At a time when a 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. In "The Iron Cage", Rashid Khalidi, one of the most respected historians and political observers of the Middle East, examines the Palestinian's struggle for statehood, presenting a succinct and insightful history of the people and their leadership throughout the twentieth century. Ranging from the Palestinian struggle against colonial rule and the establishment of the State of Israel, 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. Lucid yet challenging, Rashid Khalidi's engrossing narrative of this tortuous history is required reading for anyone concerned about peace in the Middle East.

A timely and compelling examination of the Palestinian dilemma, named one of the 100 best books of the year by Publishers Weekly
In Resurrecting Empire, Rashid Khalidi dissected the failures of colonial policy over the entire span of the modern history of the Middle East, predicted the meltdown in Iraq that we are now witnessing with increasing horror, and offered viable alternatives for achieving peace in the region. His newest book, The Iron Cage, hones in on Palestinian politics and history. Once again Khalidi draws on a wealth of experience and scholarship to elucidate the current conflict, using history to provide a clear-eyed view of the situation today.
The story of the Palestinian search to establish a state begins in the era of British control over Palestine and stretches between the two world wars, when colonial control of the region became increasingly unpopular and power began to shift toward the United States. In this crucial period, and in the years immediately following World War II, Palestinian leaders were unable to achieve the long-cherished goal of establishing an independent state--a critical failure that throws a bright light on the efforts of the Palestinians to create a state in the many decades since 1948. By frankly discussing the reasons behind this failure, Khalidi offers a much-needed perspective for anyone concerned about peace in the Middle East.
"Rashid Khalidi is a historian's historian. The Iron Cage is his most accomplished effort to date . . . 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." --Joel Schalit, Tikkun
"At heart a historical essay, an effort to decide why the Palestinians . . . have failed to achieve an independent state." --Steven Erlanger, New York Times
"Khalidi, tackling 'historical amnesia, ' brilliantly analyses the structural handicap which hobbled the Palestinians throughout 30 years of British rule . . . Khalidi restores the Palestinians to something more than victims, acknowledging that for all their disadvantages, they have played their role and can (and must) still do so to determine their own fate." --Ian Black, Guardian
"Khalidi uses history to provide a clear-eyed view of the region and assess the prospects for peace. He strives successfully for even-handedness." --Anthony Lewis, author of Gideon's Trumpet and Make No Law
." . . we have to open a dialogue with Hamas--not to embrace it, but to lay out a gradual pathway that will bring it into relations with Israel. As Rashid Khalidi, Columbia University's Palestinian expert and author of The Iron Cage points out: 'If we let the Palestinian Authority be destroyed, and then we keep Hamas isolated'--even though it won a democratic election that we sponsored--'we will end up with the hard boys, the gangs you see today on the streets of Gaza, who respond to no authority at all.'" --New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman

This foundational text now features a new introduction by Rashid Khalidi reflecting on the significance of his work over the past decade and its relationship to the struggle for Palestinian nationhood. Khalidi also casts an eye to the future, noting the strength of Palestinian identity and social solidarity yet wondering whether current trends will lead to Palestinian statehood and independence.

This important book begins to provide a comprehensive outline of the amazing history of the city. It moves from the Bronze Age to the tensions of present-day Jerusalem and presents a balanced and authentic picture, that helps to correct the often distorted images of the city presented over the last forty years.

The diaries of Dr Hussein Fakhri al-Khalidi offer a unique insight to the peculiarities of colonialism that have shaped Palestinian history. Elected mayor of Jerusalem - his city of birth - in 1935, the physician played a leading role in the Palestinian Rebellion of the next year, with profound consequences for the future of Palestinian resistance and British colonial rule. One of many Palestinian leaders deported as a result of the uprising, it was in British-imposed exile in the Seychelles Islands that al-Khalidi began his diaries. Written with equal attention to lively personal encounters and ongoing political upheavals, entries in the diaries cover his sudden arrest and deportation by the colonial authorities, the fifteen months of exile on the tropical island, and his subsequent return to political activity in London then Beirut. The diaries provide a historical and personal lens into Palestinian political life in the late 1930s, a period critical to understanding the catastrophic 1948 exodus and dispossession of the Palestinian people. With an introduction by Rashid Khalidi the publication of these diaries offers a wealth of primary material and a perspective on the struggle against colonialism that will be of great value to anyone interested in the Palestinian predicament, past and present.

