Peace and Its Discontents
- Essays on Palestine in the Middle East Process
by Edward Said

Ever since Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shook hands in the White House lawn, Israel and the Palestinian people have been engaged in what commentators persist in calling "the peace process." Yet Israel remains racked by violence and continuing land seizures, and Palestinians are more demoralized than ever before. Now in this probing and impassioned book, one of our foremost Palestinian-American intellectuals explains why the much-vaunted process has yet to produce peace - and is unlikely to as presently constituted.

Whether Edward Said is addressing the fatal flaws in the PLO's bargain, denouncing fundamentalists on both sides of the religious divide, or calling our attention to the distortions in official coverage of the Arab world, he offers insights beyond the conventional wisdom and a sympathy that extends to both Israelis and Palestinians. He does so with an incisiveness, clarity, and fairness that make Peace and Its Discontents essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of the Middle East.

About the Author
Edward Said, who recently died at age 67, was a widely respected writer, scholar, and activist. Dr. Said was a professor of literature at Columbia University, and his book Orientalism revolutionized the literary field. He was one of the leading literary critics of the last quarter of the 20th century, and he was widely regarded as the outstanding representative of the post-structuralist left in America. Above all, he was the most articulate and visible advocate of the Palestinian cause in the United States.

Reviews
"Said, a Palestinian intellectual with impeccable credentials that carry him well within both the halls of American academia and Palestinian political forums, despairs over the failure of his community's leadership to achieve a solid set of goals in the present negotiating process. Most of the material presented here has appeared elsewhere in Arabic-language papers or in one of Said's many publications, but all was written originally for an Arab audience. While the theme may appear to be redundant to many (the Palestinians caved in to U.S. pressure and obstinate Israeli demands without exploiting their advantage of moral position and sound political objectives) the thought processes and manner of deliberation exhibited by Said require attention by everyone interested in the topic."
- Library Journal

The Oslo Agreement, setting terms for a new relationship between Israelis and Palestinians, has drawn such wide mainstream support that few Americans realize many Palestinians consider this new relationship far short of self-determination. Columbia University professor Said, a relatively visible dissenter from conventional wisdom about the peace process, expands a similarly titled volume published in Cairo in late 1994, gathering some 20 commentaries from Al-Hayat, an Arab-language daily, from September 1993 through April 1995. A longtime member (1977-91) of the Palestine National Council, Said challenges the usual interpretation of Oslo, arguing that "Arafat's flawed linguistic and political understanding do not permit him to perceive the difference between limited autonomy, which is what he got, and national liberation, which he gave up.""
- Mary Carroll, Booklist