Items related to The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine
This is a book about Palestine today. It is neither apologetic nor romanticized, but a powerful and brilliantly realized scream of a book, scorching and tender, from a journalist whose anger and empathy burn through every word. Over the past three years, Ben Ehrenreich has shared the laughter, fury and sorrow of people in cities and villages across the West Bank, young and old people, men and women. He has witnessed the extremes to which they are pushed, the daily deprivation and oppression that they face, the strategies they construct to survive it - stoicism, resignation, rebellion, humour, and a stubborn, defiant joy. In The Way to the Spring, he describes the cruel mechanics of the Israeli occupation and the endless absurdities and tragedies it engenders: the complex and humiliating machinery of the checkpoints, walls, courts and prisons; the steady, strangling loss of lands that have been passed down for generations; the constant ebb and flow of deadly violence. Blending political and historical context with the personal stories of the people Ehrenreich meets, The Way to the Spring is a testimony, a provocation and a vital document. Written with grace and power, it breathes fresh life and urgency to a place and a conflict that too easily disappears in the shouting. This is a necessary book, an unflinching act of witnessing.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
'Capture[s] events unfolding on the West Bank with sympathy and restraint' -- Colm Toibin, Best Books of 2016, Guardian
'As heart-breaking as it is, The Way to the Spring is also a strangely joyful book, because Ehrenreich grasps the essence of the Palestinian struggle: not Islam, or even nationalism, but the stubborn refusal of injustice, the restless search for how it would feel to be free, as Nina Simone said. The Way to the Spring is more than a work of journalism. It is a freedom song, burning with humanity' -- Adam Shatz
'Ben Ehrenreich's rendition of the Palestinian experience is powerful, deep and heartbreaking, so much closer to the ground than the Middle East reporting we usually see. I wish there were more writers as brave' -- Adam Hochschild
'Though often framed as a foreign policy problem, Palestine is a land of miracles and wonders, with ordinary men and women who decline to consent to [their] own eradication struggling against a vast landscape to live free lives one day at a time. The land and its people exert an uncanny attraction; everyday struggles achieve an uncanny beauty. In The Way to the Spring, Ben Ehrenreich shapes the uncanny into words and into stories. This is a compelling, essential book' -- Mark Danner
'[The Way to the Spring] sets a new standard for mainstream reporting on Palestine: informed, enlightening, open-hearted. Ehrenreich illuminates the daily human experience of Occupation through the nuances of resistance and solidarity' -- Sarah Schulman
'In The Way to The Spring, Ben Ehrenreich accomplishes an extraordinary feat of journalism. His portraits of Palestinian resistance are luminous; his writing subtle, meticulously documented and deeply human; showing the nuanced empathy that slashes through the best funded government propaganda. This is a necessary book' -- Molly Crabapple
'The myriad ordeals suffered by the Palestinian people during the last eighty years are minutely reported here. It's a chronicle of their daily lives. Read it! It recognises and respects hope' -- John Berger
'I really enjoyed The Way To The Spring, which is full of close attention, humane understanding, committed research and memorable novelistic detail. It expresses not just the military and weaponised elements of life under siege and occupation but also the emotional violence wrought on women, children and men who must live in constant fear. Ehrenreich is excellent on the nuances of suffering and survival, which emerge because this is a book which takes a long view, sticking close to its central characters over time, a face, a name and a personality to a situation that is more commonly represented through two minute news reports. The book is to be read with acceptance, subtlety and an open mind - just as it was written' -- Bidisha
'Teeming with heartbreak, irony, and intimate moments of joy... [Ehrenreich] paints a vivid portrait of life in three locations: the village of Nabi Saleh, where families have been protesting weekly for the right to use a spring that was theirs until Israeli settlers claimed it, and are consistently met with force; the city of Hebron, a puzzle box of checkpoints and segregated zones, and a powder keg of Jewish and Palestinian resentments; and the village of Umm al-Kheir, where a way of life is quietly dying in the shadow of ever-expanding settlements. With a journalist's keen eye for detail and a novelist's ardor for language and its ability to move people, Ehrenreich will incite renewed compassion in his readers' -- Publishers Weekly
'A devastating portrait of unending turbulence in Palestine' Kirkus
'A chillingly beautiful, albeit heartbreaking, chronicle of Palestinian life in the West Bank. It's written with immense empathy, but is equally grounded, and urgently real' --Yasmine El Rashidi, summer books round up, Guardian
'[An] eloquent account of popular resistance and Israeli military repression in the West Bank. His book gives a vivid portrait of Palestinian life under occupation and the enormous challenges faced by those who choose to confront it' -- LRB
