Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine

I am a retired history teacher, and I have been studying the history of Palestine for a long time. I cannot abide any part of the concept that Palestinians do not exist. This particular book is really useful, as it goes through the history of the region, side by side. I have concluded that the likelihood of Palestinians surviving Netanyahoo's attempts to kill them all is beyond anything I can influence. If you care at all, please check out this book to at least read the CONSTANT Zionist efforts to destroy the Palestinians as not worthy of life on earth ...

I’ve been reading Side by Side and it’s truly an eye-opener. The book presents both the Israeli and Palestinian narratives with fairness and depth, without taking sides. It helped me understand the history and emotions behind the conflict in a very human and respectful way. Highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn about the region without bias.

I love the way this book is constructed. The side by side narratives from both the Palestinians and the Jews is a brilliant concept. For me, the histories given are sometimes a bit shallow. There are errors of fact from both sides, but I guess that's to be expected. I do think this book is worth reading. I believe that few people are well versed in the history of this land and this book will definitely help with understanding some of the issues surrounding the conflict. For a significantly better history book, I would read "Righteous Victims" by Morris, but this book is a long and complicated read. Most people won't won't have the patience to sift through all 800 pages of this difficult history. "Side by Side" is a reasonable but far less in depth history book. I would love to see both Jewish and Palestine high school students using "Side by Side" as their text for the study of the conflict, but I doubt most teachers and schools would endorse such a program. Unfortunately, part of the problem with both Palestinians and Jews is their need to indoctrinate their youth with only their narrative. I once heard a Jewish Israeli "scholar" say that he didn't want Jewish kids going to the Hand In Hand School in Israel. This is a wonderful school that educates kids from kindergarten through 12th grade and has both Jewish and Arab teachers teaching the narrative of both sides. This "scholar" said that he might be okay with sending high school students there, but he certainly didn't want younger students participating in such a program. My interpretation: Let us indoctrinate our kids first, and then maybe we'll let them hear the other viewpoint. Oy vey.

This is the single best book to read if you want to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict. This would be the first book I would recommend to anyone. There's no way to get a truly unbiased historical narrative. This book provides both history (and narratives), done in a scholarly way, with as modest bias as possible, side-by-side. An achievement.

Very interesting perspective on the conflict presented in an innovative format. This book was for a class and it was my favorite out of all the books we used. It was fascinating to see the way narratives differ, and to get more of a personalized account of the conflict. I would recommend pairing this with the Very Short Introduction by Martin Bunton so you can get all the facts first, which should help you look critically at the narratives presented here. I would also recommend not always reading the Israeli narrative first (that is how the book is written). Switching what narrative you read first helps you make sure your thoughts aren't being affected by the order in which the information was presented -- very important if you're trying to be neutral.

Really great book. Gives great insight to both sides of the issue and covers all the necessary history to be conversant.

Good content of the historical differences between the Arab countries and Israel. The book is poorly edited as from page to page incomplete sentences, partial sentences leaving the reader feeling you missed something. With every page trying to figure out what the jump is suppose to be as information is compacted without connection. Found myself writing down dates/conflicts/ who vs who to make it easier to understand the historical background.

Must Read

Fantastic and unique effort to bridge the dual and contrasting perspectives on the Palestine-Israel conflict. Absolutely recommend it to anyone seeking a balanced, nuanced, and deep insight on the whole issue and its roots.

Informative and the layout is very interesting. You don’t have to read the chapters in order

This hand mixer is excellent. I have been using this model for several years (recently renewed) and I like the size. It is easy to wash up too!

Got the book late delivery but never mind great read