A while ago, I mentioned that I had started reading Six Days of War, by Oren. Last night I finally finished it.
It was definitely hard to get into. The first section of the book sets up the background for the war. It was hard to keep all of the names straight because to my unexperienced American ears, the Arab names all sound the same. However, the more I read, the more familiar I became with the different players, and the more it made sense.
It's said that history repeats itself, and this book is a perfect example. After many guerilla raids and terrorist strikes against Israel, many threats from the Arab world and many attempts by the Israelis to reach peace through political methods instead of war, there was no other choice. Israel struck first, destroying the entire Egyptian army and humiliating the Soviets, the Syrians, the Jordanians, the Egyptians, the Iraqis, and more. I found the details of the battle to be extremely interesting, however the political struggles that went on behind the scenes were also enthralling.
I'm glad that I invested the time and effort to finish this one. It was well worth it, giving me at least a little bit more knowledge about why we are where we are today.
In closing, I think I'm hooked. Anyone know of any books that look at the time from 1967 to the present in the Middle East? I'd appreciate it.