Rating: 
Summary: An interesting review of 'official' history
Review: "Imagine and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict" is a wonderful text for all interested in another view of the Israeli-Arab conflicts of the past century. Divided into 6 chapters, Finklestein is able to tear away the 'official history' that Israel has maintained, especially in America, as well as providing arguments against the revisionist history that Benny Morris has written about.A very interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: "A revealing study and important analysis, a must read"
Review: Although this was first published in 1995, it has remained an important analysis of the ongoing, and escalating, conflict in the West Bank. Finkelstein's new introduction is perhaps the most succinct overview available in the English language. A revealing study and a must-read for anyone looking for an understanding of the Middle East situation.
Rating: 
Summary: A brilliantly written, thought provoking scholarly book.
Review: Dr. Norman Finkelstein has written a brilliant and scholarly expose of the Israel-Palestine conflict. He is not a dispassionate historian/scholar
nor does he pretend to be. He dedicates the book to his parents, survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto and the Nazi extermination camps:
"May I never forget or forgive what was done to them."
Finkelstein's keen intellect is breathtaking. His painstaking research which supports the evidence how the "reality" of the causes of the conflict is vastly different than the "image" presented to us by the media
is a marvel to behold.
My favorite chapters in the book are chapters 2 and 4. In Chapter 2, he discusses Joan Peters book "From Time Immemorial"
and masterfully exposes it as a hoax. The crux of Peters' thesis was that "Palestine was, literally, 'uninhabited' on the eve of the Zionist colonization; and that if the Arab population did not materialize, literally,
ex nihilo in Palestine, it did surreptitiously enter to exploit the economic opportunities that the Jews created when they made the 'desert bloom'." By that logic, most Palestinians were not even there in 1948 to be expelled from their homes.
The fact that such a threadbare hoax can be published in this country is not surprising. But the fact that this book received accolades from journalists and scholars alike, from such luminaries as Daniel Pipes, Sidney Zion, Holocaust historian Lucy Dawidowicz, and Nobel peace prize laureate Elie Wiesel, speaks volumes about the American
commissar culture. After the book went through several printings and was exposed as an utter fraud in Britain, it finally prompted Anthony Lewis to write a column for The New York Times aptly entitled "There Were No Indians."
Perhaps the most illuminating part of the book is Chapter 4 entitled "Settlement, Not Conquest." Finkelstein's dissection of how the historical rhetoric and justifications for conquest are strikingly similar -- "from the British in North America to the Dutch in South Africa, from the Nazis in Eastern Europe, to the Zionists in Palestine" -- is both enlightening and comical. Finally, it is noteworthy to mention Finkelstein's poignant observation for those of us who want to see justice done to the Palestinians and to all people who are suffering as a direct result of America's diplomatic and military support to the darkest and most oppressive regimes around the globe: "The plea of 'not knowing' cannot in good faith be entered at history's bar. Those who want to know can know the truth; at all events, enough of it to draw the just conclusions." To buttress his point, he quotes Albert Speer's mea culpa at Nuremberg: "Whether I knew or did not know, or how much or little I knew, is totally unimportant when I consider the horrors I OUGHT to have known about and what conclusions would have been natural ones to draw from the little I did know . . ."
Thus, Finkelstein concludes: "Indeed, the [ordinary] Germans could point in extenuation to the severity of penalties for speaking out against the crimes of state. What excuse do we have?" Perhaps, we may want to do some genuine soul-searching as we ponder that question.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliantly written, thought provoking scholarly book.
Review: Dr. Norman Finkelstein has written a brilliant and scholarly expose of the Israel-Palestine conflict. He is not a dispassionate historian/scholarnor does he pretend to be. He dedicates the book to his parents, survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto and the Nazi extermination camps: "May I never forget or forgive what was done to them." Finkelstein's keen intellect is breathtaking. His painstaking research which supports the evidence how the "reality" of the causes of the conflict is vastly different than the "image" presented to us by the media is a marvel to behold. My favorite chapters in the book are chapters 2 and 4. In Chapter 2, he discusses Joan Peters book "From Time Immemorial" and masterfully exposes it as a hoax. The crux of Peters' thesis was that "Palestine was, literally, 'uninhabited' on the eve of the Zionist colonization; and that if the Arab population did not materialize, literally, ex nihilo in Palestine, it did surreptitiously enter to exploit the economic opportunities that the Jews created when they made the 'desert bloom'." By that logic, most Palestinians were not even there in 1948 to be expelled from their homes. The fact that such a threadbare hoax can be published in this country is not surprising. But the fact that this book received accolades from journalists and scholars alike, from such luminaries as Daniel Pipes, Sidney Zion, Holocaust historian Lucy Dawidowicz, and Nobel peace prize laureate Elie Wiesel, speaks volumes about the American commissar culture. After the book went through several printings and was exposed as an utter fraud in Britain, it finally prompted Anthony Lewis to write a column for The New York Times aptly entitled "There Were No Indians." Perhaps the most illuminating part of the book is Chapter 4 entitled "Settlement, Not Conquest." Finkelstein's dissection of how the historical rhetoric and justifications for conquest are strikingly similar -- "from the British in North America to the Dutch in South Africa, from the Nazis in Eastern Europe, to the Zionists in Palestine" -- is both enlightening and comical. Finally, it is noteworthy to mention Finkelstein's poignant observation for those of us who want to see justice done to the Palestinians and to all people who are suffering as a direct result of America's diplomatic and military support to the darkest and most oppressive regimes around the globe: "The plea of 'not knowing' cannot in good faith be entered at history's bar. Those who want to know can know the truth; at all events, enough of it to draw the just conclusions." To buttress his point, he quotes Albert Speer's mea culpa at Nuremberg: "Whether I knew or did not know, or how much or little I knew, is totally unimportant when I consider the horrors I OUGHT to have known about and what conclusions would have been natural ones to draw from the little I did know . . ." Thus, Finkelstein concludes: "Indeed, the [ordinary] Germans could point in extenuation to the severity of penalties for speaking out against the crimes of state. What excuse do we have?" Perhaps, we may want to do some genuine soul-searching as we ponder that question.
