Review
By tying together the strands of oil and strategic interests in Saudi Arabia with the familiar narrative about the American relationship with Zionism, this book is a major contribution to our understanding of crucial events for the future of the Middle East. Gendzier provides revelations and fresh insights throughout. -- Rashid Khalidi, Columbia University
Drawing from a rich variety of sources, many previously untapped, Irene L. Gendzier provides a most valuable reinterpretation of the roots of U.S. policy towards Israel and the Palestinians. In particular, she shows convincingly that the crucial choice for planners was not 'oil versus Israel,' as commonly believed, but rather 'oil and Israel,' and demonstrates no less convincingly that the secrets of the past that she uncovers are intimately connected with 'the troubled present.' A very significant contribution. -- Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Present-day U.S. policy in the Middle East consists of contradictions wrapped in illusions propped up by hypocrisies. Gendzier traces those contradictions, illusions, and hypocrisies to a single point of origin: Washington's ill-fated response to the 'Palestine question' during the pivotal years from 1945 to 1949. Dying to Forget is comprehensive, illuminating, and, above all, compelling―revisionism in the best sense of the term. -- Andrew J. Bacevich, author of Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War
In this fascinating, illuminating, and authoritative reconstruction of the complex evolution of U.S. policy toward the emergence of Israel, Gendzier tells a gripping story that displays extraordinary narrative skills as well as exhibiting her mastery of an astonishing range of scholarly materials. Although primarily a brilliant contribution to diplomatic history, this work is relevant to our understanding of the crucial interplay between Israeli diplomacy and oil geopolitics in the Middle East. -- Richard A. Falk, Princeton University
A Middle East scholar uncovers the post-World War II history of American policy in Palestine. From the beginning, it's been about oil.... compiling an almost bulletproof brief. Vital reading for those looking to understand, 65 years later, the origins of the continuing conflict in the Middle East. ― Kirkus Reviews
Gendzier's thorough but dense account, best suited to the serious student of Middle East policy, is essential to any sophisticated understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ― Publishers Weekly
Making excellent use of the previously overlooked papers of Max Ball, who directed the Oil and Gas Division of the Department of the Interior, Gendzier methodically reveals the significant role that oil played in US calculations about the emerging State of Israel. ― Middle East Journal
[A] thought-provoking read.... Highly recommended. ― CHOICE
Gendzier shows an impressive command of far-ranging material. ― Race and Class
About the Author
Irene L. Gendzier is professor emerita in the Department of Political Science at Boston University. She is also the author of Notes from the Minefield: United States Intervention in Lebanon and the Middle East, 1945–1958 and Frantz Fanon: A Critical Study, and she is a coeditor, with Richard Falk and Robert Lifton, of Crimes of War: Iraq.
