and he doesn't mince words either when it comes to exposing political folly, mendacity and corruption. He nevertheless comes across as deeply humane and fair-minded. The book is a masterpiece of even-handedness, humanity and compassion. He manages to produce a work that is both rigorous and substantiated, but is also a good read--almost like a novel. Hart's communication skills gained while serving as a broadcaster are evident here. Hart recounts his own contribution to diplomatic efforts to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict with the support of some leading Jews e.g. Marcus Sieff of Marks and Spencers. It was an attempt to get Arafat and the Israelis talking directly to each other on the assumption that Shimon Peres would be elected to power. This initiative was sabotaged by the election of of ultra-hawk Menachem Begin. However, the Oslo agreement had its beginnings in this initiative. One of Hart's many themes is that Israel has never at any point in its existence been at threat from the front-line Arab states. This was a myth generated by the Zionist propaganda machine to frighten Israelis and diaspora Jews into supporting Israel's adventures and aggressive expansionism. Hart establishes that from 1948 onwards Israel had the upper hand in terms of military hardware, air power and capability. It was from the beginning a well financed First World nation of European colonialists facing an essentially feudal Third World Arab nation. And some of these European Zionists carried with them some of the European racism towards Arabs. Hart refers