Yasir Arafat: A Life of War and Peace

EXCERPT: Emerging Leader

Arafat’s primary goal in the beginning of the 1960s was to present an image of himself as a true guerilla fighter and revolutionary, one who would stop at nothing to further the cause of the Palestinian people. He also worked tirelessly to promote Fatah and win international attention for the organization. He adopted a war name – Abu Ammar – which he would also use as a code name during his clandestine entries into Israel and other Arab countries. Due to his increasing importance to the Palestinian struggle, Arafat had garnered many new friends, as well as enemies, and had to be extra alert and conscious of his safety at all times.

Ferber's biography ably traces Arafat's political career and gives solid background on the tumultuous history of the Arab-Israeli scenario. Balanced in tone, the narrative depicts Arafat when he was at his best and most popular among displaced Palestinians, and also, for example, as "one of the most reviled figures in the occupied territories" after the 1994 Hebron massacre that followed on the heels of the Israeli peace agreement he had supported. – School Library Journal