Thirteen Days in September

Carter, Begin, and Sadat at Camp David

By: Lawrence Wright

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall, Lawrence Wright

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW’ S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

A gripping day-by-day account of the 1978 Camp David conference, when President Jimmy Carter persuaded Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat to sign the first peace treaty in the modern Middle East, one which endures to this day.

With his hallmark insight into the forces at play in the Middle East and his acclaimed journalistic skill, Lawrence Wright takes us through each of the thirteen days of the Camp David conference, illuminating the issues that have made the problems of the region so intractable, as well as exploring the scriptural narratives that continue to frame the conflict. In addition to his in-depth accounts of the lives of the three leaders, Wright draws vivid portraits of other fiery personalities who were present at Camp David––including Moshe Dayan, Osama el-Baz, and Zbigniew Brzezinski––as they work furiously behind the scenes. Wright also explores the significant role played by Rosalynn Carter.
What emerges is a riveting view of the making of this unexpected and so far unprecedented peace. Wright exhibits the full extent of Carter’s persistence in pushing an agreement forward, the extraordinary way in which the participants at the conference—many of them lifelong enemies—attained it, and the profound difficulties inherent in the process and its outcome, not the least of which has been the still unsettled struggle between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

In Thirteen Days in September, Wright gives us a resonant work of history and reportage that provides both a timely revisiting of this important diplomatic triumph and an inside look at how peace is made.

Biased

Very biased! Very pro Arab and anti Israeli. President Carter showed strengths and weaknesses. His anger explains his views on the Middle East today. Holding a grudge I think.

Lessons in Negotiation

Jimmy Carter is underrated as a president. He was the first to make an issue of human rights around the world. He was honest, well-intentioned and caring of the needy. He brought his vision of a just world to the Camp David peace talks, where he cajoled two strong-willed, suspicious leaders to overcome their personal antipathies and those of their people to reach a peace accord that has lasted, with some cracks, for many years.

Lawrence Wright provides a detailed, day-by-day account of the tense moments and the personal conflicts that nevertheless resulted in the peace accord. His account seems balanced and insightful. Minor players like the countries' foreign ministers and the wives are well-drawn--Roslyn Carter especially is a sympathetic figure, her husband's best friend and confidant, an instigator of the talks who struggles to keep her poker face through the temper tantrums, the deadlocks and the ultimate triumphs of the talks.

Overall, this was an important story, well told. And it is a lesson in negotiations, with a keen understanding of the posturing, the changing strategies, the consultations, the use of supporting players and the creative techniques that finally lead to peace.

The narration was strong. Mark Bramhall did a good job differentiating the players and their accents without ever slipping into caricature.

Extraordinary events well told

The camp David accords are extraordinary in their mere existence, the story of how they came to be is even more so. While the authors attempts to anchor the conflict in religion is a bit irritating at times it still does not diminish the events or the personalities involved.

revealing political history

This book is so revealing about the Carter administration & the post WW2 history of the middle east. I remember vaguely this whole event, the Carter peace initiative, but Wright successfully brings the event, the key characters (not just the principals) & the contextual background to life. The book mixes biography of the key players with the main event. Sometimes this feels a little bumpy - it might play more so this way in the audio version, since listener cannot see chapter headings or other transitions that would appear in the physical book. The narrator is excellent.

Compelling, important book

Terrific story, masterfully told. Wright presents his thoroughly researched material in an effective and impartial manner.