Fast Times in Palestine was published by Seal Press in March 2013. You can learn more about the book on its website, which features a synopsis, news, reviews, and excerpts, and on its Amazon page.
It was named a Top Ten Travel Book of 2013 by Publishers Weekly and a Best Travel Book of Spring by National Geographic.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions or ideas for events, or if you’d like to join my low-volume email list (around six emails per year): pamolson (a) gmail.
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- Reviews
“A moving, inspiring account of life in occupied Palestine that’s enormously informative yet reads like a novel.”
- — Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace
“It’s love in the time of occupation as Pamela Olson takes us on the emotional roller-coaster of her very personal experience of life in Ramallah — and in doing so lays bare the human drama of a people determined to live free.”
- — Tony Karon, Senior Editor, TIME
“Harrowing, funny, vivid, entertaining and deeply humane, Fast Times in Palestine opens a rare window onto Palestinian life. It’s impossible not to be moved on nearly every page.”
- — Sandy Tolan, author of The Lemon Tree
“I realize that without knowing it, I have long waited for this book, although I could not have imagined its lyric magic in advance of reading.”
- — Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories (Full review)
“Olson is clear in laying out the stark truth of dispossession, oppression, and outright racism imposed on the Palestinians.”
- — Chris McGreal, The Guardian
“Pamela Olson leads the reader on an exciting, funny, at times heart-wrenching journey, carefully deciphering complex political and historical issues.”
- — Ramzy Baroud, author of My Father was a Freedom Fighter
“The strength of the narrative lies in Olson’s investigation of the personal and mental effects of oppression and war on herself and her newfound friends.”
- — Kirkus Reviews
“Engaging and easy to read, this is a fascinating memoir.”
- — Publishers Weekly
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- SYNOPSIS
Fast Times in Palestine is a searing education disguised as an irresistible travel memoir — think George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia meets Eat Pray Love in the Holy Land. It is the true story of an aimless physics major / ex-bartender from small-town Oklahoma who stumbled into the Holy Land in late 2003, frightened and ignorant but deeply curious.
With dizzying speed she found herself working as a journalist based in Ramallah, coordinating the foreign press for a Palestinian presidential candidate, sharing a holiday dinner with a suicide bomber’s family, tour-guiding Israeli friends around the West Bank, dating a Palestinian from a conservative Muslim village, being held at gunpoint and injured by a stun grenade, and witnessing the 2005 Disengagement from inside the Gaza Strip.
The gripping narrative focuses not only on violence, terror, and politics but also on the daily rounds of house parties, concerts, barbecues, weddings, jokes, harvests, and romantic drama that happen in between. From idyllic olive groves to Palestinian beer gardens, from Passover Seders in Tel Aviv to Ramadan in Hamas villages, from house parties in Ramallah to militant rallies in Nablus, the book is packed with suspense, humor, and unforgettable characters.
Its seamless blend of travelogue, memoir, and narrative journalism ramps the average American up to a sophisticated, multi-faceted understanding of the Israel/Palestine conflict.
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- About Me
- My other writings
- Join the “Fast Times in Palestine” Facebook Page
- Palestine Presentation I gave at Google Tech Talks
- Table of Contents with links to excerpts
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- Border Prologue
- Degree of Freedom
- The Sinai
- Eye of the Storm
- Arab Israelis
- Into the West Bank
- Jayyous
- The Wall
- Olive Rain
- Surrounded
- Rania’s House
- Yusif’s Islam
- Qais
- Ramadan
- Nablus
- Dan in Israel
- Ramadan Daze
- Dan in Palestine
- Thunderstorm
- Helicopters and Hellfire
- Settlement
- The Eid
- The Last Picnic
- Home Again
- Ben Gurion Airport
- Ramallah
- The Muqataa
- Office Life
- Sangria’s
- Invasion Party
- Yasmine
- Ramallah International Film Festival
- Cops and Robbers
- Cold War and Peace
- Grapevines and Sea Breezes
- Amman Again
- Home Sweet Ramallah
- Dead Sea Stroll
- Arabian Idol
- Bethlehem’s Walls
- Goons. Hired Goons.
