves and the Palestinians (and their Arab neighbours). Though I myself often side with Israel (but am not in favour of many of their more violent policies), I found the author's rose-coloured glasses a bit too rosie.

So I looked the author up. He's "one of the country's foremost experts on U.S.-Middle East policy." Not an expert on Middle East/Israeli politics. He was also a senior analyst in the polling division of George H. W. Bush's 1988 presidential campaign. Yeah. That would explain the little swipes he continuously makes at President Bill Clinton's Middle East peace negotiations.

If you can get past the extremely blatant bias, the litany of treaty after resolution after agreement is informative. I quickly lost track of what was promised to whom and when, which was not the fault of the author but a result of the Gordian Knot that is the Middle East.

[Nick Blankenburg]

This book gave me a little bit more understanding of the context of the current hostilities between Israel and Palestine, but I was left disappointed with the book overall. Its focus was clearly upon Israel, and I think that much about the region's thousands of years of history should have been presented in more depth than it was.

[Hilal Malawi]

Read this book and you’ll remain a ”complete idiot“ on the topic. It’s a perfect tool for anyone looking to reinforce his/her racism, bigotry, Islamophobia, and love for Israeli apartheid. A collection of half truths, debunked myths, and fabrications.

[spike marlin]

Although the book stops at 2005, it is still worth the read for both the foundations of the conflict between Israel and the surrounding Arab nations and for a survey of the history of Israel since 1948. I found that there was a slight bias toward Israel in their book. For example, in many cases the author reports on Israeli deaths caused by terrorism but does not report Palestinian deaths due to Israeli retaliation. As well it glossed over the fact that in 2003 the US went to war over beloved Iraqi possession of WMD, when in fact there were none.

[Max Lapin]

A compendium of events to grasp the scale of historical tensions.

[Carson]

Probably could use a couple of new chapters.

[Drake]

ehhhh

[Pamela]

General history and overview, but not engaging really..

[John Kennedy]

In preparation for a trip to Israel, this book--at 450 pages--has confirmed that the situation is complicated. It fills in some gaps in history, especially the early 20th century and comes to some interesting conclusions (e.g. Hitler was as responsible as anybody for the formation of modern Israel.) Israel has been a violent place for the past century, even before declaring its independence in 1948. I've always viewed the 1950s as a fairly benign period in history but after reading this book I'm not so sure. Israel has been on the brink of being wiped out several times in my lifetime. Israel comes out looking pretty good in this book. The British, Syria and Yasser Arafat are repeatedly criticized. The book provides a good history lesson on the origins of the PLO.
Still, the book is in need of a good edit. There is much overlap and it's all written in quick hits, with a paragraph or two under each subhead. There is too much minutia. It's almost likely reading board minutes from an organization's secretary. By the end, all these snippets are mind numbing.

[Aligato]

So far, it's been a great resource, but I begin to detect quite a lot of bias towards Israeli and Jewish causes about half way through. It's still a great readable account of much of the conflict in the area, great for beginners who want an interesting intro to the subject you hear about all the time in the news. I need the sequel, though, because this book ends in early 2001. Kind of exciting because I can tell what happened next in the area, but the author doesn't have a clue and thinks water and nukes will be the main cause of problems (not oil shortages, and Saddam).

[Bookbook]

The book seemed well researched and fairly objective but the nature of the subject matter was tough to come back to. 2 steps forward 3 steps back repeat across the region. My goal in reading it was to better understand the nonsesne of the middle east and now I just realize it is even more nonsensical than I first thought. I still dont understand it and think even less of those who chose a side with any sort of dedication.

[Louis]

Insight to these people.

[Beatrix Quinn]

I found this to be a good introduction to the conflict for someone who wasn't very well informed. There is a clear pro-Israel bias, however.

[Fenixbird SandS]

OIC there is now a 3rd edition. I just bought this copy used from local Bookman's bookstore here in Phoenix, AZ [Gotta start somewhere!!}

[Erik09]

nice story from a big crisis in world which might lead to third world war

[Julia]

The best book I've found of its kind-- useful information even for those already familiar with the ME

[Kelley]

Okay for a very, very base history of the conflict from a very pro-isreal perspective. I mean, the author appears on Fox News.. Need I say more?

[Joel Massey]

Suggested for those who were like me and wanted to get to the history of the hatred. Caution reader to also seek out alternative opinions on some of the events covered.

[Craig Bolton]

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict, 3rd Edition by Ph.D. Bard, Mitchell G. (2005)"

[John Crippen]

Nice overview. Read mini-review at http://relaxandhavefun.com/?p=212