The best single account of Palestine under the British mandate . . . This will doubtlessly become the authoritative text for the pre-state history of Israel.” —Omer Bartov, The New York Times Book Review
“Sharp, skillful . . . Segev certainly knows how to write a riveting tale.” —Anita Shapira, The New Republic
“A brilliant, truthful, and compassionate book . . . In all the vast literature about Palestine/Israel, this is the only book with equal insight into all of the protagonists.” —Arthur Hertzberg, author of Jews: The Essence and Character of a People
“An antidote to myths . . . A book of pressing relevance . . . We should be thankful.” —Gershom Gorenberg, Washington Post Book World
“Remarkable and poignant . . . Important for any understanding of the Middle East conflict.” —Susan Muaddi, Philadelphia Weekly
“Masterly . . . well-informed and impartial . . lets the historical record straight.” —Patrick Martin, Toronto Globe & Mail
“A fresh look at a period that at times prefigured the present . . . Compelling.” —Seth Gitell, Boston Phoenix
“A wonderfully readable account of the mandate, classic and magisterial in unpacking the story . . . At various times one wants to wrestle it, hurl it against the wall, salute it, even slap it on the back in congratulation . . . A fascinating book.” —Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer
“Thoroughly researched . . . incisive.” —Steve Lipman, Jewish Week
“Never have we had a book documenting life under the British with the precision, magic, and charm of One Palestine, Complete. . . Tom Segev has chosen wonderfully tangible details for a rich and fascinating fresco . . . He treats the Mandate period as a novel, laying out all the elements needed to further the plot over the next fifty years. Here are the seeds of all that has come to pass . . . Clearly, the tensions, problems, and ills plaguing the country today were very much alive then.” —Ha'aretz
“Thrilling and eye-opening,” —Benny Morris, author of Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict 1881-1999
“This book is hard to put down. Events are fascinatingly told from three viewpoints...The mistakes made by the British, Jews, and Arabs that led to the current impasse are clearly evident in Segev's book.” —J. Zel Lurie, Hadassah Magazine
“Loaded with information on the British mandate and the people who ran it.” —Sol Schindler, Washington Times
“Segev handles his material with a historian's scrupulous scholarship and a journalist's eye for storytelling. Sophisticated in its analysis and fair in its judgments, One Palestine, Complete isn't a chronicle of heroes or villains.” —Dave Luhrssen, Milwaukee Shephard Express
“Exceedingly well written . . . Certain to become a landmark of information on the history of Israel.” —David Rosenfield, Houston Jewish Herald-Voice
Tom Segev, who has made a name for himself among historians for his often controversial viewpoints, has done it again with his take on the history of this troubled region. This is a panoramic look at the three decades (1917-1948) when the Palestinian region was ruled by the British -- a time during which both the Jews and the Arabs were told that they would inherit the land. As we see in today's daily headlines, those promises continue to affect this volatile region. Segev claims that the British were, in fact, pro-Zionist, rather than pro-Arab as commonly thought.
A cogent, readable, and meticulously researched account of Zionism and British policy in Palestine under the British Mandate. Ha'retz columnist Segev (The Seventh Million, 1993) draws from a mind-boggling array of primary and secondary source material to illustrate the wide range of issues and individuals that affected the political climate of Palestine between 1917 and 1948. His primary claim is that the British government was sympathetic to the Zionists over the Arabs at the close of WWI, because certain key officials (e.g., Lloyd George) believed the world's Jews to be a great and powerful transnational force that he would be wise to befriend and foolish to alienate. To this end, the author paints Chaim Weizmann as the one-man propaganda machine and spin-doctor who was behind it all—a kind of magic-bullet theory that fails to solve the puzzle satisfactorily. More plausible than Segev's radical claims of conspiracy and cowardice is his emphasis on Zionism in its pre-WWII form: he manages, through careful documentation and the innovative integration of source material, to effectively debunk the popular myth of Israel owing its independence to the sympathies of an international community horrified by the Holocaust. Making good use of historical documents, personal correspondence, and private journals, Segev allows certain characters to tell their own stories—from Yefim Gordin (a young Jewish immigrant who changed his name for the cause) to Khalil al-Sakakini (a leading Arab intellectual, educator, and nationalist)—which add up, in the end, to an intricate portrait of the mottled, beautiful, deadly mess that is the Holy Land. A careful, thorough,andintelligent work of journalistic history.