- An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse
- Suicide Bomb
- Checkpoint Wedding
- Disappeared
- Osama the Commie
- Shoot ’em Up
- Zeitoun
- Another Bombing
- Days of Penitence
- Ramallah Ramadan
- Rest in Peace, Abu Ammar
- Holiday in Jayyous
- Omar’s Story
- My Boss Decides to Run for President
- Announcement on the Run
- Campaign Trail
- Beaten in the Street
- Christmas: Dire Straits in Bethlehem
- Mass Destruction
- New Year’s in a Garden on the Moon (Click to read my CounterPunch article that this chapter section is based on)
- Shifting and Swifting
- Election Day
- Gunpoint
- Eid al Adha
- Mrs. Mayor
- Ceasefire
- Suicide Bomber’s Family Shunned
- Rescue Divers!
- Thuglife
- Nablus in April (Click to read the blog post that this chapter section is based on)
- Passover
- Bab al Shams
- Deep in Enemy Territory
- Okies in the Promised Land (Click to read an expanded draft that this chapter section is based on)
- Rum Night
- Culture of Impunity
- Sunday Crush
- Professor
- Civil Society’s Unified Call
- Tel Aviv with Nick
- Pre-Disengagement Thoughts
- New Roommates and Swank Parties
- East Jerusalem Outrage
- Hip Hop and a Grenade
- Disengagement Fever
- Israeli Musicians Discover Ramallah (Click to read about this historic concert, which I attended in 2005)
- What Ceasefire?
- Waterfalls and Hurricanes
- Drinking by the Sea in Gaza
- Visa Laundering
- The Last Perfect Day
- Islamic Jihad vs. Hamas
- Gaza Holiday (This segment has been cut from the book and posted on my blog)
- Ahmed’s Heart (Click to read about a courageous decision by a dying Palestinian boy’s family)
- Dinner with a Suicide Bomber’s Family
- Settler Logic
- The Last Straw
- Leaving Ramallah
- Sinai Reflections
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: From the Midwest to the Middle East
- Click here to read the complete first chapter
Chapter 2: Olives, Tea, and Assault Rifles
- Part 1
Chapter 3: Behind the Fence
- Part 1
Chapter 4: Ramallah—Palestine has its own Beer?
Chapter 5: Suddenly a Journalist
Chapter 6: Bombings, Weddings, and a Kidnapping
Chapter 7: Arafat’s Funeral
Chapter 8: Running for President in a Nation without a Country
Chapter 9: Holy Land Spring
Chapter 10: The Grand Tour
Chapter 11: The Gaza Disengagement
Chapter 12: The Last Ramadan
For more information, see my main website: pamolson.org
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25 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 5, 2010 at 8:07 am
SimplyTravels
Hi! I would buy your book for its content. But I don’t quite like the book cover of the woman with the shisha. If I were to judge a book by its cover, I might dismiss it as another chick lit kind of book…
January 5, 2010 at 8:04 pm
fasttimesinpalestine
Hi SimplyTravels, thanks for the feedback. It’s just an idea for a cover, not set in stone. But my thinking is, I’m hoping networks of Israel/Palestine people can recommend it among themselves, and meanwhile, when it’s on the shelf, the unusual cover and title will compel people to pick it up to find out what it’s about. My ultimate aim is to reach not just people who already know about the conflict, but also the masses who neither know nor care.
The cover is just an idea. Anyone else have thoughts on it?
February 12, 2010 at 8:25 pm
seham
I am looking forward to your book, please let me know as soon as it is available to order.
solidarity
April 10, 2010 at 1:51 am
Becca
I was living in Tel Aviv from 2004-2006 — the disengagement from Gaza, the second Lebanon War. I’m around your age, had just graduated from Cornell at the time and knew basically only that I wanted to wander and grow and see what I’d come across… your letter to your mom really resonated with me.
Anyway, what I mean to say is, I’m looking forward to reading your book, to in some way re-experiencing the events of my time in Israel from a different but relatable point of view.
