Rating: 
Summary: Great history, well told...
Review: Michael Oren offers multiple perspectives on the context of the June, 1967 war between Israel and the Arab countries. He uses Israeli, Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, US and Soviet sources. He interviewed dozens of people to create this narrative. He has an excellent feel for "public" and "private" narratives, so he also quotes extensively from diaries of the major protagonists. In formal terms, this is a "revisionist" narrative, in that he acknowledges that Israel made the first strike in this war (for many years, it was hard to establish this position). He outlines carefully the pressures on both the Israeli and Arab side, both internally and "public" or nationalistic pressures, and documents diplomatic pressures to avoid the war or to bring the war to a close, in that it was encapsulated inside the US-Soviet conflict. Six Days carries military, political, diplomatic, and personal stories. I found it very enlightening.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Historical Context
Review: This conflict, referred to in the Arab world as simply the 'June War', was formed in the aftermath of the 1956 Second Arab-Israeli War. For somebody with no background in the history of the region, the author does a nice job of setting up the context, so that the ensuing gripping day-by-day account of the war makes sense.
The war could only have happened because of the betrayal by the United Nations, whose peacekeeping force was stationed on the Egyptian border. When Egypt requested the peacekeepers to make way for their advance, UNEF withdrew all its forces within a lightning-quick two days so that Israel was suddenly open to surprise attack.
Because the book culls from Western, Arab, and Soviet sources it offers a very complete perspective on the events of the War. For example, we learn that the Arab forces' humiliating defeat was partially due to belief in their own propaganda, which told only of glorious victories.
Another point of interest to me was that while the Arab nations relied on and were promised Soviet support for their offensive, the Soviets were so intimidated by the possibility of American involvement that theirs remained limited to providing Arab forces with weaponry. As it was, the main material support we offered in the conflict were the Patton tanks for the Jordanian army.
Almost anecdotally, Oren recalls an incident in which a cell headed by Yasser Arafat was foiled from launching a terror attack. The interesting thing is that this took place before the War, when the Palestinians were still ruled by Jordan.
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the birthplace of terror.
Rating:
Summary: A comment
Review: I haven't read this book yet. However I would like to comment something related to the reviews here: Most of the reviews that I saw had praised this book as objective and well-reserched. Some, however claimed that it is pro-Israeli biased. Well, not everything that has pro-Israeli facts in it, is biased, just like not anything that has pro-Palestinian facts in it is biased. An excellent review on Benny Morris's "The Birth of the Palestinian refugee problem 1947-49" had proven that there is another book (The great "Fabricating Israeli History" by Prof. Efraim Karsh) that doubts and cancels some conclusions and facts in the book, by proofing it wrong using documentation. I will agree such a disproof of facts, and accept it, but as long as a certain fact is well-prooved, documented and agreed by historians, I don't see any reason to say it is biased, because it is a fact. A book CAN be biased or effected by propoganda, but if yoy want to proof that it is biased, bring facts that proof that the information in it is wrong.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book!
Review: This book gives you a good report on the events of the 6-day war of 1967. You are give a step by step description of the
actual events and actions that actually led to the outbreak of
the 6-day war.You are given an up close showing of some of the personalities who were involved in the 6-day war.Gamel Nasser,
his Field Marshall Amer,Levi Eskol,Yitzhak Rabin,as well as Moshe Dayan have big roles in this book. This book also gives you
a close description of all six days of the actual war.After you
read this book you will have a far better understanding of the
6-day war.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable portrait of a conflcit that still haunts us today
Review: In "Six Days of War" Michael Oren has written perhaps the definitive history of one of the key pivot points of the twentieth century. Drawing upon a wealth of first hand sources (including documents from the U.S., U.S.S.R., Israel, Egypt and Jordan) he writes a history that is at the same time thorough and vibrant. Where many historical accounts stumble is the failure to accurately represent irrational and spur of the moment decision-making. That is a complaint that is happily absent in this account, as Oren writes with the urgency of "Black Hawk Down" and the comprehensiveness of a Keegan or Tuchman. The subtitle ("June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East") actually does this book something of a disservice, because 169 of its 327 pages are devoted to explaining the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. From its roots in early 20th century Zionism, to the unbearably tense days of the spring of '67, Oren paints a fascinating portrait of the clash of cultures, wills and nations. It bears mentioning here that I found Oren's narrative to be generally very even handed; there are other reviewers who have argued that he is an apologist for Israel, who ignores Arab grievances. Nothing could be further from the truth; on the contrary, it is the frequently and vocally stated