Flamingnet Student Book Reviewer KSee
Hampton started in 1970, dedicating his entire career to be
a journalist, reporting the sad history in the Middle East.
He wrote this nonfiction book entirely on facts that he
experienced himself. He was there during two wars, including
Black September, to write about the shooting, killing,
bombing, peace treaties, and diplomatic maneuvering from a
neutral stance. Hampton put himself in danger every day in
order to report many events such as the hijackings of
P.E.L.P., the hostages of the guerrillas, the peace talks
between King Hussein, Arafat, and other Arab leaders and Yom
Kippur during the civil war.
The entire neighborhood became a battlefield, with the
hotel in the crossfire& I lay on the bar mattress in the
hotel hallway, I wonder how many people might be lying dead
or wounded out there& Either of us had been killed. My
thirtieth birthday was coming up in a few days, and I said a
little prayer that I might live to see it. -Hampton
Wilborn Hampton is a talented reporter who put himself in
the midst of the conflicts in the Middle East to capture and
document the shocking events of the civil war known as Black
September. He wrote about his own observations. When I read
this book I felt like I was standing in the sand at
Jerusalem. There are also many great photographs of
important events such as the election of Palestinian
leaders, the protection wall at the West bank, refugee
camps, Israelis and Egyptian commanders signing peace
treaties, and the holy city of Jerusalem where the Western
Wall and the Dome of the Rock are located. Before I started
reading this book I had little knowledge about the war in
the Middle East. Luckily, there is a great prologue of
religious background about the Jews and Palestinians. I
enjoyed reading the book from the eyes of Wilborn Hampton, a
true American citizen, (rather than hearing about the war
from our textbooks or the news reporters.) This is an
incredible book of primary sources that all students, as
well as adults, should study.
Any understanding of the Middle East must begin with the
premise that no one side is right or wrong. There is no
black or white, only a thousand shades of gray. -Hampton.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country:
Renton, WA USA
