4.5 stars

This is both a memoir of the author's work in peacemaking, and a history of the unrest between Israel and Palestine.

I knew virtually nothing of the issues between these two nations (only that they existed), and it was enlightening and saddening to learn the details.

In a way, it was refreshing for me, a white American, to read about a racial/ethnic divide that wasn't the black and white one. It allowed me to look at the division with more objectivity and offered a perspective that I can apply to the tensions in my own society.

My only concern with the book is that the gospel of Jesus didn't seem to be clearly presented, and Chacour didn't address the biblical passages that address peace, such as when Jesus says that he did not come to bring peace on earth (Matt. 10:34). It left me unsure of which message Chacour actually believes: that there is only one way to be reconciled to God (through the blood of Jesus), or that all religions which claim to serve the God of the biblical Old Testament, and reject Jesus as the Messiah, are as valid as Christianity. ( )

Eye-opening, moving and inspiring. I can't think of anything else to say, except that I hope many people will read this book, written by a man who has spent decades in pursuit of peace and reconciliation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ( )

An eye-opening account of a Christian Palestinian Family whose roots in the land go back to the time of Christ. This book helped me understand the Palestinian side of the Middle East conflict in Israel. I don't know what the answer is for Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I do know if more of the leaders on both sides were as inclined towards love and peace as the family described in this book, that peace would be attainable.

I don’t know of a better way to gain meaningful insight into the Middle East conflict. Elias Chacour is a Palestinian Christian whose family was driven out of the young State of Israel. He has devoted his life to cultivating neighborly love between Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Middle East. This book is the engagingly written story of his life.

What really sets this book apart is that Chacour takes seriously the concern of many American Christians with Bible prophecy and what it has to say about Israel. This is his challenge: Belief in prophecy does not overrule the duty of obedience to the God Who is love. And he doesn’t say this in order to dismiss prophecy. He believes in it too.

If I could, I would give this book to every Christian in America who has wasted time on Left Behind novels and Bible-based fantasies. As someone named Paul once said, once you’re grown, it is time to put away childish things.

The best things about this book are its honesty and the way that it gives realistic hope for peace. ( )

It was poorly written, he would not develop stories, but what the book is about is extremely respectable. ( )