The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has lasted over a century. James L. Gelvin's new account of that conflict, from the first glimmerings of national consciousness among Jews and Ottoman Palestinians to the present, offers a compelling, accessible and up-to-the-moment introduction for students and general readers. The book makes no attempt to be encyclopaedic in coverage. It is rather interpretive, a thematically composed introduction, set within the framework of global history.