Mead leads us with an even tone and expert hand through centuries of history, and through disparate topics including Puritan theology, the politics at the court of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the personality of Billy Graham ... In the guise of a book about Israel and America, in other words, Mead has actually written an ambitious and idiosyncratic history of large swaths of Western politics and thought. Implicitly, and perhaps even more important, the book makes a case that complicated and sensitive topics can still be covered with balance, sympathy, and even occasional humor ... Most striking, for this reader, was the reminder of the depth of Zionist enthusiasm in non-Jewish America, where the idea of a literal Jewish return to the Land of Israel was popular among Christians long before it caught on among Jews ... impressive and timely.

Mead sets the record straight by presenting a long and nuanced alternative history of U.S.-Israel relations ... less a history of U.S.-Israel policy than a sweeping and masterfully told history of U.S. foreign policy in general, as seen through the lens of the U.S.-Israel relationship ... Given the book’s hefty size, it’s only fair to ask whether these asides feel extraneous. Few do. Mead is so fluent on such a broad range of topics — from history to religion to policy to politics — that I learned something new from each of his detours. And he’s such a good craftsman — the prose is among the best I’ve encountered in 25 years of reviewing foreign-policy books — that when he does occasionally stray beyond the strictly necessary, it’s hard to object. Does the book really need an account of President Benjamin Harrison’s struggles to quit smoking? Probably not. But reason not the need; the inclusion of such colorful details only makes the book more vivid and enriching ... Despite all the information that The Arc of a Covenant packs in, moreover, it never loses sight of a key argument, which is an extended attack on the 'rancid urban legend' known as the Israel Lobby theory ... Despite its polemical power, Mead manages to keep the book’s tone high-minded and generous; when discussing his, or Israel’s, adversaries, he always strives to give everyone the benefit of the doubt ... Well, almost always. No book is perfect, and The Arc of a Covenant is no exception. For some reason, Mead’s generosity of spirit fails him when he gets to the Obama administration, which he scornfully describes as naïve and inept — criticisms he largely spares both George W. Bush and (most mysteriously) Donald Trump, despite both presidents’ equal or greater failures. Another quibble: The book would benefit from clearer sourcing, especially when making controversial claims ... Finally, at the book’s end I found myself wishing, if not for policy recommendations, then at least for predictions about where Mead thinks the U.S.-Israel relationship is headed. He’s so good at laying out the real but often-overlooked forces that shape this alliance, while puncturing the mythological ones, that I’d love to get his take on its future prospects — especially at this moment, when global politics and U.S. foreign policy are being scrambled in so many baffling ways ... But I suppose that will have to wait for Mead’s next book. The good news is that, judging from the quality of this one, it’s bound to be brilliant too.

... magisteria ... Any careful reader will come away from this book armed with facts, history and context, and with a clarity absent from most discussions of the subject...this volume is more than timely — it is necessary ... Right up to today, Mead’s keen eye discerns strategies and patterns that may have gone unnoticed ... Mead’s assessment of the complicated entanglement of Jews, Israel and the United States testifies powerfully to the historian Marcus’s admonition about the imperative to understand the past to ensure the future. I suspect that Mead wrote this book to guide us there. The Arc of a Covenant, drawing from the past to speak to today, merits a wide audience.

In nearly 700 pages, Mead engages readers with his thoughts on the historical arc between the U.S. and its relationship with Jewish people and Israel...The author supplies an overview of the political and cultural context of U.S. support from colonial times to the present...He reviews the words and actions from George Washington, Theodore Herzl, to American support for the Balfour Declaration, and American Christians who support the State of Israel...A meticulously written and engaging volume that may make readers pause and reconsider an issue they thought they already knew...Best suited for those interested in the history of the Middle East, Israel, U.S. studies, and Jewish history.

A veteran foreign policy scholar explores the ups and downs in the complex friendship between the U.S. and Israel...In the complicated business of foreign policy, writes the author, 'even experts go badly wrong, and history is full of examples in which very serious and thoughtful people have fundamentally mistaken the nature of the forces with which they were trying to deal'...So it is with Israel, a nation resolute in insisting that it be allowed to live on its own terms even while being closely shepherded by the U.S. In Mead’s view, the idea that Jews somehow secretly control the U.S. government and media, to say nothing of its finances, is not worth discussing...Far more important is the seemingly intractable issue of political balance in the always-volatile region, with American political leaders so often favoring close ties with authoritarian Arab states even as dollars-and-cents–minded policymakers have had to negotiate ways to 'ensure the security of the oil producers…so that no single power had the ability to interrupt the oil flow'...Writing fluently and with a depth born of decades of study, Mead urges that Israelis and Palestinians work harder to achieve ever elusive peace in the region, holding that 'the creation of a Palestinian state will move both sides closer to a mutually acceptable accommodation'...An essential contribution to the literature of politics and diplomacy in the Middle East.

Mead, a professor of foreign affairs at Bard College, delivers a sweeping study of the relationship between the U.S. and Israel...Stretching from the colonial era to the present day, Mead’s comprehensive history analyzes the impacts of Christianity’s changing attitudes toward Judaism and Jews; broad political trends that enabled the acceptance of Jewish people 'as active members of the American commonwealth,' exemplified by George Washington’s 1790 letter to the congregation of Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I.; and economic developments such as the rise of labor unions...Though he declines to offer detailed prescriptions for how American leaders should handle Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Iranian funding of Hamas, and other contentious matters, Mead provides more than enough context to understand them...The result is a valuable resource for policymakers and voters alike.