Hamas and Civil Society in Gaza

"This is the most perceptive analysis available not only of the evolution of the social institutions of Hamas, but also of the extraordinary pressures brought to bear on Palestinian society under occupation. Roy‘s book is leavened by her profound empathy for the lives of ordinary people, and it is suffused by a moral clarity that is rare in works of this level of acuity and scholarly rigor. No one seriously interested in Palestine or Israel can afford to ignore this powerful book." --Rashid Khalidi, author of The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood "This book is based on extensive research on a topic much talked about, but not seriously studied in the Palestinian context. Roy decisively debunks the conventional wisdom about Hamas, its ideological intransigence, and the way its social institutions are--or as Roy argues, largely are not--linked to its political and military structures. I was deeply moved by the book." --Joel Beinin, author of Workers and Peasants in the Modern Middle East "This is a terrific addition to our knowledge about Hamas. Roy succeeds in understanding its social activities from the inside out, through the eyes of the people who live them every day. She offers an accurate portrayal of a real, complex, complicated, and evolving organization and movement. Roy knows Gaza probably better than any other American academic." --Glenn E. Robinson, author of Building a Palestinian State: The Incomplete Revolution