ambition of the Arab states to push Israel into the sea that mandates the view of Israel as the victim. Which brings us to one of the great tragedies of this war: the near mind-boggling stupidity of the Arab leaders. Oren discusses in great deal these men, Hussein (to a lesser degree than the others), Nasser, Atef, Assad, etc., who were so concerned with their own political power that they were willing to sacrifice their young men in ill conceived operations that only succeeded in ensuring another generation of bitterness, regret and violence. Their incompetence would be comical if it wasn't so sad; at one point Oren discusses how the Egyptians, who are in full retreat and have been basically obliterated, assure the Syrians that they are marching on Jerusalem. The Syrians, not to be upstaged, respond that they are in route to Tel Aviv; this in spite of the fact that they had sat out the war to that point, and that the escalation only ensured the loss of the Golan to Israel. Which brings us to the next point of tragic-comedy, the U.N. While the game of high stakes poker between the U.S., the Soviets, the Israeli's and the Arab powers makes for fascinating reading, the reader can't help but see the missed opportunities. In particular, U Thant, the Secretary General, comes across as a buffoon who is utterly lacking in both vision and ability. At one point, during the peak of escalations prior to the war, he delays a trip to Egypt by three days so that his horoscope will be favorable for travel. At the same time, many valid proposals from Latin America and other non-aligned nations fall to great power politics, Israeli maneuvering and Arab pride. As for the war itself, Oren does a superb job of capturing the tension of the early days (to borrow from Churchill, it was a near run thing) and the maneuvering of the final hours. Of particular interest was his repeated use of first hand sources from opposite sides to give a full picture of the battles. It was both fascinating and heart wrenching to read the words of a triumphant Israeli, only to have them followed by the bitter words of a Jordanian or Egyptian or Syrian, who fought bravely and honorably only to be abandoned by his superiors. Along the same lines, Oren captures King Hussein of Jordan like no other player in this drama. He paints a picture of a horribly conflicted, but ultimately honorable man, who faces unbearable pressure from all sides. This view is undoubtedly colored by the moderation Hussein underwent in his later years, but in my opinion it is still valid. My only complaint regarding Oren's description of the actual fighting is that he needed significantly more maps. While he does provide maps of the entire theater they present two key problems: 1. they show six days of fighting on one four square inch picture, which can be confusing to say the least, and 2. it is almost impossible to conceptualize the urban combat that took place in Jerusalem without some sort of street map. My only other issues were that I felt Oren was far too easy on the Israeli's for their attack on the U.S.S. Liberty (although I found his description of the events to be accurate, and probably definitive), and that he was too forgiving of a Johnson administration that largely acted behind the scenes. Regardless of other areas of political concern, it is my opinion that within the context of the Middle East, Johnson must be held at least partially responsible for the war, in that he didn't act more overtly to prevent it. Ultimately, "Six Days of War" paints a fascinating portrait of the war that still dictates Mid-East negotiations. Oren presents solid evidence that the Arab states, in a gross miscalculation, ratcheted pressure to the point where Israel was forced to act preemptively in order to assure its survival. That said, he is blunt about Israel's diplomatic machinations in an effort to maximize its gains (only after they had realized they would win). I would have liked to have seen the long term implications of the war discussed in greater detail, but it could be argued that falls outside the scope of this work. Nevertheless, this is a thorough, fascinating, look at a war that is not properly appreciated for its historical import. If we are lucky, Oren will write a history of the Yom Kippur War, and further round out or view.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book. Factual, but concise. Almost too objective.
Review: "Six Days of War" is a good book (but not great) that is written with a military historian's tone. Michael Oren has a long history in the Israeli government and with the IDF which will lead many to instinctively shout that the book must be biased per se. But for such a contentious topic, Oren does a great job of giving as unbiased an account as possible of the Six-Day War and the events that led up to it. The book is really only about 350 pages, with nearly 150 more of notes and bibliographical information concerning interviews and other works cited by the author. Most of these 350 pages, nearly the entire first half of them, deal solely with the tug-of-war diplomacy between the United States, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and the Soviet Union that dominated the weeks before the eventual beginning of the battles. This is where Oren's hyper-objectivity, although necessary, starts to sap the life out of an otherwise exciting and historically momentous time. But Oren gets through this long lead-in and then rapidly recounts the major events of the quick war in fairly thorough detail. Its with recounting these military tactics and strategies that Oren is clearly at his best. This book is a well-researched account of a war that radically changed the balance of power in the Middle East, and Oren should be applauded for being as objective (to a fault) as humanly possible.
