About the Author

Philip C. Winslow has been a journalist and foreign correspondent for more than twenty years; he has worked for the Christian Science Monitor, The Toronto Star, Maclean's magazine, ABC radio news, CTV News, and CBC radio. He also served in two United Nations peacekeeping missions and spent nearly three years living in the West Bank. He is the author of Sowing the Dragon's Teeth- Land Mines and the Global Legacy of War. From the Hardcover edition.

Reviews

Foreign correspondent Winslow (Sowing the Dragon's Teeth) depicts the universal cost of Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands in excruciatingly human terms in a memoir detailing 30 months spent on the West Bank with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Describing the fear, humiliation and violence routinely faced by people on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Winslow balances the Palestinian struggle to maneuver through an ever-growing web of walls, checkpoints and Israeli military operations in the West Bank, with close attention to Israel's legitimate defense needs and the fear created by Palestinian terrorism. The multilayered narrative demonstrates unusual compassion for the human side of the conflict, sympathizing with both the Palestinian citizens and the Israeli soldiers in the clear understanding that the latter, too, are dehumanized by the violence that surrounds them. Using resonant descriptions of the occupation's daily routines, the account searches for moments of human kindness that can bridge the chasm created by civil discord, admirably achieving the author's goal to paint "pictures of what armed conflict does to humanity." (Oct.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Winslow, a veteran foreign correspondent who has lived and worked in the West Bank, opens a window onto the personal experiences of Palestinians and Israelis during the second Intifada.-Middle East Journal

"Wise, modest, fair, and alert to the nuances of human interaction, Winslow is a gentle guide to an ungentle landscape. But the picture he etches of the effects of Israeli control over the West Bank is devastating. Americans who care about forging a lasting peace in the Middle East should read this book, because this is the disastrous occupation that our tax dollars are paying for."-Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains

"[Winslow] writes in a gentle tone about the constant brutalizing and inhumane quality of the Israeli occupation, the administration of checkpoints, and attempts to crush the Palestinian community and economy. He doesn't consider the political positions of either side but blames both for ignoring the repercussions of their actions, on their enemy and on themselves. Winslow's sensitivity and strong writing make this an important volume."-Library Journal

"Foreign correspondent Winslow depicts the universal cost of Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands in excruciatingly human terms . . . The multilayered narrative demonstrates unusual compassion for the human side of the conflict, sympathizing with both the Palestinian citizens and the Israeli soldiers in the clear understanding that the latter, too, are dehumanized by the violence that surrounds them."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

Journalist Philip Winslow served in two UN peacekeeping missions transporting emergency supplies on the West Bank during the intifada after 2000. He writes in a gentle tone about the constant brutalizing and inhumane quality of the Israeli occupation, the administration of checkpoints, and attempts to crush the Palestinian community and economy. He doesn't consider the political positions of either side but blames both for ignoring the repercussions of their actions, on their enemy and on themselves. Winslow's sensitivity and strong writing make this an important volume for libraries. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.