Person
Every book Matti Friedman recommended on podcasts
Matti Friedman is a journalist and author specializing in Middle Eastern history and culture. During his appearances on EconTalk, Friedman recommended and discussed several notable historical and literary works. In one episode, he recommended two military histories to listeners, pointing them to Abraham Rabinovich's book The Yom Kippur War and Michael B. Oren's Six Days of War, describing both as fantastic historical accounts of the conflicts. In a later appearance, Friedman discussed his own book, Pumpkinflowers, sharing that his favorite review of the work came from an American military officer who considered it the finest book he had ever read about the conflict in Iraq. Through these recommendations and reflections, Friedman highlighted essential historical literature concerning regional wars in the Middle East while also offering personal insight into the reception and military resonance of his own combat-focused memoir, connecting broader geopolitical conflicts with intimate human experiences on the battlefield.
Books recommended by Matti Friedman
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Six Days of War
Six Days of War by Michael B.
Recommended“We'll link to uh Abraham Rabinovich's book of the Yom Kippur War and Michael Oren's book of the Six-Day War uh Six Days of War. They're they're both fantastic historical accounts”
Where to get it
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The Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War by Abraham Rabinovich is a comprehensive historical account detailing the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict.
Recommended“I want to recommend to listeners two books. We'll link to uh Abraham Rabinovich's book of the Yom Kippur War and Michael Oren's book of the Six-Day War uh Six Days of War.”
Where to get it
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Pumpkinflowers
Matti Friedman's Pumpkinflowers is a poignant memoir and historical account detailing the author's experiences as a young Israeli soldier stationed in the security zone of southern Lebanon during the late 1990s.
Discussed“my favorite review of pumpkin flowers when it came out was written by an American military officer who said it was the best book he ever read about Iraq”
Where to get it
Books Matti Friedman wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is This War With Lebanon Different? (with Matti Friedman) | EconTalk | 2024-12-16 | 1 |
| Matti Friedman on Leonard Cohen and the Yom Kippur War | EconTalk | 2022-06-06 | 2 |
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“the movie Wag the Dog if you if you remember which has some really interesting points about the Gulf War and the the dawn of uh of video as a weapon of War”
“I recently had a had an opportunity to rethink all of this both my military service and my return to Lebanon because I as as you mentioned at the beginning of the podcast there's a new audio book of this out which I which I read a month or two ago so I actually sat with the book for the”
“and uh and a lot of it's in pumpkin flowers”