Rating:
Summary: Superb examination of Middle Eastern history and politics.
Review: I have no hesitation in recommending this work to readers of Middle Eastern history and politics. As the title suggests the writing is primarily concerned with the events leading to and during the six-day war of June 1967. However the writer also sets the context for the clash between Israel and its Arab neighbours and examines many of the key personalities both in the region as well as at superpower level during the 1960's. The book gives a superb portrayal of the issues, which led to directly to the war and in particular, attention is focused on the military build-up by Egypt and Syria aided by their allies the Soviet Union. This build-up led to an alliance between the two countries resulting in the belief the together they could defeat the Jewish state in a war on their terms and at a time of their choosing. The closure of the straits of Tiran resulting in the effective closure of Israel's port at Eliat was to be the first turn of the screw by Egypt and Syria the second being the removal of the United Nations Force in the Sinai Peninsula. The other glaring fact revealed in the book is that notwithstanding all the military assistance from the USSR the Israeli's were far superior in terms of strategic intelligence. Their knowledge of Egyptian airfields in terms of the most appropriate time to attack coupled with the fact that the Egyptians were very lax despite the obvious tension in existence throughout the Middle East since the removal of the UNEF is startling. This is all the more amazing when you consider that the rhetoric from Nasser was so strident in the lead up to hostilities. One would have expected that a leader like Nasser who had just closed sea-lanes to Israel and demanded that the UN remove its forces between his country and his mortal enemy would have been a little more agile in terms of preparation. The concluding chapters of the book are concerned with the implications of the war and its impact on events to day, which is a bit odd in that that from that Arab point of view that war was fought to destroy Israel with a implied suggestion that victory would remove the Jewish control of the area of Israel and return the land to Palestinians who left in 1948. The events to day however are starkly different in that Egypt has made peace with Israel in return for the Sinai. Jordan also has signed a peace treaty recognising the State of Israel but without any territory going to Jordan, which she lost in 1967. Instead that deal left undone is with the Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza. The Syrian leadership could probably do a deal on the Golan Heights in return for absolute guarantees on Israeli security such a deal probably would be fraught in light of the strained relation in existence between the two countries and which is highlighted in the book. In conclusion this piece of work is well worth having if you're remotely interested in the subject or the personalities of the Middle East during the last 35 years.
Rating: 
Summary: Absorbing, Entertaining, And Well-Documented Study!
Review: As someone who was already a fascinated university student majoring in history when the Six Day War began in the summer of 1967, I was stunned to find myself an eyewitness to yet another chapter of contemporary 20th century history. In fact, at the time I had only recently returned to civilian life after military duty myself. Moreover, at the time the war broke out I was visiting Montreal to tour the wonderfully international Expo 67 event. Subsequently I found myself surrounded by others in a very cosmopolitan venue in which many other nationalities were also raptly watching the events unfold, and the levels of apprehension and excitement were palpable. Indeed, the atmosphere was electric, and the news reports detailing the rapidly evolving battle circumstances astounded everyone watching. For those of us who now experience history on a more casual basis by reading about it, and who so experience the events at a much slower, more methodical, and much more manageable rate, reading this book proved to be an exercise in instant transport back to that momentous week when the world was turned on its ear. Although the author makes extensive use of Israeli archives recently made available, it is obvious that the book suffers slightly from the lack of Arab input. It is obvious that the author is a proponent of the Israeli perspective on the Six Day War, and while one can understand this natural tendency toward viewing the events of 1967 in this fashion, it is not as illuminating a history as it might have been with a more balanced presentation of the underlying issues, motivating factors, and enduring differences between the Israelis on the one hand and all of their Arab neighbors on the other. Of course, the Arab nations involved still have little motivation to voluntarily share their stores of documentation, so it may indeed be a long time before a more balanced, complete, and comprehensive history of this conflict can be written. With this qualification made, I must say that this work is not only informative, but also quite entertaining to read. The pace of the book is as breathless as the event in the sense that it keeps you on the edge of your chair even though you already understand what the eventual outcome is preordained to be. The brinksmanship and omnipresent "fog of war' well-known to military history buffs shows its twisted face here, with the Israeli forces beating the Egyptian strike to the punch by scant hours, catching the opposition totally unexpectedly and with their literal pants down. Thus, the scale, scope, and speed of the defeat were both unprecedented and unexpected. And, as the world watched, the Arab forces were literally massacred in a lightning series of concurrent strikes across the borders in almost every direction at once. Out-manned, outgunned, and outflanked, the Israelis used every element on their side of the military equation to considerable advantage, and key here was the "blitzkrieg' speed as well as the element of surprise. This is an interesting, informative, and entertaining book an one of the most surprising military engagements in 20th century military history. Given the Arabs' previous defeats at the hands of the Israelis following the partitioning of Palestine in 1947, it is indeed puzzling as to why they still had such misplaced disdain for the capability of the army of the Israeli state. Reading this book, one wonders if they will ever dare to make such a colossal mistake again. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Recommended, with Caveats
Review: Michael B. Oren's Six Days of War (June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East) is an engrossing account of the Six Day War (June War), including a lengthy beginning placing the war in its historical context. The author's research in Isreali, Russian and American records is quite evident and put to effective use. The story as told from Egyptian and, to a lesster extent, Jordonian perspective is quite complete and fascinating as well. Unfortunately, Syria seems a little vague and the Palestinians are left without a voice in the history at all. This book pivots the story on the Isreali viewpoint predominantly and, bearing this caveat in mind, the reader can get a sense of history from this book, as well as enjoy the exciting ride through this war that has helped shape the difficult situation the world is in today.
