Raja Shehadeh & Avi Shlaim: From Then to Now

In Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew, New Historian Avi Shlaim critically reflects on the history of Zionism, Israel, and his own childhood after being forced to flee Baghdad, aged five. Also blending the personal and political, esteemed writer Raja Shehadeh’s What Does Israel Fear from Palestine? asks what stops both nations from co-existing. Together, with Nathan Thrall, they discuss  one of the most complex crises of our time through the lens of personal historical contexts.

Book Festival News

Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024 Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024
Friday 13 December

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

David Grossman with Elif Shafak: Duty or Love? David Grossman with Elif Shafak: Duty or Love? According to writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez, 'Nobody can see the political in the personal like David Grossman. He is an interpreter of hearts and an investigator of social forces. Every book he writes is a revelation.' Inspired by the true story told to him… Joshua Wong: Hong Kong’s Champion for Democracy Joshua Wong: Hong Kong’s Champion for Democracy ‘Hong Kongers will never surrender, because we have nowhere else to turn.’ At age 14, Joshua Wong co-founded the student activist group Scholarism, protesting the enforcement of Chinese National Education in Hong Kong. He went on to become a very public… Interview - Ghada Karmi (2015) Interview - Ghada Karmi (2015) Ghada Karmi joined us in Charlotte Square Gardens for a sneak preview of her event about returning to her homeland of Palestine after many years of exile, which she has documented in her new book, Return: A Palestinian Memoir. You can see Ghada's hour-… William Dalrymple: When India Led the World William Dalrymple: When India Led the World A huge success as co-host with Anita Anand of the Empire podcast, looking at how empires rose and fell in history, best-selling Scottish-born, India-based historian William Dalrymple is about to publish The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the… Elif Shafak: If Trees Could Speak Elif Shafak: If Trees Could Speak In her Booker-shortlisted novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, Elif Shafak entered the mind of a dying sex worker lying murdered in an Istanbul alley. The story moved from brutal realism to the magical world of the afterlife. Now Shafak has… Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: The Myth of Human Progress Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: The Myth of Human Progress One of the greatest living writers, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o joins us by a live link from his home in Kenya. When he visited Edinburgh in 2018, Thiong’o discussed his detainment as a political prisoner in Kenya and his passionate advocacy for the use of local… Matt Haig at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Matt Haig at the Edinburgh International Book Festival The modern world can make us feel like the walls are closing in, but a vanguard of writers are here to help us cope – and none more so than Matt Haig. After the storming success of Reasons to Stay Alive comes Notes on a Nervous Planet, a wise and witty… Ian Rankin talks to Phill Jupitus at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Ian Rankin talks to Phill Jupitus at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Since Ian Rankin’s appearance at last year’s Book Festival, his iconic detective Rebus has made his stage debut in Long Shadows and is set to star in a television series by Black Watch playwright Gregory Burke. Rankin’s latest, In a House of Lies, is a… Elizabeth Knox: The Political Force of Fantasy Elizabeth Knox: The Political Force of Fantasy In January 2020, an article appeared on Slate with the headline, 'This New Zealand Fantasy Masterpiece Needs to Be Published in America, Like, Now.' The article went viral with readers as they raced to order 'the majestic, brain-bending novel' from New… Paul Auster (2017 Event) Paul Auster (2017 Event) The great American novelist makes his first ever appearance at the Book Festival. In 4 3 2 1, Paul Auster gives Archibald Isaac Ferguson, an only child, four different stories. Four Fergusons made of the same genetic material, four boys who are the same…