Mitch Frank explains the complex issues and history surrounding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in clear and balanced prose. Using a question-and-answer format, and a generous amount of maps, sidebars, photographs, and end matter, the author offers perspectives that reflect all sides. He explains the history of the region, which is critical to understanding what is happening today, and the religious, political, and economic interests that have driven the two sides further and further into a conflict that, according to Frank, seems to have no fair end in sight. In the final chapter called “Why is peace so hard?” Frank notes that “Understanding why there is a conflict between Israelis and Palestinians does not make it easy to find a solution to the struggle. It only raises more complicated questions.” (Ages 12–17)