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By mid-2004, Palestinian attacks, including suicide bombings, directed at Israelis in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and inside Israel, resulted in approximately 1,000 deaths. Israel responded by reoccupying parts of the West Bank and Gaza, killing about 3,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians. Encyclopedia of the Palestinians, Revised Edition is the definitive source for high school students, undergraduates, and general readers who want an accurate account of these people and their long history. Much has happened since the first edition was published, making this revised edition a crucial update. The revised edition includes new entries on recent developments and personalities, updates of many of the existing entries, and approximately 50 black-and-white photographs and additional maps. A document section has been added to the end of the book, including entire texts or excerpts of key documents on Palestinian history.
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Peace Out Of Reach: Middle Eastern Travels And The Search For Reconciliation – Stephen Eric Bronner (2007)

Turmoil in the Middle East has escalated to unprecedented levels in the twenty-first century. Opposing cultural, religious, and political forces have resumed old conflicts and spawned new ones, fighting with words and images as well as bombs and bullets. The path toward peace and reconciliation seems further away and less clear than ever. Stephen Eric Bronner’s “Peace Out of Reach” is both a deeply personal account and a careful analysis of the crises currently threatening the cradle of civilization. Bronner’s insights into Middle Eastern tensions are significantly enhanced by his extensive travels in the region. Equally informed by scholarly research and conscientious engagement, Bronner critically evaluates the motivations and actions of the powerful players on the Middle Eastern stage. “Peace Out of Reach” challenges policymakers to build bridges, recognize common interests, foster genuine diplomacy, and seek realistically navigable roads to lasting peace, rather than resort to propaganda, threats, and military actions.

Reviewed by Michele Heather Pollock
The political and ideological conflicts plaguing the Middle East are currently of immense interest to the world. The United States is engaged in two wars there, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and trouble is brewing in other nations of the Middle East as well. It is not difficult to find news clips, sound bytes, and even occasionally longer considerations of crises in the Middle East, but it might sometimes be difficult to more deeply consider the implications of the troubles there and the Western World’s actions and reactions to it.
Stephen Eric Bronner has a very specific perspective on the conflicts in the Middle East. He is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, and a well-known peace activist. And while his firm convictions against war have obviously influenced his thinking in his book Peace Out of Reach, he raises many questions that should be interesting to most people, even those who do not agree with his political views.
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