Germany, Turkey, Zionism, 1897-1918, by Isaiah Friedman, is an extremely readable history of the Zionist movement -- its earliest beginnings and its efforts to establish Jewish settlements in Palestine. Written for scholars, it is packed full of extensive and definitive documentary references and direct quotations. All sources are meticulously produced so that the historian can refer to primary documents, both published and unpublished. I am not, however, a scholar, but simply someone who is interested in this period of Middle Eastern history. My primary focus is on the readability and the "story," as well as the integrity of the information. Prof. Friedman's book provides all three aspects. In addition to a very accessible rendering of the more known historical facts, Prof. Friedman's book also provides a great deal of new and and previously unpublished information about the efforts of Herzl to maneuver the European powers into supporting Zionist settlements in Palestine as a "solution to the problem of anti-Semitism" in Europe. Following these surprising revelations is the fact that it was Germany, of all the nations of the world, that most strongly supported Zionist settlement in Palestine and represented the Zionist views to the Turkish government. The ins and outs of the negotiations and behind-the-scenes maneuvers and personal justifications of the political figures of the day make this book a fascinating read for anyone who appreciates the happy combination of attention to detail and an excellent tale -- all the better because it is historical fact. Germany, Turkey, Zionism, 1897-1918 has recently been reissued by Transaction, and has a new introduction by the author. I loved the book and recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history of the complicated events that continue to evolve in modern-day Israel and the adjacent areas that made up Palestine under the Ottomans.

This book thoroughly examines the correspondence between Britain's Lord Kitchener and Sir Henry McMahon and Sherif Hussein of Mecca. The dominant theme of those letters relates to "Arab independence," a loose phrase that has caused a great deal of misunderstanding.

Friedman found McMahon's original Arabic October 24, 1915 letter as well as its retranslation into English by the Cairo British office from November 1919. By comparing these two letters, he makes it clear that both the Arab and British understood that Palestine was NOT to be included in the British pledge.

Hussein actually welcomed the return of the Jewish people to Palestine, as did his son Emir Feisal, who believed that Arab-Jewish cooperation would be a boon to Arab independence, and prevent European interference.

This evidence is bolstered by Friedman's presentation of a Sept. 16, 1916 note from Sir Edward Grey, the British foreign secretary, to Sir James Rodd, ambassador in Rome. It confirms an earlier correspondence in which Grey had authorized Sir Reginald Wingate in the Sudan to assure Sherif Hussein that any terms of peace would place "the Arabian peninsula and its Mohammeden Holy Places in the hands of an independent Sovereign Moslem State."

Friedman shows other proof as well. Arnold Toynbee, who attended the January and February 1919 Peace Conference, testified that the Emir Feisal specifically excluded Palestine and Lebanon from Arab national aspirations. Friedman also shows how Toynbee later created the myth of a twice promised land, although he knew perfectly well that Palestine had never been promised to the Arabs, that it had been promised only to the Jewish people.

Friedman fully examines the terms of the Weizmann-Feisal Agreement of 1919. Regarding Zionist aspirations in Palestine, Feisal said: "[The] Arabs admit the moral claims of the Zionists. They regard the Jews as kinsmen whose just claims they will be glad to see satisfied."

Feisal added, "No true Arab can be suspicious of Jewish nationalism....and I do say to the Jews--welcome back home.... Dr. Weizmann's ideals are ours."

Friedman's second volume, forthcoming, will cover 1920 through 1939, and the creation of the historical myth. Alyssa A. Lappen