PublishedHarper Collins, August 2017 |
ISBN9781460752562 |
FormatSoftcover, 400 pages |
Dimensions23.6cm × 15.5cm × 3cm |
An intimate account of the Israel-Palestine conflict and beyond, from one of Australia's most experienced foreign correspondents.
Now updated with a foreword by Stan Grant and a new author's note.
'Lyons knows if you stand with the suffering, you're closer to the truth' Stan Grant, award-winning journalist and bestselling author
'A penetrating analysis of power with empathy for the human story' Sarah Ferguson, presenter of 7.30
Leading Australian journalist John Lyons takes readers on a fascinating personal journey through the wonders and dangers of the Middle East. In this updated edition, Lyons draws from his years living in Jerusalem to give context to the devastating war between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza and gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
Having reported on the Middle East for three decades, Lyons has interviewed everyone from senior Israeli military and intelligence figures to key leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas. He's witnessed the brutal Iranian Revolutionary Guard up close, was kidnapped by Egyptian soldiers, and was one of the last foreign journalists in Iran during the violent crackdown on the 'Green Revolution'. He's confronted Hamas officials about why they fire rockets into Israel and Israeli soldiers about why they fire tear gas at Palestinian schoolchildren.
Beyond the politics and headlines, Lyons explains the Middle East through everyday life and experiences: his son's school, the markets, and the conversations with friends on their balcony overlooking it all. Through Lyons' incisive reporting, you will develop an empathetic understanding of what brought us to this tragic impasse - and where it's headed next.
Barb takes care of the web orders here at Boffins, and is your contact for book club enquiries. She spends all her spare time curled up on the couch reading and for the last several years has reviewed books on the Afternoon Program on ABC radio Perth.
In 2009 senior Australian journalist John Lyons travelled with his wife Sylvie and son Jack to Jerusalem. His new position as the paper’s Middle East correspondent was one he had long coveted and he was determined to make the best of his tenure. Over the following six years he, Sylvie and Jack would come to love their new home and many of its people, but would also be filled with sadness and horror at the wars that surrounded them. The conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Gaza, the Occupied Territories, Egypt and elsewhere were exactly the sorts of stories Lyons expected to cover. What surprised him was the strength, depth and tenacity of the public relations campaign(s) aimed at controlling the outside world’s perception of events in the region.
Balcony Over Jerusalem is a fabulously readable account of those six years. The day to day life of an Australian family living in Jerusalem is fascinating, as is the analysis of military and media wars. It brought home to me how, when it comes to domestic politics, most of us are made very aware that there are several points of view, several prisms through which events are portrayed in the media. We know, because we see the various stakeholders on our screens at night or read about them in the papers. We each then come to our own conclusions. With issues like the Middle East, there are by definition less avenues for news to be disseminated back to Australia (and other like countries). There are not actually that many journalists based in the region, and very few Australians, so their independence becomes disproportionately important. The battles to capture journalists, and through them public opinion, are both troubling and fascinating.