'Profoundly powerful not only in observations and stories, but in how courageously and carefully it speaks to our present moment' -- Madeleine Thien, Best Books of 2016, Guardian
'It is all too easy to become overwhelmed by the glaring injustice and the difficulties a traveller encounters in the territories occupied by Israel but Ben Ehrenreich resists the temptation. He remains enraged but lucid, eloquent and insightful. Of the voluminous amount of writing about the occupation this is one to treasure. He retains an intimacy with his subject without losing his critical distance. So much has been written about the occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel but rarely with such vividness, eloquence and success in illuminating complex historical and political realities. This is a superbly intelligent, informative and critical book about one of the fundamental issues of our time' -- Raja Shehadeh
'Ehrenreich did not set out to write an objective book; her does not even think it is possible. This is simply a description, details [...] of what the facts on the ground look like if you are one of a particular group of Palestinians in the West Bank. It should be read by friends and foes of Israel alike' -- Economist
'The Way to the Spring is a riveting and powerful work... Readers near and far who seek greater understanding of how Palestinians live - and the violence they endure - are well served by Ehrenreich's book' -- Haaretz
'Ehrenreich reveals a Palestine that is defined not by loss, but by 'semi-magical' defiance and vitality. Despite their land 'vanishing beneath their feet', life continues and, as one young resident puts it, remains 'beautiful'' -- Claire Hazelton, Financial Times
'This is a powerful account of the human cost of conflict on the West Bank... Nevertheless, [Ehrenreich] finds human dignity amid the ruins and with that some hope' -- Martin Fletcher, Sunday Telegraph
'An intensely human, intimate book about the resilience of ordinary Palestinians who cannot count even on the corrupt, crony-infested 'regent regime' that is the Palestinian authority to help them fight Israeli repression... His reportage is rendered all the more powerful by its understated language' -- Martin Fletcher, Daily Telegraph
'I am gripped by it... I feel more like I'm involved in a pacy novel than struggling to swallow yet more unpalatable truths' -- Rachel Cooker, Observer
'The Way to the Spring is a powerfully evocative work, one that needs to be front and center in presentations to the citizens of the west, perhaps to disturb them as a simple historical recounting of events or misrepresented and contorted legal arguments might not' -- Jim Miles, Palestine Chronicle
'An intimate chronicle of the lives most affected by the occupation... Ehrenreich writes with an exhaustive knowledge of the region, its history and politics, without ever letting the facts outshine the singularity of each story... A must-read for anyone curious about the occupied territories' --Prospect magazine
About the Author:
'As heart-breaking as it is, The Way to the Spring is also a strangely joyful book, because Ehrenreich grasps the essence of the Palestinian struggle: not Islam, or even nationalism, but the stubborn refusal of injustice, the restless search for how it would feel to be free, as Nina Simone said. The Way to the Spring is more than a work of journalism. It is a freedom song, burning with humanity' -- Adam Shatz
'Ben Ehrenreich's rendition of the Palestinian experience is powerful, deep and heartbreaking, so much closer to the ground than the Middle East reporting we usually see. I wish there were more writers as brave' -- Adam Hochschild
'Though often framed as a foreign policy problem, Palestine is a land of miracles and wonders, with ordinary men and women who decline to consent to [their] own eradication struggling against a vast landscape to live free lives one day at a time. The land and its people exert an uncanny attraction; everyday struggles achieve an uncanny beauty. In The Way to the Spring, Ben Ehrenreich shapes the uncanny into words and into stories. This is a compelling, essential book' -- Mark Danner
'[The Way to the Spring] sets a new standard for mainstream reporting on Palestine: informed, enlightening, open-hearted. Ehrenreich illuminates the daily human experience of Occupation through the nuances of resistance and solidarity' -- Sarah Schulman
'In The Way to The Spring, Ben Ehrenreich accomplishes an extraordinary feat of journalism. His portraits of Palestinian resistance are luminous; his writing subtle, meticulously documented and deeply human; showing the nuanced empathy that slashes through the best funded government propaganda. This is a necessary book' -- Molly Crabapple
'The myriad ordeals suffered by the Palestinian people during the last eighty years are minutely reported here. It's a chronicle of their daily lives. Read it! It recognises and respects hope' -- John Berger
