Description
Twice in the last two decades the Middle East has exploded into war. Not surprising, pronounce the experts, when you consider the mutually repellent elements packed into the area: Zionism, Islam; socialism, reaction; dictatorship, democracy; not to mention Russian and American ambitions. As well try to mix the oil of the Gulf and the water of the Jordan.
Professor Rodinson sees the conflict between the Jews and Arabs in far simpler terms. It is, in his opinion, essentially 'the struggle of an indigenous population against the occupation of part of its normal territory by foreigners'.
Maxime Rodinson traces the course of Zionism, and examines the changing ambitions and interrelations of the Arab nations. His analysis is easily written with the authority of a man who has made a life-long study of the Middle East. It is the challenging contribution of a Jew who in no small measure is in sympathy with the Arabs.
