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Palestine, DC


The Epilogue has expanded to become a book in its own right, tentatively titled Palestine, DC. It will cover my time
working at a Defense Department think tank in the belly of the Bush Beltway, the aftermath of Hamas's parliamentary election victory, Israel’s assault on Lebanon in the summer of 2006, my experience with the institutional culture and internal logic of Washington, Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, my return to Palestine, and my decision to (finally) drop everything and write Fast Times in Palestine.

Palestine, DC is drafted, and I've just now — at last — found some time to sit down and really work on editing it. I'd hoped to have it done by now, but the last stages of publishing, then marketing, touring, promoting, and working freelance jobs to make ends meet have taken more out of me than I expected.

Keep checking back here, or sign up for my blog, where I will update readers about the status of the project. I really hope I can have it done by this summer. (Then I can get to work on my next book, The Bracelet: A Novel of Freedom — my first foray into fiction.)

Meanwhile here is a list of chapter titles:

    One: Hamas Wins
    Two: The Siege
    Three: The Halls of Power
    Four: Assault on Lebanon
    Five: Censored, Maligned, Denied
    Six: Return to Palestine... and to Myself

The lessons I learned in Washington — about human psychology, institutional inertia, and how frighteningly little most so-called 'experts' know about the Middle East — are some of the most important and actionable things I've ever learned. I look forward to passing them on to you.

The book ends in late 2007, which I suppose means my next Palestine book will have to get people caught up to the present. So much happens, and nobody strings it all together into a compelling and readable narrative. Most journalism, when it's not outright disinformation, offers only disconnected bits and pieces. The whole thing has a rhythm and narrative to it that gets lost.

I guess that's what I'm here for.