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A gripping memoir by one of the twentieth century’s most celebrated Middle East journalists
Eric Rouleau was one of the most celebrated journalists of his generation, a status he owed to his extraordinary career, which began when Hubert Beuve-Méry, director of Le Monde, charged him with covering the Near and Middle East.
In 1963, Rouleau was invited by Gamal Abd al-Nasser to interview him in Cairo, a move which was not lost on the young Rouleau—going through him, a young Egyptian Jew who had been exiled from Egypt in late 1951, shortly before the Free Officers coup, was a means to renew diplomatic ties with de Gaulle’s France. This exclusive interview, which immediately made headlines around the world, propelled Rouleau into the center of the region’s conflicts for two decades.
Writing between Cairo and Jerusalem, Rouleau was a chief witness to the wars of 1967 and 1973, narrating their events from behind the scenes. He was to meet all the major players, including Nasser, Levi Ashkol, Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, Yasser Arafat, Ariel Sharon, and Anwar Sadat, painting striking portraits of each. More than a memoir, his book presents a history, lived from the inside, of the Israel–Palestine conflict.
"For years, Eric Rouleau’s reporting and commentaries on the Middle East were an incomparable source of information, insight, and understanding. The appearance of the autobiography of this remarkable journalist, diplomat—and human being—is an event that many of those concerned with world affairs have been awaiting with eager anticipation."—Noam Chomsky
"Rouleau was in the forefront of journalists who knew and covered the key figures in the rise and fall of Arab nationalism."—Jonathan Randal, Foreign Correspondent for the New York Times and the Washington Post (1969–1998)
"Eric Rouleau’s memoirs open up for English-language readers a breadth of experience and vision in Middle East journalism unrivaled in the Anglophone world. . ."—Gareth Smyth, former Financial Times chief correspondent for Iran, Lobe Log
"An important resource for understanding the political dynamics and personalities of the time." —John O. Voll, Middle East Journal
"An extraordinary account of an extraordinary life lived out in extraordinary times."—Midwest Book Review
"Rouleau alone got the scoop—the story of the dramatic rupture between President Nasser and Field Marshal Amer, his army commander. . . But it wasn’t just the scoop . . . it was the knowledge, depth, and authority which he brought to the interpretation of it. I was just a beginner then, and he instantly became my model of what a great journalist, writing for a great newspaper, should be.”—David Hirst, Middle East correspondent, The Guardian (1963–1997)
"This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of events that shaped the contemporary Middle East and how the Palestinian problem still forms the epicenter of the region’s complex dynamics."—Insight Turkey
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword. Éric Rouleau’s Empire, Alain Gresh xi
Introduction 1
1. Gamal Abd al-Nasser 7
2. Egypt to the Egyptians 29
3. The Indispensable Torah 45
4. My Brother Ishmael 67
5. The “Prussians” Win Out Over the “Jews” 91
6. The Six-Hour War 111
7. The “Liberal” Occupation 137
8. The Survivor 159
9. Missing Peace 179
10. The End of an Era 199
11. “De-Nasserization” 221
12. War and Diplomacy 237
13. Lost Illusions 255
14. Update and Renewal 271
15. The Oslo Deadlock 287
16. Cassandra 299
Index 309