Reviews: "Brilliantly analyses the structural handicap which hobbled the Palestinians throughout 30 years of British rule . . . restor[ing] the Palestinians to something more than victims."
Guardian
"Magisterial in scope, meticulous in its attention to detail, and decidedly dispassionate in its analysis, The Iron Cage is destined to be a benchmark of its genre."
Tikkun
"Khalidi’s work should be read by all students and policy makers concerned with the region, as well as those who wish to learn more about the salient issues pertaining to the Palestinian predicament."
Dr Karma Nabulsi, Fellow and Lecturer, University of Oxford
Description: In The Iron Cage, Rashid Khalidi, one of the most respected historians and political observers of the Middle East, presents a succinct and insightful history of the Palestinian people and their leadership in the twentieth century. Ranging from the Palestinian struggle against colonial rule and the beginnings of the "Iron Cage", through the eras of the PLO, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, this is an unflinching and sobering critique of the Palestinian failure to achieve statehood, as well as a balanced account of the odds ranged against them.
At a time when lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis seems virtually unattainable, understanding the roots of the longest-running conflict in the Middle East is an essential step in restoring hope to the region. Rashid Khalidi’s engrossing narrative of this tortuous history is required reading for anyone concerned about peace in the Middle East.
Contents: Introduction: Writing Middle Eastern History in a Time of Historical Amnesia • Arab Society in Mandatory Palestine • The Palestinians and the British Mandate • A Failure of Leadership • The Revolt, 1948, and Afterward • Fateh, the PLO, and the PA: the Palestinian Para-State • Stateless in Palestine • Index
About the Author: Rashid Khalidi, author of Resurrecting Empire and Palestinian Identity, holds the Edward Said Chair in Arab Studies at Columbia University, where he heads the Middle East Institute. He has written more than eighty articles [and five books] on Middle Eastern history and politics, as well as op-ed pieces in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The Nation. He lives in New York.
Target Audience: Scholars researching the Middle East problems.