Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive of history and sympathetic view of Israel
Review: Reading the other reviews here it is hard to believe that we have read the same book. Morris, far from being any sort of anti-Zionist fanatic, is in fact consistently sympathetic with the the Zionist movement. In a book that often reads like an apology for Zionists action, he demonstrates, without ever saying so outright, how a" democractic secular state" containing both Jews and Palestinians was never an option since from almost the beginning of the Jewish migration to Palestine the Arabs consistently used violence to attempt to expel them. While a significant number of the Arab elite appeared inclined to tolerate the Jewish presence up to the 1930s, they were eventually driven into silence, exile or the grave by the Husseini family and their sympathizers, who only paused in their campaign of violence against Zionist and their colloborators when physically crushed in battle. Morris even goes some way to demonstrate that the mass exodus from Palestinian refugees in the 1947-48 war, far from being the product of a concerted policy of Jewish ethnic cleasing, occurred on a piece meal basis in response to a wide variety of events, and that much of Jewish ethnic cleansing was a necessary military response to Arab tactics of using villages to cut off roads and lauch attacks on Jewish settlements, and from a practical point of view their really was no effective military alternative to simply depopulating certain strategic areas of their Arab population. The book is well worth reading for providing a comprehensive overview of the conflict from the beginning of European Jewish immigration to Palestine in the 19th century to the election of Barak in 1999. If anything, I suspect it of being too sympathetic to the Zionists, from whose perspective it is clearly written. My next book on the subject will be one written from the Palestinian perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Passionately Objective ? Excellent Book!
Review: Reading this book radically changed my perspective on the Middle East and left me much better educated. The copy that was sent to me was sub-titled "1881 - 2001" (rather than 1999), and, although it is usually difficult to manage much interest in events that happened in the 1800s, they are important and the book gets more engrossing as it goes along until eventually I couldn't put it down.Nearly every preconception that I had about the Arab-Israeli conflict was challenged. Since I'm not old enough to remember most of the events covered in the first 300 to 400 pages as they happened, my opinions had been formed by simplistic aphorisms. For example I believed that Israel was the victim in every regional conflict and that its occupation of the "territories" occurred extemporaneously. This was not actually the case, as Morris points out. Overall, the book helped me to better understand current events in the Middle East. My impression is that the present-day conflict is fed by the unwillingness of the Arabs to accept an Israeli State. Some have said that granting Palestinians statehood will resolve the problem - and I do think that this is necessary - but it will not end the Islamic violence. It may, however, provide an incentive for the Palestinian Authority to end its tacit support for terrorism and work instead to combatting the suicidal campaign that has done little more than erode international sympathy and destroy the local economy.
Rating:
Summary: Passionately Objective ¿ Excellent Book!
Review: Reading this book radically changed my perspective on the Middle East and left me much better educated. The copy that was sent to me was sub-titled "1881 - 2001" (rather than 1999), and, although it is usually difficult to manage much interest in events that happened in the 1800s, they are important and the book gets more engrossing as it goes along until eventually I couldn't put it down. Nearly every preconception that I had about the Arab-Israeli conflict was challenged. Since I'm not old enough to remember most of the events covered in the first 300 to 400 pages as they happened, my opinions had been formed by simplistic aphorisms. For example I believed that Israel was the victim in every regional conflict and that its occupation of the "territories" occurred extemporaneously. This was not actually the case, as Morris points out. Overall, the book helped me to better understand current events in the Middle East. My impression is that the present-day conflict is fed by the unwillingness of the Arabs to accept an Israeli State. Some have said that granting Palestinians statehood will resolve the problem - and I do think that this is necessary - but it will not end the Islamic violence. It may, however, provide an incentive for the Palestinian Authority to end its tacit support for terrorism and work instead to combatting the suicidal campaign that has done little more than erode international sympathy and destroy the local economy.