'I really enjoyed The Way To The Spring, which is full of close attention, humane understanding, committed research and memorable novelistic detail. It expresses not just the military and weaponised elements of life under siege and occupation but also the emotional violence wrought on women, children and men who must live in constant fear. Ehrenreich is excellent on the nuances of suffering and survival, which emerge because this is a book which takes a long view, sticking close to its central characters over time, a face, a name and a personality to a situation that is more commonly represented through two minute news reports. The book is to be read with acceptance, subtlety and an open mind - just as it was written' -- Bidisha
'Teeming with heartbreak, irony, and intimate moments of joy... [Ehrenreich] paints a vivid portrait of life in three locations: the village of Nabi Saleh, where families have been protesting weekly for the right to use a spring that was theirs until Israeli settlers claimed it, and are consistently met with force; the city of Hebron, a puzzle box of checkpoints and segregated zones, and a powder keg of Jewish and Palestinian resentments; and the village of Umm al-Kheir, where a way of life is quietly dying in the shadow of ever-expanding settlements. With a journalist's keen eye for detail and a novelist's ardor for language and its ability to move people, Ehrenreich will incite renewed compassion in his readers' -- Publishers Weekly
'A devastating portrait of unending turbulence in Palestine' Kirkus
'A chillingly beautiful, albeit heartbreaking, chronicle of Palestinian life in the West Bank. It's written with immense empathy, but is equally grounded, and urgently real' --Yasmine El Rashidi, summer books round up, Guardian
'[An] eloquent account of popular resistance and Israeli military repression in the West Bank. His book gives a vivid portrait of Palestinian life under occupation and the enormous challenges faced by those who choose to confront it' -- LRB
'Profoundly powerful not only in observations and stories, but in how courageously and carefully it speaks to our present moment' -- Madeleine Thien, Best Books of 2016, Guardian
'It is all too easy to become overwhelmed by the glaring injustice and the difficulties a traveller encounters in the territories occupied by Israel but Ben Ehrenreich resists the temptation. He remains enraged but lucid, eloquent and insightful. Of the voluminous amount of writing about the occupation this is one to treasure. He retains an intimacy with his subject without losing his critical distance. So much has been written about the occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel but rarely with such vividness, eloquence and success in illuminating complex historical and political realities. This is a superbly intelligent, informative and critical book about one of the fundamental issues of our time' -- Raja Shehadeh
'Ehrenreich did not set out to write an objective book; her does not even think it is possible. This is simply a description, details [...] of what the facts on the ground look like if you are one of a particular group of Palestinians in the West Bank. It should be read by friends and foes of Israel alike' -- Economist
'The Way to the Spring is a riveting and powerful work... Readers near and far who seek greater understanding of how Palestinians live - and the violence they endure - are well served by Ehrenreich's book' -- Haaretz
'Ehrenreich reveals a Palestine that is defined not by loss, but by 'semi-magical' defiance and vitality. Despite their land 'vanishing beneath their feet', life continues and, as one young resident puts it, remains 'beautiful'' -- Claire Hazelton, Financial Times
'This is a powerful account of the human cost of conflict on the West Bank... Nevertheless, [Ehrenreich] finds human dignity amid the ruins and with that some hope' -- Martin Fletcher, Sunday Telegraph
'An intensely human, intimate book about the resilience of ordinary Palestinians who cannot count even on the corrupt, crony-infested 'regent regime' that is the Palestinian authority to help them fight Israeli repression... His reportage is rendered all the more powerful by its understated language' -- Martin Fletcher, Daily Telegraph
'I am gripped by it... I feel more like I'm involved in a pacy novel than struggling to swallow yet more unpalatable truths' -- Rachel Cooker, Observer
'The Way to the Spring is a powerfully evocative work, one that needs to be front and center in presentations to the citizens of the west, perhaps to disturb them as a simple historical recounting of events or misrepresented and contorted legal arguments might not' -- Jim Miles, Palestine Chronicle
'An intimate chronicle of the lives most affected by the occupation... Ehrenreich writes with an exhaustive knowledge of the region, its history and politics, without ever letting the facts outshine the singularity of each story... A must-read for anyone curious about the occupied territories' --Prospect magazine
BEN EHRENREICH is the author of two novels, Ether and The Suitors. His writing has appeared in Harper's, the New York Times Magazine and the London Review of Books, among others. A recipient of the National Magazine Award, he lives in Los Angeles.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherGranta Books
- Publication date2016
- ISBN 10 1783783109
- ISBN 13 9781783783106
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages448
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
£ 206.85
Shipping:
£ 2.36
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine
Published by
Granta Books
(2016)
ISBN 10: 1783783109
ISBN 13: 9781783783106
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new1783783109
Buy New
£ 206.85
Convert currency