One Palestine Complete [Hardcover]

Tom Segev (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

Great Britain ruled Palestine from 1918 to 1948, replacing 500 years of Turkish control and leading to the State of Israel, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998. The British brought Palestine into the 20th century. When they arrived the country lay in a Levantine nirvana; by the time they left it had become the arena for one of the century's major international conflicts. Among the personalities who shape this narrative are Winston Churchill, the archaeologist Flinders Petrie, King Feisal, Chaim Weizmann and David Ben Gurion. One momentous consequence of these 30 years was that at the end of World War I there were 10 Arabs for every Jew. Based on diaries, letters and first-hand accounts, this is a narrative history of Palestine under Crown rule.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Wonderfully readable and humane INDEPENDENT New and remarkable ... this excellent book SUNDAY TIMES Topicality is never an issue where Israel and the Palestinians are concerned. The arguments--not to mention bloodshed--over Jewish and Muslim nationhood and land rights have been going on for centuries and, whatever the best intentions of the current peace process, will probably go on for centuries to come. Both parties fanatically believe they have an inalienable historical right to statehood on the land in question and both regard Jerusalem as a holy City. As befits the disenfranchised, the Palestinians are slightly more open to a negotiated settlement, but the Israelis remain intransigent about handing over any but the most inhospitable of scrubland and the impasse remains. In the battle between the bullets and the ballot box, the bullets are winning hands down. Tom Segev is one of Israel's most notable historians and journalists--one of the few to strive for any sense of objectivity in his writings--so a new book by him is always worth waiting for. One Palestine, Complete is a detailed account of Palestine under British rule from 1917-48, the critical period in the modern history of the region that lead up to the creation of the state of Israel. Segev begins by carefully detailing Britain's well-known inconsistencies in dealing with both the Jews and the Arabs, both of whom it had appeared to promise if not the world, at least the country after independence was granted and goes on to make a convincing case that because Palestine fell into the category of an emotional rather than self-interested colonial possession, the Brits hoped the situation would unwind to everyone's mutual advantage. Where Segev departs from the historical norm is in his assertions that whatever the British may have said to the Palestinians their actions were uncompromisingly pro-Zionist from the off. This, he claims, was done out of the mistaken, anti-Semitic belief that the Jews controlled business and turned the wheels of history--in other words they were one of us--rather than a recognition of the rightness of their cause. Be this as it may, it is at best a partial explanation. Prior to the Second World War, Britain was on the verge of handing over Palestine to the Arabs and Segev completely downplays the impact of Western war guilt over the Holocaust that led to a huge growth in support for an independent Israeli state at the expense of Palestinian rights. Even so, One Palestine, Complete offers a thoughtful and dramatic account of the evolution of two nationalist movements that seem destined never to be reconciled. With a past like this, what hope is there for the future? John Crace, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Tom Segev is the acclaimed author of THE SEVENTH MILLION and writes a weekly column for HA'ARETZ, Israel's most prestigious newspaper.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T); First U.S. printing edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316648590
• ISBN-13: 978-0316648592
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,366,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History as Personal Narrative, March 28, 2002

By 

Amitava Mazumdar (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Palestine Complete (Hardcover)

It takes skill to teach history through engaging personal narratives. Segev did exactly that, and I enjoyed the book thoroughly as a result. I picked it up because I am very interested in the Isael-Palestine issue and wanted an introduction. Segev's book answered all the factual questions I had, and more. I understand, however, that this is a controversial book -- for portraying the British as being more sympathetic than perhaps they actually were and for creating the appearance of equivalence between violence on the Palestinian side and violence on the Israeli side. I can't comment on the validity of these criticisms. I should say, however, that his book has left me as committed to Israeli as I ever was...

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful, January 26, 2012

By 

Erica - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Palestine Complete (Hardcover)

If I wrote a book about Hitler, outlining his achievements, his leadership abilities, the technical advances under his leadership and his dark shiny hair, would I be inaccurate? Of course not, just showing a very selective truth.

Segev is the worst kind of racist, a self-loathing Semite who perpetuates every Jewish stereotype within the first chapters. I was shocked by the bias even as early as the introduction. Speaking of Palestine on Page 5, "They (The British) opened up the country to mass Jewish immigration: by 1948, the Jewish population had increased more than ten fold." This is historically inaccurate as the White Paper severely restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine from 1939 onwards, costing thousands of lives of people who were unable to flee Nazi Europe.

Within the first 30 pages there are at least two stories of scared Jews being protected by non-Jews, poor, little scared things. While later in the book hardly one page mentions Joseph Trumpeldor one of the greatest and bravest heroes of Israel who died defending his country. I won't lie, I didn't finish this book. I couldn't stomach it. Shame on you Segev. I hope you're exposed as the charlatan you are, I'm sure history won't be kind.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best renditions about Palestine ever written, April 7, 2003

By 

Roger Drake (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Palestine Complete (Hardcover)

This is a captivating book about Palestine with immense detail. Written with superb academic prowess by Tom Segev, we get a detailed look at the history of the country/region known in modern times as Palestine. Highly recommended for those looking for an objective look at the area.