Rashid Khalidi's powerful book examines the record of Western involvement in the Middle East and analyzes the likely outcome of our most recent incursions into the area. Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of the political and cultural history of the entire region, Khalidi paints a chilling scenario of our present situation and yet offers a tangible alternative that can help us find the path to peace rather than Empire. Additionally, Professor Khalidi contributes a new introduction to this paperback edition, covering recent developments in Iraq and the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election.

Rashid Khalidi's powerful new book examines the record of Western involvement in the Middle East and analyzes the likely outcomes of the U.S.A's most recent incursions in the region. Begun as the United States and Britain moved their forces into Iraq, and specially updated for this U.K. paperback edition to cover the shocking revelations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the debate over the war's legitimacy, Khalidi paints a chilling scenario of the present situation. America's path of conflict, occupation and colonial rule is an object reminder that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This cogent and highly accessible book provides the historical and cultural perspective so vital to understanding the U.S.A's dangerous present situation and offers a tangible alternative that can lead America to pursue a more effective and just foreign policy that will lead to peace rather than empire.

The diaries of Dr Hussein Fakhri al-Khalidi offer a unique insight to the peculiarities of colonialism that have shaped Palestinian history. Elected mayor of Jerusalem - his city of birth - in 1935, the physician played a leading role in the Palestinian Rebellion of the next year, with profound consequences for the future of Palestinian resistance and British colonial rule. One of many Palestinian leaders deported as a result of the uprising, it was in British-imposed exile in the Seychelles Islands that al-Khalidi began his diaries. Written with equal attention to lively personal encounters and ongoing political upheavals, entries in the diaries cover his sudden arrest and deportation by the colonial authorities, the fifteen months of exile on the tropical island, and his subsequent return to political activity in London then Beirut. The diaries provide a historical and personal lens into Palestinian political life in the late 1930s, a period critical to understanding the catastrophic 1948 exodus and dispossession of the Palestinian people. With an introduction by Rashid Khalidi the publication of these diaries offers a wealth of primary material and a perspective on the struggle against colonialism that will be of great value to anyone interested in the Palestinian predicament, past and present.

"The Origins of Arab Nationalism" contains the most recent revisionist scholarship on the rise of Arab nationalsim that began with the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

The various contributors, including C. Ernest Down, Mahmoud Haddad, Reeva Simon, and Beth Baron, provide an unusually broad survey of the Arab world at the turn on the century, permitting a comparison of developments in a variety of settings from Syria and Egypt to the Hijaz, Libya, and Iraq.

Bringing together some of the figures most closely associated with Edward Said and his scholarship, Waiting for the Barbarians looks at Said the public intellectual and literary critic, and his political and intellectual legacy: the future through the lens of his work.

This foundational text now features a new introduction by Rashid Khalidi reflecting on the significance of his work over the past decade and its relationship to the struggle for Palestinian nationhood. Khalidi also casts an eye to the future, noting the strength of Palestinian identity and social solidarity yet wondering whether current trends will lead to Palestinian statehood and independence.

A fascinating and often terrifying firsthand account of the 1982 war in Lebanon, "Under Siege" vividly reveals the complex negotiations and military maneuvers which ended with the evacuation of the P.L.O. from Beirut. Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian, lived with his family in Beirut during the siege and ensuing massacres. Using many usually inaccessible sources, such as P.L.O. telexes and government messages, and interviews with key military officials and diplomats, he tells the story from the compelling viewpoint of those living amid the fighting.

Khalidi provides a carefully detailed picture of the P.L.O. from within, the local Lebanese environment, the military pressure on the P.L.O. and Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, and of U.S. diplomacy during the crisis. While focusing primarily on the inner workings of the P.L.O., the author also addresses various aspects of Lebanese and inter-Arab politics and examines the military and dimplomatic behavior of involved outside parties such as the United States, France, and the former Soviet Union.

Offering a totally new perspective on the longest Arab-Israeli war since 1948, "Under Siege" will have broad appeal to those in international relations, Middle East studies, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the general reader interested in American foreign relations and the Middle East.