Palestine

A Four Thousand Year History

By: Nur Masalha

Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi

Length: 16 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

This rich and magisterial work traces Palestine's millennia-old heritage, uncovering cultures and societies of astounding depth and complexity that stretch back to the very beginnings of recorded history.

Starting with the earliest references in Egyptian and Assyrian texts, Nur Masalha explores how Palestine and its Palestinian identity have evolved over thousands of years, from the Bronze Age to the present day. Drawing on a rich body of sources and the latest archaeological evidence, Masalha shows how Palestine's multicultural past has been distorted and mythologized by Biblical lore and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

In the process, Masalha reveals that the concept of Palestine, contrary to accepted belief, is not a modern invention or one constructed in opposition to Israel, but rooted firmly in ancient past. Palestine represents the authoritative account of the country's history.

©2018 Nur Masalha (P)2021 Tantor

Excellent

Highly recommended. Most useful chapters to me are the introduction, and final two chapters. Will reread the rest in the future at some point.

Must read

Just as Edward Said de-colonized Oriental studies, Masalha does the same to Palestinian history, which has been purposefully suppressed and obscured

Great Book, lots of unknown knowledge and facts

Great book well read, deep look into the history of Palestine, it is a must read to those who find this region of the world a must understand.

Excellent antidote to biblical fantasies

This is a very illuminating and well-researched history of the land of Palestine. While it is scholarly and contains extensive citations, it is still easy to listen to. A great antidote to ahistoric biblical narratives propagated by Western Christians and Zionists.

Detailed history

This book was written with a high level of attention to detail and historical accounts.

Eye opening

Nur gives an excellent review of the history of Palestine from the Bronze Age to now. This book is not only history of events but also provides the circumstances in which they occurred along with the current archeological and linguistic evidence.

Informative and surprising.

The amount of speculation is minimal with many facts citing their sources. I previously had no knowledge of the history of "Israel" Palestine and once asked a friend and Orthadox Jew about it. He told me there was nothing there but a few small villages and that the Arabs tried farming the land but nothing would grow. He also told me that there is no such thing as Palestinians, as they are just Jordanian refugees. This seemed odd to me and is a clear example of what the author describes. This book is filled with information that explains the long history of Palestine and the erasure/eradication of the indigenous Palestinian history and people.

Amazing history of Palestine with Encyclopedic in depth!

The best book I ever read in the history of Palestine. Well written and engaging. Highly recommend it!

Comprehensive and valuable

While not exactly a page-turner, when countering a sophisticated force intent on erasing historical memory of a people and identity, it's understandable that every detail be exhausted in defense. A lot, and I mean a lot, of historical documentation and cartography is presented establishing the legitimacy of a Palestinian identity, thereby substantiating a claim to nationhood, or at least formulating a legal standing to arbitrate for it. The history of the settler colonial toponymic project is particularly egregious. The effort to replace long existing place names with those suited to a self-serving biblical reference is cynicism of the highest order, and deserves about the same amount of respect as does the fiction within the books in that particular collection. A valuable, reliable resource for understanding the conflict in the region.

Good history

Very thorough account of Palestinian history from ancient times through 1948. Highly recommended to listen.