Patchwork and Its Pitfalls: The Cost of Half-Way Solutions

Patchwork and Its Pitfalls: The Cost of Half-Way Solutions describes decision makers' patchwork actions that occur due to hesitation and lack of firmness and determination. Under the pretext of "humanitarianism," "saving lives," or taking an otherwise wimpy action, they end up taking a cowardly action at the cost of human lives and much material damage. The costliest action often turns out to be the cheapest, but is seldom done, while the easiest and apparently cheapest action ends up being the most expensive in the aggregate. This book is important, because indecisive decision makers can emerge in all nations at all times. The author's inspiration for writing this book: "When I watch politicians who repeatedly take cowardly decisions out of 'human considerations' and concern for lives and material preservations, but in fact end up wasting both." (About the Author) Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the 1970s, and is the author of over 60 research books, a dozen edited books, and 100 scholarly articles about Islam.