Ilan Pappe's book traces the history of Palestine from the Ottomans inthe nineteenth century, through the British Mandate, the establishmentof the state of Israel in 1948, and the subsequent wars and conflictswhich have dominated this troubled region. The second edition of Pappe'sbook has been updated to include the dramatic events of the 1990s andthe early twenty-first century. These years, which began with a sense ofoptimism, as the Oslo peace accord was being negotiated, culminated inthe second intifada and the increase of militancy on both sides. Pappeexplains the reasons for the failure of Oslo and the two-state solution,and reflects upon life thereafter as the Palestinians and Israelisbattle it out under the shadow of the wall of separation. As in thefirst edition, it is the men, women and children of Palestine who are atthe centre of Pappe's narrative.