The following is my review for Amazon:
The Israel- Palestine mess is heartbreaking and frustrating for people who care for both peoples. It is also very complicated - so much history and so many groups of people involved. It is not easy to systematically understand the region by reading a few articles or by watching a few TV programs. First, some people get so emotional and opinionated that they are unable to present an objective picture. Even some who try to tell stories objectively are unable to tell the whole truth. It requires integrity, deep knowledge and passion to elucidate the conflict and present a just and practical solution. Integrity, passion, deep knowledge, that is President Carter.
President Carter does not gain all his knowledge just from his voluminous reading. Much of his knowledge is from his involvement in peace treaty negotiation, personal dealing with both Israel and Arab political leaders and his friendship with many of them. He probably commands genuine respect and admiration among the leaders and peoples in that region more than anyone else. I have to emphasize the word genuine because some people in power may seem to garner a lot respect, but that type of respect is more for the power than for the person.
This is a history book, a storybook and a scholarly essay. It will help you gain unbiased perspective of the Middle East affairs. President carter has been encouraging people to go to Palestine and check the facts by themselves.
Ironically, I got to know this book from the media talking about the controversies over this book. After reading this book, I feel that one has to use microscope to pick some sentences and take them out of context as evidence of President Carter's bias against Israel. I have been irritated by many people commenting or making conclusions without carefully reading the book. I remember a high-profile panel was commenting on issues related to this book. All of them either did not read the book or read only a part of the book. Then incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi eagerly issued a statement saying that President Carter "does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel" even before the book was published. It seems there is some sort of campaign to criticize the book and many people engage themselves in the campaign simply because it seems to be on their side. All of these offer solid evidence that a book like this is in great need. It seems the main public is different from the media and the elites such as Bill Clinton who wrote a letter to the American Jewish Committee thanking them for criticizing the book. Wherever President Carter goes to talk about this book, he receives standing ovations and long applauses. The support for him far exceeds his critics. I suspect the publicized criticism reflects where big money goes, not the mainstream public thinks.
The book is mainly to present the facts and hopefully to stimulate
a more balanced discussion, and provide advice in resolving the conflicts in
principle. I doubt the leaders in the region will heed the advice. President
Carter is the most underutilized political leader for resolving the problems
in the Middle East considering his passion, reputation, experience and wisdom.
Ironically, Tony Blair, the co-leader of the Iraq War against by the vast majority
of Arabs, is the envoy for the Middle East Quartet. Considering how articulate
Tony Blair is and his questionable integrity, and that we may hear a lot from
him about the Middle East in the coming years, this book is especially valuable
and timely. I strongly recommend reading this book before hearing anything about
the Middle East from other people with uncertain integrity, less experience
or lack of genuine love for both Israelis and Palestinians.
