Rating: 
Summary: A Must-Read for Understanding the Middle East
Review: In "Six Days of War", author Michael B. Oren so expertly describes the events and causes of the Six-Day War in Israel in 1967 that it's hard to believe he wasn't there himself. With exhaustive research, Oren shows the reader how the Israelis and their Arab counterparts got to such a decisive battle and how the seemingly overwhelming Arab forces were so quickly and totally defeated. Oren gets inside the heads of diplomats, soldiers and statesmen as he describes all the little conflicts that led up to that battle, starting briefley in the days when Palestine was occupied by the British, up to today, and how the war turned into the defining moment of not just the way Isreal deals with the Arab world, but the entire globe. While he is an American born Jew living in Isreal, and admits to personal bias in favor of his country, he does an impressive job of telling an even-handed story, placing blame and praise where it belongs, no matter which side he his describing. In a world where we say history is written by the winners, Oren proves that history should be written by those who do their research. The book is a must read for any serious observer of current Arab-Israeli relations, as you learn so much about how things got to the impasse they are at today. It's a difficuly subject, but Mr. Oren handles it with a deft touch. He finds the humanity in the people who were involved, and there is no clear "good guy" or "bad guy", as he shows that both sides could easily have avoided conflict through realitvely simple acts. It illuminates the history of a region most Americans fail to understand, and should be placed at the top of your reading list. Oren's skillful writing makes for a briskly paced book that leaves you on edge, even though we know the outcome. It's a terrific work of history.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome, long book that you don't want to put down.
Review: I read about half of this book in the course of 24 hours of traveling on a multiple of airplanes and almost couldn't put it down (I finished it a few weeks later). While a serious work of scholarship, history never read so easily as the book moves quickly (basically the writing is excellent and a pleasure to read). I have been a (amateur) student of the history of Israel and have read many things on it and even with a lifetime of doing this, I learned an awful lot about the area from this book and in a very enjoyable way. Recently (earlier today), I had the good fortune to be at a social function in NYC where the author also happened to coincidently be. He mentioned that his next book was a two volume series on a subject regarding the middle east (I'm not sure if it is public knowledge) that only sounded mildly interesting. If it were any other author I might easily pass on it but if it lives up to the standard set by the Six Day War book then I will seriously consider it. Very Highly Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading
Review: The level of detail in this book goes beyond any other book on the subject. I also bought, "The Eve of Destruction" which tells of the Yom Kippur war in 1973. Its amazing Israel has survived this long against a never ending campaign against them. These books will shed light on their struggle, and hopefully help to give Israel an equal playing field.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for Understanding the Middle East
Review: In "Six Days of War", author Michael B. Oren so expertly describes the events and causes of the Six-Day War in Israel in 1967 that it's hard to believe he wasn't there himself. With exhaustive research, Oren shows the reader how the Israelis and their Arab counterparts got to such a decisive battle and how the seemingly overwhelming Arab forces were so quickly and totally defeated. Oren gets inside the heads of diplomats, soldiers and statesmen as he describes all the little conflicts that led up to that battle, starting briefley in the days when Palestine was occupied by the British, up to today, and how the war turned into the defining moment of not just the way Isreal deals with the Arab world, but the entire globe. While he is an American born Jew living in Isreal, and admits to personal bias in favor of his country, he does an impressive job of telling an even-handed story, placing blame and praise where it belongs, no matter which side he his describing. In a world where we say history is written by the winners, Oren proves that history should be written by those who do their research. The book is a must read for any serious observer of current Arab-Israeli relations, as you learn so much about how things got to the impasse they are at today. It's a difficuly subject, but Mr. Oren handles it with a deft touch. He finds the humanity in the people who were involved, and there is no clear "good guy" or "bad guy", as he shows that both sides could easily have avoided conflict through realitvely simple acts. It illuminates the history of a region most Americans fail to understand, and should be placed at the top of your reading list. Oren's skillful writing makes for a briskly paced book that leaves you on edge, even though we know the outcome. It's a terrific work of history.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, informative, readable-superb, but not perfect
Review: If you were to read only one book on the modern Middle East, this should be it. Oren's masterly account of the political, diplomatic and military milieu in which the Six-Day War was fought is a minor classic in itself. His review of the Israelis' military decisions and the competing pressures the Israeli leadership was under during the heat of combat also makes compelling reading. This book is a healthy antidote to the shallow and simplistic coverage we get from the news media regarding conflict in the Middle East. Most recent news coverage never even tries to explain how, when and why Israel ever came into possession of the West Bank and Gaza to begin with. This book does. Oren's book also implicitly explodes the myth of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a localized dispute over real estate, and its corollary: peace would come "if only the Israelis ended the occupation". The book shows how the extreme hostility of the Arab states and the Palestinians toward Israel long predates the post-1967 occupation. For all its virtues, the book does have its flaws. There are enough misspellings and minor grammatical mistakes to make me wonder if the book was originally written in Hebrew and then subjected to a hasty translation; the Oxford University Press usually has better editing standards than this. Also, there are very minor factual errors sprinkled throughout (the kind of stuff a fact-checker at the New Yorker would have caught), and the index seems little better than an afterthought. Again, probably more of a reflection on sloppy editors than on the author. I would like to have seen more discussion of the role Israel's nuclear program played in strategic thinking of the Arabs, the superpowers and the Israelis themslves; Oren makes a few references to the reactor at Dimona, but doesn't follow up. Is it possible his Israeli sources made their cooperation conditional on his staying away fromn this subject? All in all, an impressive book that will deservedly be the standard reference on this topic for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: A Textbook Example of Top-Notch Historical Research
