Writing a biography of anyone is a challenging task, but narrating and analyzing Yasir Arafat s life is a particularly daunting one. Yasir Ararat occupied the international spotlight for longer than almost any other politician on the planet. Yet he nevertheless remains largely an" unknown person. The most basic facts about his background, thoughts, and activities are disputed or unclear. Few leaders evoke such passionate and opposing emotions.

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YASIR ARAFAT was one of the most resilient, recognizable and controversial political fgures of modern times. The object of unrelenting suspicion, steady admiration and endless speculation, Ararat occupied the center stage of Middle East politics for almost four decades. Forged in a tumultuous era of competing traditionalism, radicalism, Arab nationalism, and Islamist forces, the Palestinian movement was almost entirelv Arafat"s creation, and he became its leader at an early age. Ararat took it through a dizzying series of crises and defeats, often of his own making, yet also ensured that it survived, grew, and gained influence. Disavowing terrorism repeatedly, he also practiced it constantly. Arafat"s elusive behavior ensured that radical regimes saw in him a comrade in arms, while moderates backed him as a potential partner in peace.

Richly populated with the main events and dominant leaders of the Middle East, this comprehensive political biography by" Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin follows Ararat as he moves to Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, and finally to Palestinian-ruled soil, It shows him as he rewrites his origins, experiments with guerrilla war, develops a doctrine of terrorism, fights endless diplomatic batties, and builds a movement, constantly juggling states, factions, and world leaders.

Whole generations and a half-dozen U.S. presidents came and went over the long course of Arafat"s career. But Arafat outlasted them all, spanning entire eras, with three constants always present: he always survived, he constantly seemed imperiled, and he never achieved his goals. While there has been no substitute for Ararat, the authors conclude, Ararat was no substitute for a leader who could make peace.

PR0L0GUE: In the Bunker, 2002

A Most Unlikely Leader, 1929-1967

The Che Guevara of the Middle East, 1967-1971

The Teflon Terrorist, 1971-1975

Fouling His Own Nest, 1975-1983

Far Away from Home, 1984-1991

Hero of the Return, 1991-1995

There Is a Tide in the Affairs of Men, 1995-1999

The Moment of Truth, 2000

Being Yasir Arafat

No End to the Struggle, 2001-2003

Afterword: The Final Flight

Notes

Glossary

Chronology

Selected Bibliography

Index

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