Israel's 2008-2009 Gaza Offensive. The bombardment of Gaza may not have been comparable to the Holocaust, but the reaction of many in the West provides disturbing evidence that we have yet to learn old lessons.
Susan Nathan: The Other Side of Israel. With uncompromising honesty, Nathan describes her Zionist background and the emotional earthquakes to which it was subjected as she learned about Israel's invisible Arab minority. An absorbing and revealing book; highly recommended.
Challenging the Boundaries: A Single State in Palestine/Israel. Notes on the conference held in London in November, 2007. Far more interesting – and more significant – than the photoshoot staged at Annapolis.
Virginia Tilley: The One-State Solution. Written with the distilled clarity characteristic of Tilley, this book stands at the fulcrum of a decisive shift in the debate on the Israel/Palestine conflict. A must-read.
Elias Chacour: We Belong To The Land. Autobiographical account of a Palestinian-Israeli priest and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Beginning in 1947, this gives an insight into the experience of those Palestinians who managed to remain within the new state of Israel.
William Dalrymple: From the Holy Mountain. A fascinating journey through the modern Holy Land in the footsteps of an ancient monk; history juxtaposed with present day experiences, both described with passion and humour.
Martin Gilbert: The Routledge Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Pernicious mytho-history of the kind that is thankfully becoming less acceptable than it was in the author's heyday.
Fred Halliday: 100 Myths About the Middle East. A kind of intellectual Ripley's Believe-it-or-not: stimulates and provokes without really satisfying. Halliday wields his authority like a cudgel.
Khaled Hroub: Hamas – A Beginner's Guide. A well-organized, informative book that looks at Hamas's history, organization, support, political thinking and likely future evolution.
Ilan Pappe: A History of Modern Palestine. Concentrates on the often surprising social and human realities obscured by nationalist historiography. Despite Pappe's apparent impatience with details, this is a rewarding read.
Scenes from Nablus. A personal account of a visit to the West Bank in 2007, where I volunteered with Project Hope.