Skip to Main Content

How Israel Lost

The Four Questions

About The Book

In How Israel Lost Richard Ben Cramer analyzes the four questions that have bedeviled Israel and Palestine for almost forty years:

I.
Why do we care about Israel?
II. Why don¹t the Palestinians have a state?
III. What is a Jewish state?
IV. Why is there no peace?

Cramer illustrates how Israel is losing her soul by maintaining her occupation of the lands conquered in the Six Day War. Israel has become a victim of that occupation no less than the Palestinians, who must have a nation of their own.
Both his observations and argument are drawn with startling clarity, informed by the fierce and fearless reporting that won him the Pulitzer Prize for Middle East coverage.

About The Author

Photo Credit:

Richard Ben Cramer (1950-2013) won the Pulitzer Prize for Middle East reporting in 1979. His journalism has appeared in TimeNewsweekThe New York Times MagazineEsquire, and Rolling Stone. He is the author of How Israel Lost: The Four Questions and the classic of modern American politics What It Takes: The Way to the White House.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 12, 2005)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780743250290

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

"Cramer writes beautifully, and with intention. He seeks to force his readers, no matter what their stance might have been when they opened his book, to examine the harsh truths behind U.S. policies in the Middle East."
-- John Nichols, The Progressive

"Told without fear, this is a story that could -- if read with an open mind -- stir a much needed and honest debate about the future of U.S.-Israel relations."
-- Bob Kerrey, former Senator from Nebraska and President of The New School

"Cramer presents a strong case. You might not agree, but it's impossible to read this book and not think."
-- Jeff Guinn, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Cramer...marshals facts and vivid anecdotes to back up his case."
-- Barbara Slavin, USA Today

"How Israel Lost has many virtues: moving stories about Israeli and Palestinian suffering; shrewd reporting...and a street-smart attitude that cuts through the fog of government doublespeak and partisan myth."
-- Jonathan Dorfman, The Boston Globe

"Solid and irrefutable...Cramer's theme is the tragic predicament of the Israelis and Palestinians...funny and bitterly sad, shrewd and down-to-earth....This book is a powerful polemic that deserves to be read."
-- Amos Elon, The New York Review of Books

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Richard Ben Cramer