The Foreign Service Journal, November 2012

34 NOVEMBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL have taken more than 90 percent of the Holy Land from its original inhabitants who have lived there for millennia. Now, after decades of unremitting struggle, Palestine and its people have become the vortex of an unstable and increasingly desperate human tragedy. This book examines the situation from a Palestinian perspective. While it looks at recent stages in the Israeli process of settlement-building, it centers on the efforts of the Palestinians themselves to cope with invasion, run a burgeoning society and carve out for themselves some part of their shrinking homeland. Terrell Arnold reviews the history and present status of this intractable issue, examining the tensions that hold Middle East policy in thrall and could have disastrous implications world- wide. Unabashedly pro-Palestinian, he believes that the majority of Israelis are similarly unhappy with their government’s policy. He wrote this book with the hope that sanity will ultimately pre- vail, and the rights of the Palestinian people will be protected. Terrell E. Arnold is a retired Senior Foreign Service officer who served in Egypt, Syria, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Brazil and Washington, D.C. He is the author, co-author or editor of six books on politically motivated violence and related issues. A native of West Virginia, he and his wife now live in central Wisconsin. PHOTOGRAPHY Afghanistan Through the Humvee Window Joe Relk, Jaxton Publishing, 2011, $25.95, paperback, 90 pages. Afghanistan Through the Hum- vee Window features photo- graphs documenting Joe Relk’s experiences working on a Provincial Reconstruction Team there. The majority of his pictures were taken through the window of a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle. Though his PRT experience has imbued himwith consider- able familiarity with foreign policy and the war, he insists that this is “first and foremost a photo book.” His previous career as a newspaper photographer has equipped him to artistically show- case his experiences, which are accompanied by clear, concise commentary and descriptions. This visual journey through eastern Afghanistan—mainly in the provinces of Khost and Kabul—begins with a focus on scenes from his PRT work. He then explores many different facets of Afghan life: agriculture, market life, children, landscapes and the like. Though a foreigner, Relk is able to break through the barrier of being an “outsider” and take genuine snapshots of Afghan life and society. The dirty faces and feet of children; the rich colors of spices, vegetable and fruit; and the raw determination of both fel- low American and local soldiers are all captured in these photo- graphs. Joe Relk, a former U.S. Army cryptologist, journalist and pho- tographer, joined the Foreign Service in 2002. He has served in Venezuela, Bolivia, Germany, Afghanistan and Washington, D.C. He is currently deputy political officer in Quito. Visions of a Nomad Daniel Miller, Blurb, 2012, $49.95, paperback, 156 pages. Daniel Miller’s passion for pre- serving the beauty and history of the wild Tibetan Plateau is made vivid in his introductory para- graphs for Visions of a Nomad . In the 78 panoramic photos that follow, it becomes clear why. In an age of overedited, airbrushed and enhanced imagery, Miller’s work harkens back to a purer era of photography, captur- ing the quiet majesty of the Tibetan landscape. He describes the skulls of wild yaks as “a reminder of the magnificent herds of wildlife that once roamed the Tibetan Plateau ... the elemental wild nature of the Tibetan landscape and the proud nomads who fashioned a remarkable way of life on the steppes.” His art has a message: the importance of preserving the beau- tiful landscapes, the nomads’ tents and the grazing yaks and the need for a new way of thinking when it comes to conservation. Miller’s affinity for the nomadic lifestyle is obvious: born on a Minnesota dairy farm, he worked as a cowboy before first head- ing to Nepal. Photography was a later love, as he bought his first camera for that trip and documented his experiences in Afghani- stan, Bhutan, China, Mongolia and Tibet. He still uses a Canon F-1 manual camera. An FSO with USAID, he is now head of the Office of Economic Development and Governance in Manila.