Six Days of War

June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East

By: Michael B. Oren

Narrated by: Robert Whitfield

Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

In Israel and the West, it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War or, simply, as "the Setback". Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen, and largely unwanted by both sides so transformed the world. The Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon, the Camp David accords, the controversy over Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the intifada, and the rise of Palestinian terror are all part of the outcome of those six days of intense Arab-Israeli fighting in the summer of 1967.

Michael B. Oren spotlights all the participants: Arab, Israeli, Soviet, and American, as well as all the world leaders involved in this earth-shaking clash that transformed the world.

©2002 Michael B. Oren (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Oren is not only a lucid, compelling writer, but reader Robert Whitfield is a master at narrative drive through intonation alone. The listener cannot put this book down. A triumph." (AudioFile)

A maybe too-thorough history of the 6-day war

Michael Oren is currently the Israeli ambassador to the United States. He was born in New York & grew up in New Jersey. His father was in the D-Day landing & the Korean War. This lays the foundation of who Michael Oren is which is what he does in his history. Two-thirds of his book are the preamble of events leading to the war. He tells it in such detail that it's obvious that he accessed sources from all sides of the war.

Just Fantastic

I'm sure some on both sides will say this book is bias, but if you like Modern History then this is just a great read even if you know next to nothing about the conflict or politics of the region.

Very Educational

This book is very informative and gives a detailed, bipartisan account of the 1967 war. My only dislike is that sometimes it felt like I was listening to a textbook. I can't complain though because I learned so much.

A good telling of a war that most on the West don’t know about

I didn’t know anything about this war and this was a really good introduction to it. It gives a balanced view of it and allows you to make up your mind on who is right and who is wrong. Did the Arab Nations, with their vows to destroy Israel and their machinations get their comeuppance? Or did Israel overreact and did more than they should have? That’s up to the reader to decide for themselves.

The narrator is good. There were a few words that the pronunciation made me do a double take but it doesn’t drag down the story.

Overall, a pretty good book on the subject.

Thrilling, couldn’t put it down

Detailed and thorough account of the 6 day war. Lots of facts, provides a good and balanced view of the conflict

six days of war

Would you listen to Six Days of War again? Why?

yes - because of the topic

Who was your favorite character and why?

have not finished the book

What does Robert Whitfield bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think that you should say in advance that it is read aloud by an Englishman with a British accent, not an American accent. It is not impossible to understand but not the best.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

riveting part of history and helps to understand today's politics

Any additional comments?

do not use my name for the review or any or my comments

fascinating and great narrator!

great book. amazing story. well written and amazingly read. really recommended! especially for people with some background.

Amazingly dull

This is a thorough presentation of the political circumstances surrounding the six day war. Even so, it seems amazing that a six-day period of history that gripped the world with every extreme emotion could somehow be presented in so dull a presentation.

Great telling of an incredible event.

This book was fascinating to me. I find the history of the Middle East unbelievable at times and this book was well researched and easy to listen to. Highly recommend to anyone interested in Middle East history.

Fantastic in depth history of the conflict

Any additional comments?

A wonderful breakdown of the events leading up to, through, and after the Six day war of June 1967. It broke the events down into manageable chunks that can be digested and incorporated into the larger understanding of the story. I was impressed by the Narrator as well.
If you are interested in history, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, or Israel then I recommend reading this book.