Review: Michael B. Oren's "Six Days of War" is not only the definitive book on the 1967 Israeli-Arab conflict, but it is also a perfect primer in how to conduct historical research. Oren is meticulous and thorough in reviewing all of the available research to date -- books, newspapers, autobiographies, declassified government documents, oral interviews -- and synthesizing them into an accurate reference work. "Six Days of War" shows how to conduct fair and balanced research into an emotional issue. Nobody -- not anybody from the Israeli or Arab side -- could take issue with the book since Oren lets the facts and the main actors do the talking, and keeps his personal biases and beliefs to a minimum. Oren does a great job in presenting the viewpoints of both the Arab and Israeli sides. Some of the anecdotes from the Arab side -- such as the comment "We shall meet in Tel Aviv" when the Arab armies were on the run, or the plea from Nasser's chief aid Amer that his plane not be shot at by Egyptian forces during the 1st day of the war -- are as illuminating of the chaos and lies during the "fog of war" as they are funny. Some people claim that Oren is biased towards the Israeli side. This confuses two words -- bias and objectivity -- that are often used interchangeably, but have different meanings. If Oren were of Arab descent or if any Arab historian were to write an account of the 1967 conflict, it would have to follow the same path as Oren took. Bias deals with predisposition to favor one side or another; whether Oren does or doesn't is irrelevant. One can be biased towards one side or the other and still be objective. Of course, most instances concerning lack of objectivity concern individuals who allow their biases to color their judgment. Since Oren deals strictly with the facts of the 1967 conflict and the events leading up to it, there really isn't an opportunity for him to show "bias" by justifying the Israeli positions. Mind you, Oren does show Israel's position on the War -- just as he presents the Arab position with regard to the War and also the creation of the state of Israel (the real reason for the War and the 20 years of conflict up to that time). Anybody saying this book is "biased" either doesn't know the definition of the word biased, is confusing it with being objective (the two are not mutually exclusive), or hasn't read the book. My only quibbles with this book are that like many history books, it goes into great detail on the events leading up to the conflict, and the early days of the conflict, but then it seems to "rush" a bit at the end. This is especially noteworthy in the chapter "Aftershocks" where I felt that a bit more detail on the events post-1967 could have been written. I also would have preferred additional commentary on the "where are they now?" discussions of the major Middle East players. Oren does spend some time talking about the major figures -- Sharon, King Hussein, Nasser, Arafat, Dayan -- but I would not have minded hearing his thoughts on the 1970's peace initiatives with Sadat and Egypt as well as Begin's tenure, the Oslo accords, etc. Of course, this has little to do with the 1967 conflict per se, but it would have been a nice "what has it led to?" ending to the story. Of particular interest, the controversy regarding Security Council Resolution 242 is treated rather quickly. Given the focus today on land-for-peace the question of whether 242 refers to "territories" or "the territories" (the former implying Israel can hold on to some land, the latter demanding a return to the 1967 Green Line) is or paramount importance. Oren states that the official English translation refers to "territories" while the French and Arabic versions translate as "the territories." This may seem like a minor issue, but given the importance today, it deserved a few extra paragraphs at least, especially on how 242 was interpreted in the respective countries immediately after it was passed. It is possible that the two sides have been reading their own (correct) interpretations into the resolution since mid-1967, which goes along way to explaining the difficulties in achieving a peace agreement even today. The meticulousness of the research is shown by the nearly 100 pages (almost 20% of the book) that are devoted to the bibliography and footnotes. Note the large number of personal interviews with many key players and actors from that time; only current historical books (like Bob Woodward's) are noted for their voluminous 1st-contacts and interviews with individuals actually involved in events. Oren interviewed dozens of Israeli, Arab, Russian, and American sources to get specific information not available from the books and newspapers and government documents dealing with the 1967 War. Take a look at the photo section. There are some very good photos of younger-looking names you might know and some you might not: Begin (deceased) and Sharon (the current prime minister) come to mind. The cartoons from the Israeli and Arab press are also very informative. Several of the Arab cartoons directed at Israel are very chilling in presenting the atmosphere that Israel was contending with at that time. They show why Israel could not afford to take chances and endanger their survival. All in all, an outstanding research piece which not only dissects the events leading up to, during, and after the 1967 War, but also shows how one should conduct research on any topic of history, by hitting all the available research materials (printed, classified, oral testimony) and interpreting it in the context of the time in which the events occurred.
