DIGGING DEEPER XIII: Fisk's Great War For Civilisation
WHAT: Study circle on Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilisation:
The Conquest of the Middle East (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005)
WHO:
Facilitated by members of United for Peace of Pierce County
WHEN:
January 16, 23, 30 & February 6, 13, 20, 2006, 7:00 p.m.-8:30
p.m.
WHERE: Mandolin Café, 3923 South 12th St., Tacoma, WA
The UFPPC book discussion series Digging Deeper resumes after a brief hiatus and embarks on 2006 with a timely six-week-long discussion of Robert Fisk's just-published magnum opus, the passionately engaged and lucidly incisive The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005).
As the U.S. national security sets up shop in a region of the world variously known as the Fertile Crescent, the Cradle of Mankind, the Cradle of Civilization, the Crossroads of the Ancient World, and the Graveyard of Empires -- not to mention the site of 65.4% of the world's proven petroleum reserves (2002) -- you're invited to read and discuss the latest work of a regional specialist -- a reporter who, at the age of 59, is "probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain" (New York Times, Nov. 19, 2005).
To quote from the dust jacket of The Great War for Civilisation: "Reaching back into the long history of invasion, occupation, and colonization in the region, Fisk . . . makes clear how a histoty of injustice 'has condemned the Middle East to war.' He lays open the role of the West in the seemingly endless strife in the region . . . [and] interweaves this history with his own vividly rendered experiences in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Algeria, Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon, [with] indelible portraits of Osama bin Laden, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Yassir Arafat, among others -- all of whom he has met face-to-face."
Fisk's often impassioned writing is controversial but has received many journalistic awards, including the Amnesty International UK Press Awards in 1998 for reporting from Algeria and in 2000 for articles on NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia. Fisk has also been awarded the British Press Awards' International Journalist of the Year prize seven times, and its "Reporter of the Year" award twice.
Robert Fisk was born in 1946 in Maidstone, Kent, Great Britain. He earned his B.A. in English and Classics from Lancaster University and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Trinity College, Dublin in 1985. He covered Belfast for the Times of London from 1972 to 1975 and was describing the aftermath of the 1974 revolution in Portugal when he was offered the post of Middle East correspondent. He has reported on that region ever since, moving to the London Independent in 1989.
The Great War for Civilisation is widely available in book stores and some public libraries. Unfortunately, UFPPC has no more copies available for purchase or borrowing at present. The reading per week will amount to about 175 pages. (See below for the detailed reading schedule.)
READING SCHEDULE for Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilisation
Monday, Jan. 16 -- Preface and Chapters 1-4.
Monday, Jan. 23 --
Chapters 5-8.
Monday, Jan. 30 -- Chapters 9-12.
Monday,
Feb. 6 -- Chapters 13-16.
Monday,
Feb. 13 -- Chapters 17-20.
Monday,
Feb. 20 -- Chapters 21-24.
All discussions will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Café, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma. Open to all.
Note: There is no charge or fee for participation, but a purchase from the Mandolin Café is cordially requested.
--For more information, write This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 253-756-7519.