Our Last Best Chance: A Story of War and Peace

For boring and hallucinatory page after page his Excellency strings lie after lie, conveniently sweeping under the rug the most important power struggle in Palestinian history: the struggle between King Abdullah and Haj Amin al-Husseini. No other power struggle shaped the past and future of the Palestinians as the resolve by Abdullah to annex all of Palestine and be the benevolent dictator, versus the Nazi-inspired al-Husseini who was struggling for its independence. If you want to actually read the history of that struggle, which eventually got his grandfather murdered by a relative of al-Husseini, please read:  The Grand Mufti: Haj Amin al-Hussaini, Founder of the Palestinian National Movement . That includes all the source documents needed to prove the mountains of lies and fabrications presented in chapter 1.Chapter 2 starts with lies about how Israel started the six-day war against Jordan, a claim which has been discredited many times. He says "One of Israel's greatest talents has been exaggerating the threat posed by countries it considers strategic enemies, perpetuating the story of it being a tiny nation surrounded by hostile powers". Huh? Have you checked a map lately, your highness?He completely glazed over the fact that, like Abdullah, King Hussein never had any intention of granting the Palestinians any independence. He held the west bank for almost 20 years. Surely, that would have been time enough to sit down with the Egyptians and agree on a Gaza/West-Bank independent Palestine if they wanted to. But, they didn't! So, it's a complete lie to step up today and say that Jordan always supported the Palestinians. Jordan is the MAIN reason why there is no independent Palestine today!In chapter 3, he lies his way through "Black September", not taking for a moment responsibility for the destruction of Lebanon which was a direct consequence of Jordan kicking out the Palestinians.But the best of the best are the passages in Chapter 4 about how the "few" Jewish students bothered him in school when he came to the US to study, and poor naive soul that he was (with his body guards trailing him everywhere), he didn't know why they disliked him. Maybe the king hasn't noticed that it's Arab students that are making life miserable for Jewish students in most US and European universities in the last 60 years. He also forgot to mention that the reason he had not met Jews before is that Jordan is the ONLY country in the world which has been Juden-rein from day one, by its very definition. Why? Because Palestine was partitioned by the League of Nations in 1922 such that the Arabs got the east bank and the Jews got the west bank. So, the Jordanians got their 80%, which was designated to be Jew-free, and since then they are bargaining to carve up the remaining 20% Jewish part, and raising hell over every Jew that settles in the west bank. Why does it not bother his Highness that there is not a single Jew in Jordan if he is so tolerant and democratic-minded?The book goes on and on. Tedious lie and tedious lie. What hope is there for peace when those who disguise themselves as "moderates" can't tell the difference between truth and blatant lie?Even the cutesy little anecdotes are so silly. In one of them he supposedly travels to Israel with king Hussein to Eilat, and he tells in long detail how he feels they will kill him at any moment, and then they don't. And you wonder, what was the point of these few pages of nothingness that you just read?Chapter 17 talks about Jerusalem, but as with the rest of the book, he doesn't mention that for the 20 years that Jordan held it, Jews had no access to their holy places, synagogues were destroyed, historical treasures were looted and kept away from Jewish researchers, and there was constant shooting and terrorism by Arabs towards the Jewish part of the city. And, of course, like a good propagandist, he devotes page after page to the discredited lies that Israel plans to build its Third Temple on the al Haram al Sharif, and perpetuates the lie that Sharon's visit in 2000 caused the Intifada. Documents were found signed by Arafat, and a video is circulating with Arafat's wife admitting to the fact that the Intifada was planned well in advance and was not related to this event.I wish there was something good to say about this book, because I was hoping to get something more out of it than pure fabricated propaganda, without a shred of conciliatory language or sincere moderation.

This was an interesting peek into the rarified air of growing up in a royal family. It is also a decent historical summary of the political nightmare of Middle Eastern politics. Having just visited Jordan, I think that Abdullah has done a respectable job of modernizing his country’s economy in spite of few natural resources. I found that it presents one side of what it is like to be a modern day king. According to conversations with locals and recent revelations of financial improprieties, there are other aspects to this story.

King Abdullah presents a compelling, honest, and extremely blunt narrative of the quest for peace in the Middle East.I was impressed with both His fascinating story as well as the unique insights presented from a person who was THERE through the successes and challenges.I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of the quest for Middle East peace and of the minded of one of the region’s most courageous leaders,

I found this book 'by accident' while searching for a book written by King Hussein; however, as I wanted to get a better understanding of recent Jordanian history, and a different perspective on the Israel/Palestine situation I thought this would be a good start.Although the title refers to the urgency of finding a workable peace in the Israel/Palestine conflict, King Abdullah ensures that his readers understand the beginnings of the situation by going back to the time of his great-grandfather, King Abdullah I. It is only a third of the way into the book that the reign of King Abdullah II begins. It is obvious that he has great admiration for his father and seeks to follow his footsteps in a faithful attempt to arrive at a negotiated peace settlement between Israel and Palestine, while bringing his own pragmatism to the task. He describes the changes he has made in his country, and his interactions with leaders of other world powers. He addresses some common misconceptions about Islam and piqued my interest in The Amman Message, which has its own chapter.While the book describes serious matters, there is a good mix of 'human interest moments' to bring a personal touch to the story. It is easy to feel sympathy for the 6-year old boy, fluent in Arabic, with a fair knowledge of French and very little English, who is sent to school in England "to escape the mounting violence and chaos inside Jordan." Or to be amused by the young army officer gladly taking a night off and going to his sister's for "a real dinner", at which he met his future wife, Queen Rania, who had her own reservations about the young man of whom she had "heard things."I would strongly encourage anyone who genuinely wants to gain a better understanding of the Israel/Palestine issue to read this book; at the same time the reader will discover the very important role, quietly played, by both the late and the present King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in seeking a peaceful solution for the benefit of their own country and much of the rest of the world.

This is a very informative book about a safe country, (I've been twice!), in the Middle East surrounded by countries with chaos and uprisings.His Majesty fully accomplishes what he sets out to do, giving a perspective of the Arab world, from his point of view.It starts with the history of Jordan and goes onto the childhood and growing up of His Majesty, and how he was educated in the West and therefore giving insites of the Western world and the Middle East.There is also another point to the book about getting across the need of the agreement of the two state solution.An excellent read from a man who thought that his life would be in the military, but then suddenly found himself as King of Jordan.

Excellent, interesting and informative. A very quiet approach to a horrendous problem, more peace-makers are needed if we are ever to move forwards.

The book was bought as a gift,so am fairly confident that it was well received!

Very interesting. And informative

An interesting point of view, especially reflecting today's current issues.