Summary: A former Middle East correspondent traces the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, examining its causes and discussing possible solutions that would allow both sides to exist together peacefully. - (Baker & Taylor)
Booklist Reviews
The ongoing slaughter in the holy "land between the river and the sea" has at least crystallized the core conflict; it is no longer a dispute between Israel and the surrounding Arab states. It is now a struggle between Israelis and Palestinians for the same cherished but blood-soaked real estate. Although La Guardia, currently the diplomatic editor for the Daily Telegraph and Middle East correspondent from 1990 to 1998, does delve into the history of the conflicting national aspirations, this is fundamentally an examination of two wounded peoples, neither of whom seems capable of surmounting national myths and past hatreds to forge a new future. La Guardia is even-handed in his criticism of both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but he does not spare ordinary people, attacking them for their inability to give up unrealistic and destructive goals. As for solutions, he seems to feel that some form of international coercion applied to both sides offers the best hope, but he recognizes that even that road has major pitfalls. This is an absorbing but heartbreaking examination of a seemingly endless tragedy that continues to unfold before our eyes. ((Reviewed May 15, 2002)) Copyright 2002 Booklist Reviews
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