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Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael B. Oren
Publisher: Presidio Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy Used: $2.98
You Save: $14.97 (83%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  140 reviews
Sales Rank: 73839
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0345461924
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.046
EAN: 9780345461926
ASIN: 0345461924
Publication Date: June 3, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Paperback. Binding is tight. Moderate wear to cover. Some pages show wear. Cover corners are folding. Sticker on front cover has been removed.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Though it lasted for only six tense days in June, the 1967 Arab-Israeli war never really ended. Every crisis that has ripped through this region in the ensuing decades, from the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to the ongoing intifada, is a direct consequence of those six days of fighting. Michael B. Oren’s magnificent Six Days of War, an internationally acclaimed bestseller, is the first comprehensive account of this epoch-making event.
Writing with a novelist’s command of narrative and a historian’s grasp of fact and motive, Oren reconstructs both the lightning-fast action on the battlefields and the political shocks that electrified the world. Extraordinary personalities—Moshe Dayan and Gamal Abdul Nasser, Lyndon Johnson and Alexei Kosygin—rose and toppled from power as a result of this war; borders were redrawn; daring strategies brilliantly succeeded or disastrously failed in a matter of hours. And the balance of power changed—in the Middle East and in the world. A towering work of history and an enthralling human narrative, Six Days of War is the most important book on the Middle East conflict to appear in a generation.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 135 more reviews...
 Just in Time September 13, 2008
After reading Benny Morris' "1948", I was looking for the best book about the Six Day War of 1967. I thank my fellow Amazon reviewers for pointing me to Michael Oren's masterful work when I was initially considering a different book.
This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand what's going on in the Middle East - as insightful as (and more detailed than) Thomas Friedman's landmark "From Beirut to Jerusalem" of 20 years ago. Oren understands that though we already know what has happened, history is never pre-determined and often depends upon subtle nuances in timing, personality and judgment of the players involved in making it. He skillfully tells the story with rich foreshadowing and character development that leads the reader on a fast-paced adventure to one of most important events to shape our modern world.
Like the key decisions made by leaders in 1967, this book was published just in time for this generation to understand how what happened 40 years ago is so important to remember today.
An Impressive Marshalling of Sources August 13, 2008
Oren's history of the Six Day's War contains eight, tightly packed pages of source articles and books in English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic and Russian, seemingly covering the bases of source materials about the 1967 war, from memoirs to newspaper articles, government documents to personal recollections. Oren sheds much needed light on the Arab side of the conflict, the motivations, rivalries, strengths and weaknesses of Egypt, Syria and Jordan's military effort. All and all, he presents a detailed and compelling picture of the Six Days War, with all its highs and lows, primarily from the diplomatic perspective.
Very In-Depth - Covers All Aspects of Six-Day War July 17, 2008
Oren begins by looking at the context surrounding the Six-Day War. He looks at Palestinian terror attacks in Israel and their Syrian support, the plight of hundreds of thousands of displaced and angry Palestinians (from the 1948 war), Israel's eternal belief that it is both invincible and weak, the fighting between King Hussein, Nasser, and Syria's divided leadership and how it led to a need to turn the attention on a unifying foe (Israel), Arab disunity, etc. Looking at all these things and many more, Oren seeks to explain how the Arabs and Israelis stumbled into the Six-Day War. I thought this part was fascinating for the most part; Oren really touches every aspect in an attempt to explain the war's "context and causes." If anything, however, I thought he touched on too many things, as this part of the book lingered on for a while (roughly 150 pages).
For the remainder of the book, Oren writes one chapter per day of fighting (plus an "Aftershocks" conclusion). These pages are brilliantly written with such fine detail. Oren really did his research. He quotes people during and after battle, results of government-done studies, prior-classified documents, etc. The level of detail is AMAZING. He looks at the states of mind of military commanders, their ambitions and goals, inter-goverment rivalries, etc (for both the Israelis and the Arabs).
When reading books on this part of the world, bias is an important thing to note (as it should color your acceptance of their work and opinions). Oren is definitely biased toward the Israelis (I believe, after all, that he is Israeli). That said, I would consider him only slightly-to-moderately biased; he retains a good deal of objectivity and portrays some Israelis in a negative or objective light.
This is a fantastic book for serious students of the Middle East or those interested in military history. It details maneuvers, tactics and strategies, etc of the military campaign - very interesting. Also, for a war book, there is very little description of gore (if you cannot watch the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, you can still read this book).
All in all, this is an excellent book and I recommend it highly.
How the Middle East Changed Forever in Six Days June 14, 2008
I originally read this book based on a favorable reference by Washington Post op-ed columnist Charles Krauthammer. The Six Day War is one of the most pivotal events in modern Middle East History. It is when Israel took control of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. This is why you often hear pro-Palestinian pundits demand for Israel to return to its pre-1967 borders, meaning the borders before this war.
The Six Day War is also when five Arabs nations suffered an ignominious defeat that eventually led to the decline of the Arab Nationalist movement. Michael Oren is exceptional at recreating the incredibly tense days before this war. Syria remilitarizes the Golan Heights. The United Nations Emergency Forces are withdrawn from Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Egypt re-militarizes the Sinai Peninsula and blockades the vital Straits of Tiran. Arab nationalist fanatics are calling to "push the Jews into the sea." King Hussein of Jordan, while on a shaky relationship with Egyptian President Nasser, signs a pact to fight alongside Egypt. All the while President Johnson of the U.S. is warning Israel not to "start the war." (!) How could the Israeli Defense Forces overcome such great odds, let alone in six days!?
If you want to read about the Six Day War, you will not find a better book. Not only is this book highly respected for its factual content, it also is very exciting to read.
 Required Reading for Understanding the Current Middle East Situation February 19, 2008
A very thorough and engaging book, "Six Days of War" was virtually impossible for me to put down. This is 'required reading' for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of current issues in the Middle East. the book will also be of assistance in understanding the rise of Pan-Arabism and Nasserism, the situation with the Occupied Territories (West Bank and Gaza), the fate of Jerusalem (even now the subject of
contentious debate between Israel and the Palestinians) and Israel's (uneasy) relations with the Arab nations which surround her. Oren does an excellent job in presenting all sides of this complex war, as both the Arab nations and the Israelis have a compelling story to tell. If you are planning a trip to Israel anytime in the future, put this book at the top of your reading list!
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