Arab-Israeli Conflict

School Library Journal

Gr 9-12-- A physically attractive book that includes short chapters, photographs of good quality both in black and white and in color, and a section on leading figures in Middle Eastern history. Unfortunately, the content is not of the same quality. A very complicated subject is oversimplified, resulting in a text that is confusing and occasionally misleading. Particularly muddled is the section on the Balfour Declaration and the reasons for British support of a Jewish homeland; readers may not clearly understand the historical reasons. The vocabulary and reading level vary from approachable to quite sophisticated, some of the chapters end abruptly, and the transitions are weak. This book may be useful to students who need a review of a subject with which they are already familiar, but better choices are available, Carroll's The Palestine Question , Worth's Israel and the Arab States (both Watts, 1983) among them. --Rosie Peasley, Sylvan Union School District, Modesto, CA