Rating: 
Summary: Written with an Israeli apologist stance
Review: Oren has done a great deal of research for this book, but the flaws involve his obvious reasoning geared at justifying the war that Israel launched and called a "pre-emptive strike." Like most apologists who reason that Israel had to attack her neighbors for the 2nd time (1956 was the first time), the blame for the causes of the war are laid upon the aggressive rhetoric of the Arab states which makes about as much sense as blaming Russia for being invaded by Napoleon. The point of view is mainly an Israeli one and that saps any semblance of balance. Oren focuses upon the Israeli concerns of security, real or imagined prior to the war and then focuses upon the war itself for most of the book. This book reads like an official Israeli rundown of how they viewed the 1967 war or, more likely, would like the world to view the war. For example, Oren focuses upon the Arab states negative and hostile views of Israel following the 1948 conflict, but writes little about Israeli views (especially avoiding anything negative). No mention of Ben-Gurion's preference for the tenuous armistice of 1949 so that he too could keep the option of war open. This is a running theme in this book. The Arabs are the ones clamoring for war and the Israeli transgressions are largely ignored. The background events to the war focus upon the hawkish actions and rhetoric of the Arab states, while again saying very little about the Israeli side. Were there no Israelis looking to take Gaza and the West Bank to complete Eretz Israel as Ben-Gurion and Menechem Begin claimed was the ultimate Zionist goal? Reading this book you'll never know. Why were the Palestinians hostile to Israel aside from the obvious reasons? Like today's headlines in most American media outlets, Oren's weakness is that he only discusses the events and not the root causes. The negative aspects of the Arab states are discussed in great detail, while nothing is expressed about the various factions in Israel and Oren continuously expresses his very un-academic admiration of Israel and expresses obvious bias. The root cause of Israel's ignoring of the Palestinian refugees was and is a major reason for the hostility of the Palestinians and is given perfunctory mention by Oren, while every raid and attack and the birth of the PLO are given some mention. It's apologetic to the Israeli POV while using an academic style that is detailed yet also judgmental and unbalanced. The book focuses upon all the major events of the 6-Day War in great deal, but the lack of objectivity saps the effort. At the very least, Oren COULD have discussed the perceptions of both sides and the hawks that clamored for war on both sides, but instead we get a rundown of Arab rhetoric which realists like Nasser never meant to be taken literally. Oren also does not discuss very extensively the bad Israeli intelligence that failed to assess the fact that the Egyptian formations in the Sinai were defensive (the words of Yitzhak Rabin as quoted in Le Monde). Instead we get a rundown of the threat from the Arab states such as the token troops sent by Iraq to Jordan which were purely symbolic rather than any practical military threat. The strength of this book lies in the details of the 1967 war, which can be gleaned from other books minus the blatantly pro-Israeli bent. The Israeli victory was rapid and surprised even the Israelis (again proving how bad Israeli intelligence was at this time) and the details of the conflict are the one redeeming quality of this book. This is not the best resource to learn about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the Six Day War unless you balance it out by reading something like "Bitter Harvest" by Sami Hadawi which presents the Palestinian POV or the more neutral "Righteous Victims" which goes over the same events that led up the Six Day War and the details of the war itself that Oren presents, but also discusses what was going in the minds of Israeli leaders and the bad intelligence of the Israelis.
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