The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East (Vintage)

I am yet to finish this weighty tome as, over the years, have tried at least two or three times to get through it, but each time I have had to put it down as it is too depressing. Mans inhumanity to man is simply beyond belief. But what I have read, probably ony a third to half of the book is very well written and first rate as far as historical accuracy. Not a book to be read while on holiday though, as I first attempted. Nor what one would call an 'enjoyable' read by any means. But I will finish it one day, as it is a book that should be read if for nothing more than to help understand how we got to where we are at in humanities 'evolution' over the past centuary. And why 'continual wars' have become a fact of life and will remain so for a long time to come.

Interesting and very enlightening from start to finish. A "Big Book" in all respects, which is compulsive reading. Fisk's comprehensive, and fascinating history of the tragedy of the Middle East has filled the gaps in my understanding of how the present situation has evolved,and particularly the continuing "guilty "roll of the Western Powers in this most strategic area. I can now better understand the present situation playing out in Arab States, which can only be understood set into the proper historical perspective that Robert Fisk achieves in this book. The "nightmare" reports, particularly in his chapter on the Iraq, Iran War are not only shocking in detail,but also in the magnitude of the tragedy,which I had not previously fully comprehended. Fisk obviously risked his life on numerous occasions to get to places to see what was the truth for himself, and has proved himself to be among the very best of our few "great investigative journalists". (A sadly shrinking fraternity). The book has not only been a real education to me ,but has left me with a profound respect for Robert Fisk's obvious integrity,and moral,and physical courage. At a time when public opinion of the press is so low,it is good to know that we still have a few first rate "real" investigative journalists, and this great work of Fisk's illustrates his obvious right to that title.

Robert Fisk’s massive, thoughtful and humanistic portrayal of the killing fields of the middle east, brought on by the thoughtless and arrogant interventions over the past century of Britain, France and America in such areas we now know as Syria, Israel, Palestine, Iraq and Iran. Its 1300 pages are a modern “War and Peace” – and can be put down only long enough to rest one’s arms from the weight of the book! I’ve tried before to understand the history and events of this area – but the previous books have clinically recited events and dates and referred in a few cliches only to the horror of those events. The only individuals who figure in these other books are the leaders – but this book portrays both the victims of the slaughter and their families and also those in the Western bureaucracies – both private and public – who make the slaughter possible. Their words are closely analysed – and their actions held to account in a relentless way which restores one faith in journalism. The book’s theme of our lack of historical perspective is echoed in a much shorter book first published in 2003 by Karl Meyer - but Fisk’s book is interlaced with powerful references to his father and others who fought in these same places at the beginning of the 20th Century. This is the book which should be required reading for students of government and for those aspiring to leadership – and the subject of discussion at all book clubs. It is writing and humanity at its highest level. Government is about individuals making, or colluding with, decisions - and how rarely do we get this level of research and critical scrutiny of the words individuals use to protect themselves from questions which might challenge the lives they lead. I too have read his previous book on Lebanon - and disagree with another reviewer's comparison. This is the more significant book - which needs this detail to balance the countless times the victims are simply written out of history. But yes, perhaps, the chapter on Armenia is overdone - and fails to mention the slaughter by Armenians of Azeris in the 1990s and the displacement by them of 1 million Azeris to tent cities.

An extremely readable and interesting tome but the reader will require patience in that there are over 1,250 pages and a considerable amount of Fisk type eulogising. That said, however Fisk writes with a style which is both attractive and compelling. The book, whilst covering topics which should be of common knowledge also opened my eyes to the fact that insofar as the Israeli/Palestinian confrontation is concerned, I and most of my cohort may well have fallen for the decidedly pro Israeli US concocted propaganda which has been our lot to digest since 1967. In my view, Fisk asks one to question the propriety of both sides in this most unfortunate of all long lasting conflicts but offers no answers. Mr Fisk has lived in the region for many years now and wisely holds back from sanctimony. As an end piece, I would say that this book helps the reader to understand the complexities which over arch the Middle East Region - an area which could possibly decide the fate of the World.

An incredible eye opener, an inside look into a career that only a few people on earth could have stomached, let alone achieved. The book is both informative, emotive, and is some how (considering the heaviness of the content) and easy read. If everyone read this book, the world would be a better place.

