This book was not entirely what I expected as far as format, but I liked the way the author organized the book. I am knowledgable on some of Israel's history, but I appreciated the author including some of the history of Jewish people returning to the land, then Palestine, before Israel was formed in 1948. It helped me to better understand some of the country and peoples' history.

I think the author gave a balanced representation of the political environment in that region of the world. I can't say that I agree with all of his view, but I don't disagree with all of them either. If you want to learn about Israel's more recent history, primarily the 20th century, this would be a good book to read.