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)

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.

brilliant well researched and nail biting

this may be the best book of its genre. Meticulously well-researched from multiple sources and perspectives. captivating and suspenseful , a Triumph of Storytelling and political history

captivating and clear

Great background, clear narration. I can easilt visualize the interaction between key players and military units

Invaluable Middle East Perspective

After the Arab Spring began, I wanted to know more of the history of conflict in that area of the world. I have paid careful attention to the news, but news is a snapshot of what is happening now. Without historical context, the “why” is elusive.

“Six Days of War” is a detailed history of The 1967 Six Day War/The June ’67 War and the 1973 Yom Kippur/October War. It gives the historical context that gave rise to the long running Arab-Israeli dispute that started even before Israel became a nation. Orem follows with a comprehensive, but brief discussion of conflict until 2002, when he wrote his book.

Syria triggered the 1967 war by a series of border skirmishes, and firing on an Israeli farming outpost. Six weeks later, after the Israelis and the Arabs gathered munitions; tried to convince the United States (Israel) and the Soviet Union (Egypt) to provide artillery and planes; nominally tried to resolve the situation peacefully at the United Nations; and mustered public support, the war began.

Oren avoids easy stereotypes about the military prowess – or lack thereof –on either side. It would be easy to minimize the Arab military preparations and tactics because they were completely overwhelmed in combat, but Oren pays careful attention to the factors that caused that. Those included Soviet military equipment unsuited for desert warfare; an overriding Arab distrust of Jordan’s King Hussein; Syria’s failure to fight until 4 or 5 days into the war; nepotism and cronyism in the Egyptian army that meant incompetent men were making battle decisions; and an overarching communications problem.

The Israelis had different problems and some spectacular failures. Because of mistaken identity, the Israelis bombed the USS Liberty, an American ship in international waters 25 miles off the coast of Egypt, killing 34 Americans. The USS Saratoga had planes in the area on a training exercise carrying nuclear armed missiles. Identities were established and resolved shortly before an accidental nuclear war started.

The book is light on the actual armaments used in the war, which was a bit of a disappointment. Tanks and artillery are covered pretty well. External fuel tanks were a real issue, and what happened to those tanks and crews is as obvious as it was unfortunate.

I liked the narrator’s voice, but he mispronounced words, which was annoying. He did well with the Yiddish and Egyptian, but he was hit-and-miss with the Arabic. Occasionally, some English words were wrong, which was jarring – it sounds like he is a native English speaker.

I am glad I listened to the book. I now have a much better understanding of what is happening now, and why.

direct unbiased piece of history lesson

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

yeah. it was full of information and i might have miss some parts also its just so good id read over and over.

What did you like best about this story?

how informative it was, i highlight the views and issues parties involved were fighting for.

Which character – as performed by Robert Whitfield – was your favorite?

couldn't pick a favorite character

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

excellent and a caveat

Great book to listen to, though I would expect from a professional bookreader to do his homework and learn how to properly pronounce names.

A must for any student of history.

Brilliantly put together. Engaging and informative. Very dense with valuable information from all the players involved.

a thorough telling of the story of the six day war

a thorough telling of the story of the six day war.
all students of history should read it.

Accurate and concise...riveting detail

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

I plan to listen again in the near future. The book had so many rich details that I'm sure I might have missed something the first go round. The story took an event from my childhood and made it a living breathing "happening just now" sort of drama.

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

Mr Whitfield's voice and accent gave the piece an air of authority - as though the story were being related by a journalist or even a government official.

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

Distrust, Disunity, DISASTER!

Any additional comments?

I'm anxious to read more from Michael Oren