Financial Times, Economist, and Sunday Times best books of the year

Picked by Sebastian Faulks for the Guardian's best books of the year

"Black . . . argues in this sweeping history that Zionism and Palestinian nationalism were irreconcilable from the start, and that peace is as remote as ever."-New York Times Book Review, "Editors' Choice"

"Comprehensive and compelling . . . A nuanced, landmark study that has deservedly won plaudits from both Palestinian and Israeli historians."-Sunday Times (UK)

"[A] wonderful new history . . . Black sprinkles his book with fascinating nuggets . . . For its clarity and balance . . . Black's work stands tall in a field that is likely to continue growing."-Economist

"A history of the Arab-Israeli conflict . . . that has achieved the rare distinction of being acclaimed by both Israeli and Palestinian historians for its rigor and impartiality."-Financial Times, "best books of 2017: politics"

"Ian Black brings a fresh perspective to one of the most closely studied conflicts on Earth, unpacking its complexities with clarity and candour . . . [An] excellent new history."-Observer (UK)

"Quietly compelling. . . merits close reading for its rich detail and rare subtlety. Denies made-up minds their soothing certainties . . . a reading of uncommon clarity, informed by extensive research and keen insight."-Spectator (UK)

"A remarkable book that combines sharp insight with absolute impartiality on one of the world's most complex and intractable conflicts. Black captures the voices of the Palestinians and Israelis with equal compassion, and holds their leaders to account with equal severity. An outstanding accomplishment."-Eugene Rogan, author of The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-1920 and The Arabs: A History

"In a conflict like this, it is impossible to understand the present without being familiar with the past, and this superbly researched and highly readable book helps the reader to do just that. Even those who are well read on the subject will find new insights that had escaped them."-Raja Shehadeh, author of Where the Line Is Drawn: A Tale of Crossings, Friendships, and Fifty Years of Occupation in Israel-Palestine and Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing Landscape

"When Israeli and Palestinian historians eventually sit down together to compose a single narrative to replace their bitterly conflicting histories, they will find that Ian Black's book has already done it for them. It is a tragic tale, full of blood, agony and missed opportunities, but this brilliant, dispassionate work leaves us, curiously, optimistic-for he shows us that there is a middle ground."-Meron Benvenisti, author of Sacred Landscape: The Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948

"In a field where one has gotten used to one-sided 'narratives, ' it is refreshing to come across a historical account that simply lays down the facts, gory and tragic as these may be. This book is a must-read for those who, still entertaining hope for a sane exit from the conflict, need to be shocked out of their stupor."-Sari Nusseibeh, author of The Story of Reason in Islam and Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life

"In its fine balance of historical sweep and telling detail, in its sharp analysis of social, economic, and political forces, and in its exceptional fairness to all sides, Ian Black's thorough and incisive history of the struggle between Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel is the book every student of this conflict should read first. A remarkable achievement."-Nathan Thrall, author of The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine