The Lost Years: Radical Islam, Intifada, and Wars in the Middle East 2001-2006

"Enderlin meticulously chronicles the political and diplomatic impasses...revealing the history of this former film noir through interviews with the men who were its lead actors." —Le Monde

From Ariel Sharon's ascent to power in February 2001 to the Israel-Lebanon conflict in July 2006, the Middle East has seen the most murderous years of a feud which is, today, half a century old. After the monumental convergence of powers at Camp David, the world watched with bated breath as hope for a peaceful resolution to the long, bitter dispute between Israel and Palestine was lost in the wake of the Intifada. Following years of searching for an end to the bloodshed, how did the tragic blindness of both parties throw this region into such chaos?

In The Lost Years, Charles Enderlin presents a scrupulous chronicle of the Israeli and Palestinian descent into hell. Political leaders and secret negotiators, military chiefs and CIA agents, Enderlin has met them all–Israelis and Palestinians–and he accounts for all sides, including U.S. and international involvement. He trails the bad political calculations of the Palestinians, which led to the defeat of Fatah and to the victory of the Islamists. And he exposes Israel's unilateral political approach and new military doctrines that had disastrous consequences for both camps. Intifada, September 11th, war in Iraq, the construction of the wall, the withdrawal from Gaza, the end of the reigns of the two old enemies–Arafat and Sharon–the electoral victory of Hamas, and the war in Lebanon; Enderlin reveals the implacable logic at work behind the crucial events of a confused period. The Lost Years, the sequel to Enderlin's bestselling book, Shattered Dreams, is an essential work for those who try to understand without judging, but still want to believe in peace.

Charles Enderlin
Charles Enderlin has been the Bureau Chief for France 2 since 1990. When Shattered Dreams (Other Press, 2003) was first published in France it was an immediate bestseller and led to a documentary series aired worldwide. The Lost Years also became the basis for a television documentary, “The Years of Blood,” to be aired in its American version by the Discovery Times Channel and in its international version by TV stations all over Europe. He has lived in Jerusalem since 1968.

Suzanne Verderber
Suzanne Verderber is Associate Professor of English and Humanities at Pratt Institute. She recently translated Jean-Michel Rabaté’s The Ethics of the Lie and Charles Enderlin's The Lost Years.