The 51 Day War

On July 8, 2014, Israel launched air strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza, followed by a ground invasion. The ensuing conflict led to 51 days of war that left over 2,000 people dead, the vast majority of whom were Palestinian civilians. During the assault, at least 10,000 homes were destroyed and, according to the United Nations, nearly 300,000 Palestinians were displaced. Max Blumenthal was on the ground during what he argues was an entirely avoidable catastrophe. In this explosive work of reportage, Blumenthal reveals the harrowing conditions and cynical deceptions that led to the ruinous war — details that slipped through the cracks of the mainstream media.

Here, for the first time, Blumenthal unearths and presents shocking evidence of atrocities he gathered in the rubble of Gaza after much of the Western media had packed up. He radically shifts the discussion around a number of controversial issues, like the use of civilians as human shields by Israeli forces; the arbitrary targeting of Palestinian civilians; and widespread incitement to genocide by Israeli military personnel, political leaders, and state-sponsored clerics. Blumenthal recorded testimonies from scores of Gazan residents, documenting potential war crimes committed by the Israeli armed forces. He also documented details of the battles that took place between Israeli forces and the armed guerrilla factions of the Gaza Strip, explaining their military and political significance with intimate proximity to the subject. And he explains the outcome of the ceasefire agreement that arrived after 51 days of fighting, showing how US and Egyptian-led diplomacy makes another, even more horrifying war almost inevitable.

The horrors the world witnessed in Gaza, Blumenthal argues, did not occur in a vacuum. They are reflections of the political trajectory of the state of Israeli society today. Here, Blumenthal demonstrates that while residents of Gaza are indeed victims who suffer immensely, they also engaged in dramatic acts of resistance. The 51 Day War exemplifies the fearless reporting and unflinching style that Blumenthal has become known for.

"As we would expect from one of the finest and most intrepid journalists working in America today, this meticulous, first-hand report on The Fifty One Day War will stand as the definitive account of the man-made catastrophe so cruelly inflicted on the men, women and children of Gaza in the summer of 2014." Andrew Cockburn, author of Kill Chain: The Rise of the High Tech Assassins

"Max Blumenthal has spent the last decade transforming himself into one of the most vital voices in journalism today, always speaking truth to power with fearlessness and integrity. As with his previous books, The 51 Day War is sure to be talked about for years to come." Reza Aslan, author of Zealot and No god but God

"You do not have to agree, but you'd better listen. Blumenthal's voice is always surprising, he never compromises his inner compass, never lets the choir silence his unique articulation. Here he opens a window onto scenes many did not want to see. His blow-by-blow account of the 51 Day War should be one of the foundations of any future discourse on Israel-Palestine." Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Knesset and author of The Holocaust Is Over, We Must Rise From Its Ashes

"This will be the definitive history of the Israeli war of 2014 against Gaza. Blumenthal has once again demonstrated his devotion to truth and justice." W. Patrick Lang, Former Defense Intelligence Agency head for Middle East / South Asia

"At least since the early nineties, Israel has tried to set the Gaza Strip apart from the Palestinian-Israel conflict. Physically, it has circumscribed it with barbed wire fence and, ultimately, a comprehensive naval siege and land blockade. Politically, it framed Gaza as the site of a never-ending counterinsurgency campaign against Islamist marauders marked, now, by at least three devastating onslaughts between 2008-14. In this chilling book, Blumenthal documents the most recent of these attacks and brings to life the resilience of the Palestinian people and what they are up against." Noura Erakat, George Mason University

Max Blumenthal is the author of Republican Gomorrah, a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller, and Goliath, winner of the Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Notable Book Award. His writing and video documentaries have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, The Nation, The Guardian, The Independent Film Channel, The Huffington Post, Salon.com, Al Jazeera English and many other publications. He blogs at maxblumenthal.com