Product Description: Fantagraphics Books is pleased to present, for the first time, a single-volume collection of this 288-page landmark of journalism and the artform of comics. Interest in Sacoo has never been higher than with the release of his critically acclaimed book, Safe Area Gorazde.
Based on several months of research and an extended visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early 1990s (where he conducted over 100 interviews with Palestinians and Jews), Palestine was the first major comics work of political and historical nonfiction by Sacco, who has often been called the first comic book journalist.
Sacco's insightful reportage takes place at the front lines, where busy marketplaces are spoiled by shootings and tear gas, soldiers beat civilians with reckless abandon, and roadblocks go up before reporters can leave. Sacco interviewed and encountered prisoners, refugees, protesters, wounded children, farmers who had lost their land, and families who had been torn apart by the Palestinian conflict.
In 1996, the Before Columbus Foundation awarded Palestine the seventeenth annual American Book Award, stating that the author should be recognized for his "outstanding contribution to American literature," while his publisher, Fantagraphics, is "to be honored for their commitment to quality and their willingness to take risks that accompany publishing outstanding books and authors that may not prove 'cost-effective' in the short run."
This new edition of Palestine also features a new introduction from renowned author, critic, and historian Edward Said, author of Peace and Its Discontents and The Question of Palestine and one of the world's most respected authorities on the Middle Eastern conflict.
The much heavier side of being ^ I got to know Joe Sacco's work only lately, though I know the subject personally from birth. I was born in Israel and grew up there, in a family that has always fought for a bi-national state. even as a child I was participating in demos for equal rights, and After 1967, aged only 12, i was already active in anti-occupation movements. About 6 years ago i left Israel feeling betrayed by my country, as well as by my Palestinian friends who have turned away from a peaceful/political solution in favor of armed struggle which we all know they will loose. Reading Joe Sacco's books I found nothing new to me as to facts, but something was missing. I needed to find a trace of an effort to give a more balanced description and at least an attempt to go beyond the stories related to him. No trace of doubt (and we know that stories become more colorful with time, and we also know of a possibility of lying- As in the A-Durra affair where the Israeli army was accused of killing a little boy in the Gaza strip, and later it was proved that the boy is still alive and the whole affair was a propaganda story organized by Palestinians).... I feel that Sacco was innocently doing a a bad job that makes it hard for people like me to accept his message. For me, even if you filter the stories and accept only 10%, it is terrible. I Think I have enough of lies, from both sides. I left Israel because I couldn't go on living with the lies the system has fed me with, but I don't prefer the lies of the occupied Palestinians either. Would Joe Sacco understand that There are victims on both sides, victims of their own politicians mainly( but not only), and victimizers are too on both sides, people greedy for power and money who send others to die for their own personal causes disguised as national ones.
Middle East 101 ^ If you know absolutely nothing about where all the trouble began then this is a must read. Sacco is incredibly good at breaking complexities down; not only making them understandable but making it personal. You would think that 'graphic literature' would allow you to remain safely detached from the illustrated events but Mr Sacco's offerings have quite the opposite effect. It is impossible to properly describe the experience; bit like taking a picture of the Grand Canyon instead of standing on the lip of a thousand foot precipice. Once you're read one you'll be hooked, addicted; one won't be enough.
Inspired Art ^ Starting with a typical attitude of "Who cares?" Sacco shows us how his visit to the West Bank and Gaza in the early 1990s transformed him completely. Palestinians have much against them in today's world, not least the stereotypes of "supporting terror" etc, etc that the Israeli propaganda machine heaps on them every day. These stereotypes create a formidable barrier between the Palestinian people and Americans. Americans do not feel like they should even pay attention to these "insignificant terrorists" - and that is precisely the goal of the propagandists in the first place: to silence the Palestinians and prevent their very humanity (let alone their message) from being recognized.
Enter Joe Sacco! With master strokes of a cartoonist's pencil, he succeeds Single-handedly in shattering those barriers. For the first time in an American publication, you actually see Palestinians as people, you enter their households, you talk to them, you listen to their problems, and you think about it. Well, so what?
If you always thought that the middle east problem is "too complicated" or "has been going on for too long" to be able to understand it, it is time to get out your credit card and buy this book now. In the most enjoyable cartoon style that makes it hard for you to let go of the book, you will see things like you've never witnessed them before. This is the raw human story, not the clinically sterilized CNN version of events, or the dry history book polemics. I guarantee that after reading Sacco's Palestine, something will click and you will finally understand what's been going on, more clearly than you ever have before.
Great Condition ^ I ordered the book for a class and didn't want to pay a lot. It got here in time and is in great condition. You would never know it was a used copy.
A Dose of Reality ^ Palestine puts a very human face on the ongoing tragedy of the people living in their own country, specifically those areas that have not been claimed by Israel. It's not about who's right or wrong, it's about how to deal with the challenge of simply living under very difficult, often fatal, circumstances. There's a sad parallel with the situation faced by native Americans, where even self-imposed exile failed to accommodate the intrusive settlements.
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