21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Crucial read for understanding America's role in the Mideast, May 14, 2008
There is no end of reasons for anyone interested in Israel and Palestine to read this book. Miller worked for the State Department for a quarter century, under six different Secretaries of State and five presidents. The two Camp David summits essentially bookend his career.
The book is a veritable fountain of insight into American Middle East diplomacy. Miller never loses sight of both the political complications of attempts to bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, nor of the human elements that are such a vital part of diplomacy.
Unusual for a book of its kind, The Much Too Promised Land is exceptionally well-written and fully engages the reader throughout. It's that rarest of creations, a book of politics and history that's also a real page-turner.
Miller gives us priceless material on a quarter-century of American engagement in the Middle East; is unsparing in his criticism, including of himself; but is also quite clear in his praise. One gets a really good picture of what worked and what didn't and why. We also get a picture of the circumstances, which is crucial to understanding why a given course of action might work in 1978 but not in 2007, or might fail at one time but succeed at another.
Perhaps the most important point Miller brings out in his book, though this is not his focus, is the role of the "Israel Lobby" in American policy-making. Miller makes clear what I, among others, have been saying for years-that the "Lobby" is certainly powerful and effective and has an impact, but decisions are not based on what it wants. Miller illustrates well the importance of citizens organizing lobbying forces promoting reasonable policies but also makes clear where the power of lobbying ends and the leadership of a president begins. Click here and here for more of my own work on this issue. We'll get back to the issue of lobbying below.
Miller's book is simply indispensible for anyone wanting to truly understand America's policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict from Carter to George W.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Read, April 13, 2008
In The Much Too Promised Land, Aaron David Miller presents and blends diplomatic and political history, a personal memoir, and offers advice on the future U.S. role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Miller is unique in his ability to present personal anecdotes and experiences from the peace process and he demonstrates an intimate understanding of the complex and existential issues facing the parties. He is candid and honest, admitting his personal mistakes from his twenty-plus years in the Department of State, and also identifies the errors of those who served around him. The Much Too Promised Land is more than just a diplomatic history however, and provides a readable, accessible book that at times made this reader laugh out loud - not an easy task considering the weighty issues being discussed. The book is a must read, and the supporting website, which is complete with audio clips from many of Miller's interviews with key policymakers is also a great resource.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
First-person account of peace-making, July 15, 2008
Part memoir, part history, part journalism, this book by a veteran Arab-Israeli peace negotiator should appeal to Mideast junkies who still believe in the "peace process."
A disclaimer: I covered many of these same events as State Dept. correspondent for Reuters from 1989-94. I was present at some of the events Miller describes; I traveled with Secretaries Baker and Christopher. I even interviewed Miller himself on background a number of times. (He seemed to enjoy chatting to reporters on background but he rarely revealed anything interesting or useful). For more about me and my latest book
The Nazi Hunter: A Novelgo to www.alanelsner.com.
This book is an uncertain mix of different genres. The personal memoir I found the most interesting. I wish there were more of these vignettes. I'm interested in the various characters Miller dealt with -- Rabin, Peres, Arafat, King Hussein, Presidents Mubarak and Assad. I'm interested in what went on behind the closed doors because I already know what emerged on the public record (I covered a lot of it). Unfortunately, Miller remains overly coy and discreet. He was never one to give much away and he apparently hasn't changed.
The history segment, in which Miller analyzes the successful Middle East negotiations conducted by Kissinger and President Carter, one can basically read about elsewhere.
The journalism -- he interviewed many of the key players, is somewhat interesting. But most of these actors have a deep interest in presenting events to their best advantage and Miller doesn't really challenge them.
His chapter of the power of the American-Jewish lobby and the fundamentalist Christian-Zionist lobby contained little new.
I picked up a couple of points I disagreed with: Miller claims the Madrid Peace Conference came as a big shock to the press. Not so. The only surprise was the venue. We'd all assumed the conference would be in Lausanne and had already booked hotel rooms.
Miller's account of Baker's trip to see the Kurdish refugees created after the first Gulf War conveniently leaves out the fact that these million plus refugees had fled their homes after the United States allowed Saddam Hussein to crush their revolt -- which they launched at the urging of President Bush. Miller notes that Baker, who had traveled thousands of miles by plane, helicopter and jeep, to see these refugees, stayed less than 10 minutes once he arrived.
The true hero of this book for Miller is Jim Baker who I agree was a largely successful Secretary of State who used the favorable circumstances he was presented with to achieve some modest progress on the Middle East. (He and Bush can be criticized for other failures -- their lack of attention to the looming war in Yugoslavia and the failure to anticipate Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.)
Miller gives relatively low marks to Clinton who got too bogged down in the little details of the negotiations, leaned too far toward Israel and committed himself to an ill-prepared summit at Camp David that was always destined to fail.
Miller loves Rabin, has little time for Netanyahu and is scathing about Barak. He is harsh, but not sufficiently so, about Arafat.
After all the failures and frustrations, Miller is still a true believer. He still believes in the possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians and lays out some conditions for that to happen. There may have been missed opportunities in the 1990s (although I personally doubt that either Assad or Arafat were ever ready to make peace with Israel) but it seems quixotic to hope for much today with Hamas ruling Gaza, the Iranian-backed Hizbollah controlling Lebanon and U.S. prestige so far eroded after eight years of Bush.
This book is recommended for those who already know a lot about the Middle East but would like to know a little more about what it was like to be in the middle of those negotiations.
But it falls a touch short in my view of what it could have been.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
