In 1997, a tragedy struck the family of Israeli-American Miko Peled: His
beloved niece Smadar was killed by a suicide bomber in Jerusalem. That
tragedy propelled Peled onto a journey of discovery. It pushed him to
re-examine many of the beliefs he had grown up with, as the son and
grandson of leading figures in Israel's political-military elite, and
transformed him into a courageous and visionary activist in the struggle
for human rights and a hopeful, lasting peace between Israelis and
Palestinians.
The journey that Peled traces in this groundbreaking memoir echoed the
trajectory taken 40 years earlier by his father, renowned Israeli
general Matti Peled. In The General's Son, Miko Peled tells us about
growing up in Jerusalem in the heart of the group that ruled the
then-young country, Israel. He takes us with him through his service in
the country's military and his subsequent global travels...and then,
after his niece's killing, back into the heart of Israel's conflict with
the Palestinians. The book provides a compelling and intimate window
into the fears that haunt both peoples--but also into the real courage
of all those who, like Miko Peled, have been pursuing a steadfast
grassroots struggle for equality for all the residents of the Holy Land.
