Synopses & Reviews
"The definitive and gripping account of the sometimes exhilarating, often tortured twists and turns in the Middle East peace process, viewed from the front row by one of its major players."--Bill ClintonThe Missing Peace, published to great acclaim last year, is the most candid inside account of the Middle East peace process ever written. 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.
Ross recounts the peace process in detail from 1988 to the breakdown of talks in early 2001 that prompted the so-called second Intifada-and takes account of recent developments in a new afterword written for this edition. 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. 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. The Missing Peace explains, as no other book has, why Middle East peace remains so elusive.
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"[A] brilliant and important insider's account that is essential reading for anyone wishing to better understand this seemingly intractable problem." Booklist (Starred Review)
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"[A]n important addition to the literature of the Middle East conflict." Kirkus Reviews
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"[An] important, voluminous and keenly balanced memoir of 12 years as the central figure of American Middle East peace policies." Ethan Bronner, The New York Times Book Review
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"If retail success were related to a book's historical importance, Dennis Ross's Missing Peace would outsell Bill Clinton's memoir by at least two to one. That's not a slam at Clinton's My Life, which I haven't read; it's a reflection of the detail, authority, and purpose of Ross's mammoth tome. For 12 years, from 1988 through 2000, Ross was the top US diplomat charged with managing the Middle East peace process....And here he tells us about all of it." Peter Grier, The Christian Science Monitor (read the entire Christian Science Monitor review)
Synopsis
The chief Middle East peace negotiator for the presidential administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton shares a gripping personal narrative of the struggle for Israeli-Palestinian peace. In far and away the most candid inside account of the Middle East peace process ever published, Ross recounts the peace process in detail from 1988 to the breakdown of talks in early 2001.
About the Author
Dennis Ross, Middle East ambassador and the chief peace negotiator in the presidential administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, now heads the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.