Rating:
Summary: Indispensible, definitive, thorough
Review: Regardless of your political leanings you will find this book the definitive source of historical detail which must inform the actions and opinions of all who are active in seeking peace with justice in the region. Quoting from authoritative source material, including previously classified material and such sources as ben Gurion's diary, Morris provides an irrefutable account of the history of Palestine/Israel from the beginnings of the Zionist movement right up to the eve of Sharon's election (the actual subtitle of this edition lists 2001 as the ending date). Even though Morris's politics are (to me) relatively conservative--he seems to support the occupation and the actions of the Israeli government--he provides irrefutable evidence to oppose some classic Zionist myths, such as the idea that there was nobody living in Palestine until the Zionists colonized it, or that the Arab inhabitants all left of their own accord. Morris's lucid and readable style makes this book hard to put down, despite its incredible depth of detail and its nearly 700-page length. The events are so fascinating that it reads like a novel, and each chapter brings fresh revelations and exciting pieces of evidence, which activists will find useful and novices will find informative. This book will probably not change your mind, whatever your political leaning (there's so much data that there's plenty of "ammunition" for any viewpoint), but it will leave readers much better informed and, I dare to hope, more likely to contribute to a just solution to the problems of the region.
Rating:
Summary: Controversial in its conclusions...
Review: Righteous Victims is a "revisionist" history of the Zionist-Arab conflict, so its conclusions spark terrific controversy (as you can see from the other reviews on Amazon.com!) I found this book very informative, balanced, and nuanced--a very well written analytic and descriptive history. As the NY Times reviewer said, the book's tone is "calm." Morris had access to more Jewish and Israeli sources than Arab-Palestinian-Muslim sources, so of course critics can claim that the conclusions are "biased" in some ways. Nevertheless, at each turn in the narrative, Morris clearly describes the political, social, economic, demographic, ideological, intellectual, national, and military consequences of each "phase" or "stage" in the conflict, from "both" sides. (The conflict is far more complicated than "two" sides, however.) No matter how one regards his conclusions, Morris's dual empathy--for a people nearly crushed under (centuries of European) anti-Semitism and Hitler, and for a dispossessed, poorly led, and impoverished people--comes clear. The book is 784 pages (counting the index) so there is ample opportunity to find something to disagree with, but the thrust and conclusions are hard to escape: security eludes Israel, which has never felt safe; and the Palestinians are citizens of nothing outside the refugee camps. At some level, this book sadly reminded me of Yates' poem, written in WW I, "Slouching toward Bethlehem." What new beast, in this terrible time for both Israelis and Arabs, is waiting to be born?
Rating:
Summary: Controversial in its conclusions...
Review: Righteous Victims is a "revisionist" history of the Zionist-Arab conflict, so its conclusions spark terrific controversy (as you can see from the other reviews on Amazon.com!) I found this book very informative, balanced, and nuanced--a very well written analytic and descriptive history. As the NY Times reviewer said, the book's tone is "calm." Morris had access to more Jewish and Israeli sources than Arab-Palestinian-Muslim sources, so of course critics can claim that the conclusions are "biased" in some ways. Nevertheless, at each turn in the narrative, Morris clearly describes the political, social, economic, demographic, ideological, intellectual, national, and military consequences of each "phase" or "stage" in the conflict, from "both" sides. (The conflict is far more complicated than "two" sides, however.) No matter how one regards his conclusions, Morris's dual empathy--for a people nearly crushed under (centuries of European) anti-Semitism and Hitler, and for a dispossessed, poorly led, and impoverished people--comes clear. The book is 784 pages (counting the index) so there is ample opportunity to find something to disagree with, but the thrust and conclusions are hard to escape: security eludes Israel, which has never felt safe; and the Palestinians are citizens of nothing outside the refugee camps. At some level, this book sadly reminded me of Yates' poem, written in WW I, "Slouching toward Bethlehem." What new beast, in this terrible time for both Israelis and Arabs, is waiting to be born?
Rating:
Summary: Unbiased book on the subject
Review: The author covers a long period of this one century old conflict. He makes alot of efforst in maintaining an unbiased view of the events, and covers the the important events and incidents of this conflict. This book can be used as a good starting point to learn about the enormous web of people, events, plots, plans, wars that shaped and still shaping this conflict without a forseeable end.
