While researching the book, Oren utilized primary sources from Israel, the Arab world, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, much of which had only recently become available to scholars. Citing the breadth and depth of Oren's research and the lucidity of his writing, several reviews, including those of National Public Radio, Washington Post Book World, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Chicago Sun-Times, described the book as the definitive account of the conflict.[2]