A Crazy Occupation: Eyewitness to the Intifada [Paperback]

Jamie Tarabay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2006

The unforgettable experiences of a young Australian journalist posted in Israel to report on the conflict in the occupied territories are documented in this compelling memoir. Unafraid, or perhaps just stunningly naïve, Jamie Tarabay, an Arabic-speaking Australian of Lebanese descent, dove headfirst into the thick of Middle Eastern politics. From the great optimism following the Camp David summit in 2000 to the start of the intifada in 2001, Jamie was in the thick of it—Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, suicide bombers, hard-line Jewish settlers, Palestinians living under curfew, and the arrival of the new millennium after a Christmas in Bethlehem. This entertaining, unique, and highly illuminating memoir chronicles a transitional period in the Middle East and traces the author's experiences as she redefines her sense of nationality, morality, heritage, and religion.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jamie Tarabay is a foreign correspondent on NPR and has recently covered the Shiite militia for "Morning Edition," the Saddam Hussein trial for "Day to Day," and the lives of Iraqi widows for "All Things Considered." As an Associated Press correspondent Jamie has traveled throughout Southeast Asia, reporting from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia as well as her native Australia.

Jamie Tarabay is currently a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio and giving constant updates on Iraq from in and around Baghdad. She has recently covered the Shiite militia for "Morning Edition," the Saddam Hussein trial for "Day to Day" and the lives of Iraqi widows for "All Things Considered." All three shows are syndicated widely on National Public Radio.

She first began reporting from the Middle East in September 2000 for The Associated Press, arriving in Jerusalem ten days before the second intifada erupted. The outbreak of violence plunged Jamie straight into a heady mix of death, political power plays and heart wrenching stories of the people caught in the middle of just one of the many tumultuous issues sweeping the region.

As an AP correspondent Jamie also traveled around Southeast Asia, reporting from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia as well as her native Australia. Her Middle Eastern experience has also taken her to Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt, where she is now based.

Jamie has been traveling to Iraq since the end of formal hostilities in 2003. She was the only journalist to interview a woman who said she was married to former leader Saddam Hussein for ten years.

Jamie spent her formative years in Sydney, Berlin and Beirut before returning to Australia and receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Government and French from the University of Sydney.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (June 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 174114650X
• ISBN-13: 978-1741146509
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,821,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, February 16, 2007

By 

Paul Beard (Sandown, NH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Crazy Occupation: Eyewitness to the Intifada (Paperback)

This is an amazing read. Jamie Tarabay brings home what it's like to live in a war zone in a way few other reporters have in recent memory. The combination of personal details and experiences, along with touching and poignant descriptions of the tragedy of war make this book unique in its class.

Refreshingly, the reporting is unbiased and fair, unlike most of the mass media reporting we all see on TV every night. Rather than focusing on good guys and bad guys, Jamie shows us that all sides in the Middle East conflict are made up of people who are very similar in so many ways, who all have fear, and anger, and who all bleed alike and die alike.

After reading this book, not only will you have come to know and understand the crisis in the Middle East much more completely, but you will also have come to know and understand the working of a young, innocent and apparently fearless reporter putting her life on the line every day for the sake of the assignment. It's easy to become a big fan of this author very quickly, and one can only hope that she will follow up this work with a similar one based on her recent reporting from Iraq. Pulitzer-worthy.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and riveting reading - couldn't put this one down!, March 7, 2006

By 

Matt Carrathers (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Crazy Occupation: Eyewitness to the Intifada (Paperback)

Jamie Tarabay tells it as it is without the blandness commonly associated with autobiographies. You relive her experiences with her vivid descriptions of events and her desire to provide an objective an assessment as possible of the troubles around her. She takes you through the highs and lows of life as a reporter in a region many of us never understand. I learnt so much more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after reading this book. She explains it in a way that's uncomplicated and makes sense. And her adventures sound like fun, even if ducking bullets by hiding behind a car or hitching a ride with militia is a bit crazy. It's a very good read and I strongly recommend it.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The story of a brave war correspondent, January 9, 2007

By 

David Bennett (Mahwah, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Crazy Occupation: Eyewitness to the Intifada (Paperback)

Ever wonder what type of person, let alone a woman, wants to live in a war-torn area like Iraq so we can hear on the radio what's going on there? Jamie Tarabay epitomizes an incredibly brave group of people crucial to an open society like ours - reporters who put their lives at risk to inform us about the real conditions and people caught up in such grim circumstances. Jamie's clear-eyed descriptions of her real-time education in the complexities of the Middle East and the intractable Palestine-Israel conflict give the reader a more balanced appreciation of the underlying human and religious issues. I was hoping to learn more about what motivates sophisticated women (and men) reporters like Jamie and Christiane Amanpour to do this type of work. Jamie's book title promises to do this, but ultimately spends more time analyzing the other type of occupation involved. I'm very relieved to hear Jamie reporting for NPR from Baghdad in the New Year - I can continue to root for and care about her now that I know better who she is. Thank you and well done, Jamie!