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)

Very enlightening

This book shed a lot of light on Israel and its neighbors. It does a great job laying out the foundations of the conflict as well as detailed descriptions of the various leaders and ambassadors. Well written and laid out beginning, middle, and end.

phenomenal

loved the organization, insights and total coverage of the 6 Days War. absolutely awesome book

Outstandingly Written

As noted in other reviews 3 books in 1 IMO also

1948-1956 ; 1956-1967 ; 6 Days War

The author gives you a great feeling of the thoughts of both sides. if you are looking for a book with just strategy and tactics this has some of that but look else wheres.

This book is more of a geopolitical book with declassified information and then a overall break down of the war.

Very enjoyable!!

Now you’ll know the Who, what, where’s and when.

This is an excellent book that explains clearly and concisely why there was a Six Day War, why it only lasted six days, and the aftermath of the war. It reads like a thriller, and yet it’s all true history. If you love history, you’ll love this book. Enjoy!

Good listen but as one-sided as actual conflict!

I'd been looking forward to this book as I had heard it was a balanced account. Well, book is good, but author's bias sways as much toward the Israeli favor as did the war itself. Nothing at all wrong with that, as many good histories are a bit one sided, but he states in beginning his goal was to be objective.
While he does spend an inordinate amount of time on the pre-war diplomacy, once the action starts the book moves fast--unfortunately, too fast. My only criticism is that I had hoped the battle scenes would have been fleshed out more.
Again, while clearly showing a bias, he does examine various reasons why the Egyptians, Syrians, and Jordanians were so caught unaware.
A better idea for a book would be a side by side comparison of the surprise in 1967 and why Israel did so well, versus the 1973 attack that caught the Israelis comparatively off-guard, yet did not garner the same success for the Arab countries that Israel had in 1967 against them.

A Blow by Blow Account

In 1967 Israel launched a preemptive strike on the Arab forces posed to bring to an end the problem of a Jewish nation in the middle east. The success of their venture surprised even the Israelis in the destruction of the united air forces, and humiliated the enemy to the point that they blamed both the United States and Great Britain as the culprits, although they were never involved. In recent years documents have been declassified and in this book we find a blow by blow account of a fascinating and critical engagement of the late 2oth century. This is an important account of a war which reverberates to this day. Highly Recommended.

Better than fiction

very interesting and very detailed piece of history.
Maybe sometimes a bit too detailed.
Excellent speaker performance.

A dramatic and suspenseful historic account

A detailed account of the interplay of cold war superpowers posturing over the menacing and goading threats of Egypt's Nasser. Nasser entwines Jordan's Hussein while Syria taunts Israel with cross border artillery barrages complacent in its deep Soviet backing. Israel reaches a psychological and tactical breaking point and plunges into the stunning Six Days War. The US sadly suffered horrible and tragically accidental casualties as well in the Israeli offensive when a US ship stationed "between" Israel and Egypt is nearly sunk after mistaken identity. This book is a compilation of statesmanship, military build-up and tactical successes and failures that comprise the Six Days War.

As advertised.

If you are looking for an in-depth presentation of the circumstance and events surrounding the 1967 war this is worth a read. Perhaps there is a tinge of bias in favor of the Israelis, but if so it is not particularly noticeable or important.

Perhaps, Oren is a tad harsh on Nasser, but it is probably impossible to write a history of these events that isn't Seamlessly integrates the divergent interests and worries of the Arab States, and lays a solid and believable framework that highlights the importance of these events for the changes in the 1970's.

Tedious

The narration is unvaried and monotonous.

I had expected more interesting, engaging descriptions of battles and small unit actions. This audio is a detailed, dry laundry list of “just the facts,” which is, I suppose, of utility to academics but not so for the general public. I was hoping for less minutiae in favor of essential, simpler explanations of historical backdrop and riveting descriptions of battles and engagements.

Recommended for academics; not so for those wanting a more basic, essential understanding.