Here is an outstanding work of truly epic proportion - more ambitious, more impressive, more profound than anything that has been published by political scientists, historians or critical observers in recent decades."The Great War for Civilization" by British journalist Robert Fisk is a stupendous achievement from the pen of a man who distinguishes himself by an impeccable sense of justice, an unswerving commitment to human rights and an undauntable courage in the teeth of adversity and deprecation. With the possible exception of Edward Said, who has written on the same subject, Fisk has no peer. He is a one-man demolition crew in that he relentlessly demolishes the prevalent myths and ideologies that have long obfuscated the view of Western policy-makers when dealing with the nations of the Middle East. He exposes their hypocrisy and partiality when they take sides in the Jewish-Palestinian conflict and obtusely favor Israel. He plausibly explains the reason why the West, especially the USA and their client state Israel, have become hated and despised throughout the Arab world: too many crimes committed, too many innocents killed,too many promises broken. Fisk sweeps away the popular misconception about the causes of the sveltering problems in the region and sets the historical record straight.What is most valuable perhaps is his critial look at the fuzzy concept of "the war against terrorism", which demonstrably serves the ideological purposes of those who, under the pretext of fighting terror, attempt to impose their own political and cultural standards on people who don't want them. As the author makes clear, the explosiveness of the situation is not so much attributable to an endemic unruliness or aggressiveness of the Muslim population as to their endless sufferings at the hands of Western colonialists and imperialists. It is oppression and humiliation that have sown the seeds for violence. It is the many interventions and military campaigns of the US and their allies in Iraq, Palestine, Libya, lebanon and Afghanistan that stoke the flames of wrath. While professedly bringing the blessings of peace, justice and stability they have invariably caused bloodshed and wrought havoc. Fisk's book is a real eye-opener which deserves to be translated into all European languages and studied by all readers with a minimal interest in historical truth. If it is a truism that there are always two (or more) sides to a given human problem, Fisk is to be applauded for presenting the other side.

Anyone who wants to know more than stereotype descriptions of Middle East must read this book! Even for me, originally from the region, the book contains many new information. And what makes the book unique is that the write has had first-hand experience on almost all stories he is telling

Provavelmente o livro mais instigante que li em mais de 10 anos. Poderia ser um romance, mas é a vida profissional - e pessoal - do autor, com excelentes digressões históricas.

"...war is a security organization...because it succeeds...in inventing, real enemies to kill, and...if...not for war, society would...leave men defenseless before...a purely internal foe" ("The Psychoanalysis of War," Franco Fornari, 1974). A scribe at Britain's "The Independent," English born Robert Fisk, (1946- ), Ph.D., Political Science, LL.D., et al, has resided in Beirut, Lebanon since 1976. His compassionate book, "The Great War for Civilisation" (2006), is based on 16 years of eyewitness reporting on "The Conquest of the Middle East," culled from over 350,000 various documents. It is almost 1,400 pages, replete with 10 maps, bibliography, exhaustive notes and a chronology. Fisk's coverage of Israel's influence here and the American invasion of Iraq is provocative, because nobody wants to "damage the peace process"... Arms manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, whom the author questioned, don't speak out against improprieties Israel commits with ordnances because they are a valued customer. And "The Independent" did a fortnight study of American military stocks, ascertaining that thousands of armour, tanks and planes were grabbed by Israel during two decades. Officers apprised Fisk that the omnipotent Israeli lobby doesn't tolerate captious politicians, who treasure their longevity in government, therefore allowing Israel to anytime snatch more than the minimum $14 million in arms required for congressional notification, uncontested and unreported because it is "classified." The most powerful such lobby group is the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, which former doyen of, Denis Ross, plus three other Jews--if they were all Arabs, someone would've taken notice--became head negotiators of in the latter 1990's "peace envoy." The American press was reticent about this bias, but the Israeli press welcomed them. Fisk pondered, not just the "how" and "who," but the "why," behind "9/11," the 2001 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York City. Also, he says, just after this event, on September 16, no British or American newspaper "...would recall the fact that on that date in 1982, Israel's Phalangist militia allies started their three-day orgy of rape and knifing and murder in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila. It followed an Israeli invasion of Lebanon...which cost the lives of 17,500 Lebanese and Palestinians, almost all of them civilians...more than five times the death toll in the September 11th, 2001 attacks.... No, Israel was not to blame for what happened..." The author explains that it was Osama bin Laden, whom he first met in 1993, and al-Qaeda, who were the perpetrators, making their statement regarding how they felt about America's involvement in the Middle East--not because "they hate our democracy." None came from Iraq, which U.S. President George W. Bush's aggressors invaded, seeking "weapons of mass destruction" which never existed, through their "war on terror." Fisk documents America's pitiless sanctions and civilian killings--"collateral damage"--in Iraq. In Baghdad, citizens' looting is not precluded by U.S. forces, who protect only the Ministry of the Interior, with its intelligence info, and the Ministry of Oil--go figure. It is Israel, who dispossessed 750,000 Palestinians of their land--and "right to exist," in the West Bank, in 1948, who now dictates American foreign policy in the Middle East, weakening Arab voices. Get "The Great War for Civilisation" by Robert Fisk, where a sparrow tells an uncaring world from a plaintive branch.