Books of Interest

Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel
by Eric H. Cline (October 2004)

How the battles of yesterday become the propaganda of today: the accounts of ten major conflicts in and around Jerusalem

This unique book presents the story of four millennia of struggles for control of Jerusalem, a city central to three major religions and held sacredc by millions of people throughout the world. No other city has been more bitterly fought over throughout its history. Jerusalem, whose name some say means "City of Peace," has seen at least 118 separate conflicts during the past 4,000 years -- conflits that ranged from local religious uprisings to strategic military campaigns.

Many of those conflicts altered the course of history in the region, and sometimes in the larger world as well. Some have had political or religious consequences that are still important today, despite intervening decades, centuries, or millennia. Moreover, the battles of yesterday frequently feed the propaganda of today, as the events of history are used and misused by modern military of political leaders, including Yasser Arafat, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, and Ariel Sharon.

Jerusalem Besieged chronicles the struggles of four millennia, puts them in context, and demonstrates their continuing relevance to the social and political problems of the Middle East today.

Eric Cline is Associate Professor of Ancient History and Archaeology in the Department of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with additional appointments in the History and Anthropology departments as well as the Judaic Studies program
 

The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fights for Middle East Peace
by Dennis Ross (August 2004)
 

A gripping personal narrative of the struggle for Israeli-Palestinian peace

Dennis Ross, the chief Middle East peace negotiator in the presidential administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, is that rare figure who is respected by all parties: Democrats and Republicans, Palestinians and Israelis, presidents and people on the street in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Washington, D.C.

The Missing Peace is far and away the most candid inside account of the Middle East peace process ever published. The maneuverings of both sides, and of the United States as well, are described. For the first time, the backroom negotiations, the dramatic and often secretive nature of the process, and the reasons for its faltering are on display for all to see.

Ross recounts the peace process in detail from 1988 to the breakdown of talks in early 2001 that prompted the so-called second Intifada. It's all here: Camp David, Oslo, Geneva, Egypt, and other summits; the assassination of Yitzak Rabin; the rise and fall of Benjamin Netanyahu; the very different characters and strategies of Rabin, Yasir Arafat, and Bill Clinton; and the first steps of the Palestinian Authority.

The issues Ross explains with unmatched clarity -- negotiations over borders, Israeli security, the Palestinian "right of return"-- are the issues behind today's headlines. The Missing Peace explains, as no other book has, why Middle East peace is so difficult to achieve