the European Zionists colonising Palestine were foreign nationals who had converted to Judaism in Europe with no historic links to Palestine. As a result, many of them are not even racially Semitic whereas Arabs are Semitic. This two volume work is a monumental history of the Israel-Palestine conflict with unique insights into many of the happenings in this region and also in US and European politics. Its comprehensive scope is breathtaking. Hart is critical of the Zionists, but he is also scathingly critical of many Arab regimes and US and European politicians too. He quotes from many anti-Zionist Jews--including the more far-sighted members of Israeli Military Intelligence. An example is Jehoshafat Harkabi, the longest serving Director of Israeli Military Intelligence, who responded to Hart's earlier book, "Arafat: Terrorist or Peacemaker?", by writing a work of his own which was critical of Zionism's policy of seeking to impose its will on the Arabs by brute force. It is its many-sided approach which makes Hart's book essential reading for anyone with an interest in Middle Eastern politics. Hart documents the behind the scenes arm-twisting of the powerful, well-financed US Zionist political lobby since the 1940s. And he establishes that it actually succeeded in dictating US Middle Eastern policy during many presidential administrations--especially via the corrupt, pork-barrel politics of the Democratic Party. Hart's style of writing is engaging and accessible--it is written in an entertainingly earthy, no-nonsense way--spiced with more than a dash of ridicule and scorn. Hart does not suffer fools gladly