– Becca
May 12, 2010 at 8:35 am
khalilok
looking forward to buying your book…
June 3, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Protest in New York, and celebration
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June 4, 2010 at 1:15 pm
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[…] Olson (who wrote about one aspect of our experience here), a journalist working on a book titled Fast Times in Palestine, and I met at the rally across the street from the Israeli Consulate, but decided to check out the […]
June 6, 2010 at 4:51 pm
MONDOWEISS ONLINE NEWSLETTER | Shoah
[…] Olson (who wrote about one aspect of our experience here), a journalist working on a book titled Fast Times in Palestine, and I met at the rally across the street from the Israeli Consulate, but decided to check out the […]
June 10, 2010 at 9:50 pm
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[…] An overview of the flotilla initiative, the raid and its consequences, by Pamela Olson: […]
July 2, 2010 at 1:20 am
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[…] […]
July 23, 2010 at 11:32 am
MONDOWEISS ONLINE NEWSLETTER | Shoah
[…] Pamela Olson was a journalist based in the West Bank for two years and is now living in New York writing a book about her experiences called Fast Times in Palestine. […]
September 6, 2010 at 5:40 pm
undertheradar
I’m another US girl in Palestine, just trying to keep a low profile for minimal harassment at checkpoints and entry/exit. I’m gambling on the whims of bored and confused soldiers who may of may not let me stay another 90 days.
I am loving your writing. I was able to find my way to Sangria’s because of your perfect description.
I don’t know where you are in the publishing process right now, but I would recommend self-publishing an e-book. I know it’s not as sexy as landing a contract with a publisher for a book you will see in bookstores, but this book is vulnerable to getting disappeared even if you do work with a publisher. This happens often with controversial books — it’s a dirty little secret in publishing and heartbreaking to authors. Also, if there is any hope of people in Israel/Palestine reading it, downloading it as e-book is a much more realistic option. I wouldn’t risk having the actual book on my person at the airport or the Bridge, and can’t imagine it would make it to bookstores on the inside.
November 21, 2010 at 3:37 pm
oBSERVER
I respect your spirit, your work, your passion, your care and attention and good heartedness — but please, please, for respect for the people struggling in Palestine — change the cover of the book.
I write that with respect too.
All the Best in all you do.
Love and Light to the Palestinians.
November 21, 2010 at 11:05 pm
fasttimesinpalestine
Thanks for the kind words, and don’t worry — this is NOT the final cover of the book. It’s just something I painted for fun early on. I never intended for it to be the final cover, just a mock-up of an idea. Then when it came time to make a blog and website, it was all I’d put together, so I uploaded it.
I’ll work with some people to come up with the finalized design over the next few months. Meanwhile, if you have any ideas, I’d be happy to hear them!
March 4, 2011 at 8:07 pm
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March 10, 2011 at 8:57 pm
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March 11, 2011 at 4:25 am
CC
I also look forward to buying a couple of your books and will make sure to share it with Canadians. I will also inform the readers of the blog I manage of the release of this book.
March 30, 2011 at 2:34 pm
This Is Gaza
will be waiting for this book on pins and needles.
thanks Pamela
April 13, 2011 at 3:16 pm
fasttimesinpalestine
Thank you. It will be my honor for any Palestinian to read my book.
March 31, 2011 at 12:41 pm
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[…] with the prospect of changing Washington from the inside, and in 2007, left DC and started writing Fast Times in Palestine”. Olsen now lives in New York where she writes as well as works with peace and justice groups. […]
April 11, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Tyler
Oddly enough, I found your site through this week’s Savage Love column, and look forward to buying and reading your book. I visited Palestine a couple of years ago as part of a human rights group, and found the experience both uplifting and depressing. I wrote down my experiences in the form of a diary (on the blogspot link) and preached about it in my church (and have raised money and consciousness here at home), but haven’t really returned to the story in the past year.
Reading just the first chapter and some of the excerpts from the later chapters brought back some memories. I look forward to reading more. Thanks.
April 13, 2011 at 2:32 pm
fasttimesinpalestine
Thanks, Tyler. I look forward to hearing your thoughts when you have a chance to read it. Glad you got a chance to visit Palestine — there’s really no place like it on earth.
July 9, 2011 at 8:49 am
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January 5, 2012 at 5:52 pm
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[…] I desperately wished I could do a Vulcan mind meld with these kids. Or give them each a copy of my book. They were also missing out on the essence of the harvest. It was pleasant enough, but two hours with […]
April 15, 2012 at 12:37 pm
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