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Shop nowCursed Victory
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Learn moreIn a move that would forever alter the map of the Middle East, Israel captured the West Bank, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, and Sinai Peninsula in 1967's brief but pivotal Six Day War. Cursed Victory is the first complete history of the war's troubled aftermath—a military occupation of the Palestinian territories that is now well into its fifth decade.
Drawing on unprecedented access to high-level sources, top secret memos and never-before-published letters, the book provides a gripping and unvarnished chronicle of how what Israel promised would be an "enlightened occupation" quickly turned sour and the anguished diplomatic attempts to bring it to an end. Bregman sheds fresh light on critical moments in the peace process, taking us behind the scenes as decisions about the fate of the territories were made, and more often, as crucial opportunities to resolve the conflict were missed.
As the narrative moves from Jerusalem to New York, Oslo to Beirut, and from the late 1960s to the present day, Cursed Victory provides vivid portraits of the key players in this unfolding drama, including Moshe Dayan, King Hussein of Jordan, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat. Yet Bregman always reminds us how diplomatic and backroom negotiations affected the daily lives of millions of Arabs and how the Palestinian resistance, especially during the first and second intifadas, in turn shaped political developments. As Bregman concludes, the occupation has become a dark stain on Israel's history and an era when international opinion of the country shifted decisively.
Cursed Victory is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the origins of the ongoing conflict in the region.
Ahron Bregman was born in Israel in 1958. After six years of army service, during which he took part in the 1978 Litany Campaign and the 1982 Lebanon war and reached the rank of captain, he left the army to work at the Knesset as a parliamentary assistant. He studied in Jerusalem and London, completing a doctorate in war studies at King’s College in 1994. He was also the academic consultant and associate producer of two major BBC/PBS television series: The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs (1998) and Elusive Peace (2005). He lives in London.
Derek Perkins is a professional narrator and voice actor. He has earned numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, as well as numerous Society of Voice Arts nominations. AudioFile magazine named him a Best Voice consecutively in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Augmented by a knowledge of three foreign languages and a facility with accents, he has narrated numerous titles in a wide range of fiction and nonfiction genres.
Reviews
“Bregman tells this bleak story well, and what a catalog of grief it is.”
“A bombshell book. The nuggets provided in Bregman’s book shed light on the extent of Israel’s intelligence collection agencies’ work not only in times of war but also as Israel engaged with its neighbors in peace talks. Bregman has a flair for exposing sensational details kept in secret by all parties for years.”
“A former Israeli soldier in Lebanon, Mr. Bregman knows his subject firsthand. As an academic at King’s College London, he has accumulated copious documents, many of them secret and unpublished. A detailed and well-thought-out book.”
“Bregman has assets which lift this account above many on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One is access to some hitherto secret material…This is a highly readable study, an excellent starting point for those wanting to know more about how military victory turned into a tragedy.”
“Bregman’s deep familiarity with the material and his stylistic clarity will appeal to readers seeking an overview of the Arab-Israeli conflict.”
“Well-written and rich in details and first-hand testimony.”
“A plainspoken but urgent account that is deeply critical of Israel’s policies.”
“Narrator Derek Perkins’ clear, strong voice has an edge that reinforces the harshness of Bregman’s historical discussion of Arab–Israeli relations from 1967 to 2007…[in a] brisk but information-laden history…His admirable reading, like the book itself, is clear, intelligent, incisive, and briskly paced.”
“It is the best available book on the Israeli occupation of the territories and why it should be ended ASAP; and one written with the kind of lucidity and insight only somebody who passionately loves his country can muster.”
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