Synopses & Reviews
A prominent Palestinian's searching, anguished, deeply affecting autobiography, in which his life story comes to be the story of the recent history of his country.
Sari Nusseibeh’s autobiography is a remarkable book—one in which his dramatic life story and that of his embattled country converge in a work of great passion, depth, and emotional power. Nusseibeh was raised to represent his country. His family’s roots in Palestine traced back to the Middle Ages, and his father was the governor of Jerusalem. Educated at Oxford, he was trained to build upon his father’s support for coexistence and a negotiated solution to the problems of the region.
But the wars of 1967 and 1973 spelled the beginning of the end for the vision of a unified Palestine—and Nusseibeh’s response to these events, and to those that followed, gives us the recent history from a Palestinian point of view as no book has done. From his time teaching side by side with Israelis at Hebrew University through his appointment by Yassir Arafat to administer Arab Jerusalem, he holds fast to a two-state solution, even as the powers around him insist that it is impossible. As Palestine is torn apart by settlements and barricades, corruption and violence, Nusseibeh remains true to the ideals of his youth, determined to keep hold of some faint hope for the life of his country.
Once Upon a Country is a book with the scope and vitality of an old-fashioned novel—one whose ending is still uncertain.
Review
"One of the best personal accounts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ever written . . . A fascinating and deeply intelligent memoir."--Ethan Bronner, The New York Times
"There are villains and victims, patriots and fools, war and peace, betrayal and corruption, and an inevitable romance. . . . The book dramatizes recent history in Palestine as few others have done."--Amos Elon, The New York Review of Books
"Terrific . . . highly recommended for those who want to appreciate the dilemma of the Palestinian democrat."--Christopher Hitchens, Slate
"A deeply admirable book by a deeply admirable man."--Leon Wieseltier, The New York Times Book Review
"Once Upon a Country is an often enthralling book, with a lucid unfolding of the issues and subtle analysis of the games played by both sides. . . . This complicated man--shrewd, idealist, pragmatic, dreamer, peaceful warrior---is very much worth knowing."--Charles Matthews, San Francisco Chronicle
"Captivating . . . Once Upon a Country is a magnificent study of hope under siege."--Robert Malley, The Washington Post
"A bighearted, admirable, and exceptionally interesting account of Nusseibeh's struggle for an equitable peace in a conflict in which compromise is often interpreted as treason. This is a rare book."--Jeffrey Goldberg, Los Angeles Times
"Once Upon a Country is a subtle, sad, and humorous memoir that casts a fresh light on the Israeli-Palestinian tragedy and a vivid picture of Palestinian society as well."--Amos Oz, author of A Tale of Love and Darkness
Synopsis
A New York Times Book Review Editors Choice
A teacher, a scholar, a philosopher, and an eyewitness to history, Sari Nusseibeh is one of our most urgent and articulate authorities on the conflict in the Middle East. From his time teaching side by side with Israelis at the Hebrew University through his appointment by Yasir Arafat to administer the Arab Jerusalem, he has held fast to the principles of freedom and equality for all, and his story dramatizes the consequences of war, partition, and terrorism as few other books have done. This autobiography brings rare depth and compassion to the story of his country.
About the Author
Sari Nusseibeh, a philosopher, was the Palestine Liberation Organization’s chief representative in Jerusalem from 2001 to 2002, in which role he advocated a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. He is the president of and a professor at Al-Quds University, the Arab University of Jerusalem. Nusseibeh was educated at Oxford and Harvard, and was a Radcliffe Institute Fellow at Harvard for 2004–05. He is the author of two previous books.