origin
The book came out of a talk the author gave to his 13 year-old grandson who had said “can someone explain Gaza to me?”. It took about an hour and laid out the background in a straightforward way. Shortly afterwards he did the same thing for a friend in her early 60s. Out of that came the idea of a book.
title
In a moment of unexplainable magic, the title came ‘out of nowhere’ at the very beginning of the process, before a word had been written.
For the author it was compelling; something he was unable to let go of, and it prompted the question: “if a book had this title, what would be in it?”.
The writing task was then to find the answer to that question.
what’s it about?
It tells the story of Palestine and its people, from the 1880s to somewhere near the present day.
Five fruit-themed sections break up the history, zooming in on places and people in a way that provides emotional depth.
what’s it like?
The book is based on four principles. It’s simple, unusual, and intended for the heart as well as the head. Most importantly, though, it is - like any history - a sincere attempt to be true to the facts.