Rating:
Summary: Good middle of the road history
Review: The Israeli right has attacked this book but the truth is that it is a reasonably middle of the road account of Israeli history compared to more extreme pro-Palestinian works by others such as Finkelstein (Image and reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict). Morris would seem politically attuned to the outlook of Rabin and Barak but in recent years he has become more pessimistic about the possibility of peace settlement with the inhabitants of the disputed territories although he is not alone in that outlook. Morris has been characterised as a revisionist historian. This reputation was gained with his earlier work The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee problem 1947-49 in which using recently released archival material he suggested that earlier Israeli accounts of the problem were not correct. Prior to Morris and others the official Israeli version of the refugee problem had been that the Arab inhabitants of Palestine had fled in response to calls by the invading Arab states in 1948. Morris was able to show this was a propaganda myth to justify the refusal of Israels policy in regard to the refugees. This book is not so much a new study based on original work by Morris but it is a general history of Israel based on secondary sources. Naturally there is more material available now than when the first histories of Israel were written. The book explodes a large number of myths that have been part of the propaganda war between Israel and its enemies. What he suggests that is new is as follows: 1. That the leaders of Israel aimed to set up a racially exclusive state. Prior to 1948 there were discussions about the need to transfer those Arabs who were to live in the new state.
2. That some of the groups who were involved in the creation of Israel such as the Irgun used terrorism to achieve their ends and introduced methods such as placing bombs in civilian areas.
3. That there were two wars of independence. The first war was a civil war fought against the Palesinian Arabs in 1947. This was crushed the Palestinians and was then followed by the 1948 war.
4. That the suggestion that Israel was embattled and won a war against great odds in 1948 was not accurate. Rather Israels forces outnumbered its opponents and they were supplied with equivalent weapons and thanks to an agreement with Czechoslovakia had a plentiful supply of ammunition. The Arab states by comparison were short of ammunition because of the arms embargo and their troops were poorly trained and poorly led.
5. The unprovoked attack by Israel on Egypt in 1956 had an effect in hardening the views of Arab states and contributed to the development of those states hard line to Israel.
6. The 1967 war was probably not a defensive war as Egypt did not intend to attack Israel. (As shown by captured documents)
7. That since 1973 Israel has had a military superiority over all the Arab states. In addition it has had nuclear weapons. Arab states were only able to attack Israel when the Soviet Union was able to continually re-supply them with weapons. The demise of the Soviet Union means that the Arabs are not able to mount an effective offensive war against Israel.
8. The first Intifada was a popular revolt, which has occurred in response to the brutal Israeli occupation.
9. That the rise of extreme Islamic movements those which are now supporting the second Intifadas suicide bombing campaigns have arisen as a response firstly to the invasion of Lebanon and secondly from the fist Intifada. Whilst critical of some of Israels policy?s Morris is not blind to the short comings of the Arab governments and the nature of their regimes. He is also keenly aware of the fanaticism of the various terrorist groups now operating out of the West Bank and Gaza. In fact Morris and Barak have been involved in a recent interchange with some of Clintons aids of articles in the New York Review of Books talking about the failure of the PLO to accept what would seem generous peace terms in 2000. He has indicated that peace will probably only be acceptable with a generational change in the PLO leadership.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read re-evaluation
Review: The largest single refugee population in the world today is still that of the Palestinians -- over half a century after Israel's creation. The Arab-Israeli disupute, meanwhile, stubbornly resists solution. Yet much that has been written -- not least, but not excluseively, in the US media -- remains strikingly ill-informed and/or partisan. This scholarly, cautious, throughly corroborated and balanced examination by one of Israel's 'new historians' will without a doubt become a classic in its field. No one seriously involved in the study of, or commentary on, developments between Israel and the Palestinians, can afford ignoring this new work.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much information...and a lot lopsided.too!
Review: The subject is of topmost interest, and the author gives some precious informations... but there is too much Palestinian bias. The author is at great pains to point out any possiblle slur or error from Israel part to the poor beleaguered Palestinians.I'm sick of this neglect on the horrors of terrorism and the murdering of innocent civilians by criminal organizations :no cause whatsoever can justify the murder of innocents,and those who employ such vile methods disqualify their cause.Has Morris ever thought of that?
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