Rating:
Summary: Brutally, painfuly honest
Review: Every time an Arab speaks of truths that don't agree with the official Palestinian line, we must take notice and pay attention. We must do the same when a Jew speaks of truths that don't agree with the official Israeli line. Norman Finkelstein does proud the Jewish tradition of scientists and reserachers, by being outspoken, assertive and totally stubborn. Norman Finkelstein provides in his book a meticulously researched debunking of the many myths and false perceptions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Anyone who wants to be better informed, and by a passionately impartial voice as well, would be well advised to read this book. We can no longer ignore reality, and understanding the reality in that particular drama begins here.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Excellent background on Zionism and the Israeli - Palestine conflict. Very thorough and well written. Good insights into the nature and rationale of Zionism placed in the context of other, similar mindsets. Good background on Israel's various wars and the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely good, but for those politically inclined
Review: Finkelstein's book, which deals with common rhetoric that is out there, is a bitter pill of facts that effectively argues against the picture of historic events that is most often cited involving the conflicts between Israel and the Arabs. His style is described as incredibly caustic, rooted from a quality of integrity for the truth he possesses. This is vivid in his merciless dismantling of Joan Peter's From Time Immemorial contrasted by his critique of Benny Morris' work, which Finkelstein maintains in the conclusion that Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem is still the most authorative study of the early period of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The work is meticulously researched and footnoted, thereby challenging doubtful minds to prove him wrong.
What I found most interesting were Finkelstein's reflections on the possible outcomes of the conflict and the books' revealing nature of modern warfare. Regarding the former, it is becoming more and more apparent, as is reflected by the Israeli government themselves, that a two state solution looks less and less likely, resulting in two alternatives. Regarding the latter point, Israel and other countries engage in war because they have a very good idea before hand that they will win, and it is only when the other side shows comparable strength that "peace talks" are conducted and a compromise is met.
Often times himself labeled Anti-Semitic and Anti-Zionist, Finkelstein had crafted a book that is an uncompromising critique of the myths that cloud history. He maintains that the Israeli-Palestine conflict is not complicated, and is essentially a product of colonialism, something he convincingly argues by drawing analogies to other horrendous colonial conflicts in history.
Rating:
Summary: Another good one from Mr. Finkelstein
Review: I have read several of Professor Finkelstein's boooks, and have enjoyed them all. There is so little objective writing on the subjects that he tackles. Few people are as honest and downright brave as this author. Bravo.
Rating: 
Summary: frightening
Review: I opened this book expecting to enjoy a cogent critique of Israel that would jibe with my prejudices. However, i was shocked to find a troublingly inaccurate portrayal of Benny Morris' position. NF claimed that Morris said things that i could not find in reading Morris. There were no citations just inaccurate claims. I would welcome some evidence that Morris said what is claimed. Until then i am very suspect of this authors honesty and usefulness. [see pages 29-30 of intro--he grossly mischaracterizes Morris' position}
Rating:
Summary: Something Very Clear To Understand
Review: I read this book 4 years ago, and remember in the book that it took great pains to NOT be a book of opinion, but, a investigative study into the real facts behind the conflict of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Prof. Finkelstein states certain, undeniable facts (not opinons) that we as humans have consciously & with eyes-wide-open allowed in the fate of the Palestinians - when as people we are allowing the horrenndous life in Palestine refugee camps & would rather talk about anything than %65 of the Palestinians suffer from malnutrition (due exclusively to Israeli restrictions)- to simply deteriorate. Easy & fascinating reading, unless you've decided that Palestinians don't really matter and could care less about genocide, anyway. You'll look at the Mid-East differently, I guarantee!
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