Gamal Helal

How US politicians and diplomats, over the past 25 years, have come close to achieving something almost impossible: securing peace between the State of Israel and its Arab and like-minded neighbors, mired in a struggle both dialectical and violent since the early 20th century, due to historical and religious reasons, entrenched offenses and prejudices, and the invisible and tyrannical hand of third countries' geopolitical interests in the area.

Wars dominate the headlines. Their triggers. Their course. The people involved. Their devastating effects, damage, destruction and suffering. The question is asked far too rarely: How does a war end? And what does it take to make peace possible? Not from just anyone, but from people who have been in the middle of important peace processes in various roles: statesmen, Nobel Peace Prize winners, top diplomats and chief negotiators provide rare insights into how it was possible to come to the negotiating table and establish peace in major conflicts. Leading international figures describe how they were involved in decisive turning points in history.