Book: A short review of “Palestine 1936” by Oren Kessler
Posted By RichC on July 27, 2025
History doesn’t always repeat, but as Mark Twain supposedly said, it often rhymes. That was my lingering thought after reading Oren Kessler’s “Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict.” If you’re curious 
about how today’s Middle East complexities came to be, this well-researched and engaging book takes you back to one of the earliest and most defining chapters in the modern Arab-Israeli struggle.
Kessler does a solid job walking readers through the 1936 Arab revolt in British-controlled Palestine—a moment that rarely gets the attention it deserves. He paints the backdrop with clarity: Jewish immigration rising, Arab nationalism growing restless, and Britain caught in the middle with imperial fatigue and political missteps.
The book doesn’t take sides but it doesn’t sugarcoat either. It’s heavy on facts but accessible, and while the politics are intense, Kessler’s writing is surprisingly readable. What stuck with me most is how many modern debates—from borders to governance to foreign meddling—echo from that time.
If you enjoy books that explain how we got here by revisiting there, “Palestine 1936” will give you a solid foundation and is worth your time. It’s not light beach reading, but for those who appreciate history and geopolitics with clarity and context, this one hits the mark.
It has also intrigued me enough to put Penny Sinanoglou’s book on “Partitioning Palestine” on my CheapCharts app wishlist in case it heads back down to the 5/8/2025 low of $2.99 (below)? Also it was a way for me to plug and app my 
buddy Jeff uses to buy books for his iPad … although I’m more of a Kindle reader myself.
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