This is a balanced account of the history and politics of the Gaza Strip, which is now considered to be little more than a besieged prison camp by Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, but has long been a "highway of armies." The focus is largely on the politics of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, with the main sources for post-1975 events being the author's own reportorial notes, memories, and contacts dating from when he was a correspondent in the area, but the narrative also covers events from the times of ancient Egypt through the British mandate. The narrative is current through to "Operation Cast Lead," the 2008-9 Israeli military assault on Gaza, which the author correctly sees as having deliberately blurred the distinction between civilians and combatants and utilized an "overkill volume of fire." Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)