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading
Review: The level of detail in this book goes beyond any other book on the subject. I also bought, "The Eve of Destruction" which tells of the Yom Kippur war in 1973. Its amazing Israel has survived this long against a never ending campaign against them. These books will shed light on their struggle, and hopefully help to give Israel an equal playing field.
Rating:
Summary: This War
Review: Arab militaries are cowardly as a rule, one can see them running out of their shoes in the battlefield, and the Israelis have certainly shown that even though the Arabs have vast numerical superiority, that they can't fight worth a lick.
Rating: 
Summary: Great history, and excellent to help understand today's mess
Review: The subtitle of the book labels it "June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East." While there is a lot more that helped to contribute to today's mess over there, the 1967 war had the most drastic impact on Arab-Israeli relations. This book does a great job going over the two decades from Israel's founding to the outbreak of war, in brief yet sufficient form. The Arab countries are disorganized messes unable to even unite based on their hatred of Israel, which is their ultimate downfall.
In contrast to the waves of Palestenian suicide bombers today, one gets the feeling that the established Arab nations have always really lacked the heart to follow through on their professed desires to see Israel destroyed. The actions of the Arab leaders during this period are much more concerned with saving face and placating the public than making realistic plans for war. How else can Israel deal such crippling defeats to several countries at once that have way larger populations and military resources? In this sense the book does touch on the other major social cause of Middle East unrest today, mainly the warped leadership these countries have had for decades and the result today of widespread poverty, listlessness, and religious fanaticism.
The book also highlights to what extent Israel really went it alone in this war and up to this point in its history. While Israel obviously had to buy its limited number of tanks and planes from somewhere, most of the Western countries and the U.S. were loathe to help supply them with a large army. In contrast, the Soviets did everything they could to funnel arms to the Arab countries and establish a foothold there. The U.S. seemed to want to hedge its bets, and also provided arms to many of the countries staunchly opposed to Israel. The view today is that Israel is propped up by the U.S. in military terms, and that if the U.S. ceased to back Israel then their country would be destroyed. After reading this book it would be very hard to believe that.
Finally, this book helps explain why Israel cracks down on terror the way it does today in such a harsh manner. For decades they have been surrounded by fanatics who want to destroy them and are just looking for signs of weakness. While that is somewhat of a cliche, this book illuminates the scope of aggression Israel has faced by giving concrete portraits of the military action.
The downside I felt to this book was that the prologue was very rushed, and could have devoted at least 10 or 20 pages to discussing the 1973 war and beyond. In that, the book really rushes through the link it tries to make between 1967 and the Modern Middle East. The prologue is devoted more to briefly following up on the careers of the major players from 1967 and doesn't even discuss the status of the conquered areas today.
Rating:
Summary: Solid analysis of a key turning point
Review: As an Army brat who spent much of his formative years in the South, I have a natural interest in military history. In our post-9/11 world, moreover, understanding what's going on in the Middle East has become essential. The thesis of Michael Oren's Six Days of War is that the 1967 war shaped - and continues to shape - the central problem of our age. Unlike much military history, Oren's account focuses to a considerable extent on the diplomatic context. Events at the UN, in Washington and Moscow, as well as Tel Aviv and key Arab capitals, play a significant role. Indeed, the chapters and sections focusing on diplomacy are far easier to grasp than the battle sequences, which assume a knowledge of Middle East geography that many general readers will lack. (I found myself referring to the few maps constantly, but with frustration because many locations mentioned in the text appear on none of the maps.) Oren's ready acceptance of the Israeli version of the USS Libery incident will also raise some hackles with many US readers. Having said that, however, I strongly recommend this important analysis of a key turning point in recent history.
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