- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; illustrated edition edition (2 April 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747589445
- ISBN-13: 978-0747589440
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 579,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Defy the Stars is the story of a young man who went to the Middle East as an observer and lost his life through a single selfless human act. In April 2003, twenty-one-year-old Tom Hurndall, an English photojournalism student, was shot in the head as he carried a Palestinian child out of the range of an Israeli army sniper in the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Tom was unarmed, and wearing the internationally recognised peaceworker's fluorescent orange jacket. Severely wounded, he never recovered consciousness and died nine months later in a London hospital. A year after his death, following the family's own investigation and their determined and impartial fight to see justice done after a cover-up by the Israeli Defence Force, a soldier was sentenced to eight years for Tom's manslaughter. It was an unprecedented outcome, and a case that made legal history in bringing the IDF to account for its killing of an unarmed civilian. Tom's mother tells the story of this courageous young Englishman's quest, of its tragic end and its effect on his family. Defy the Stars is an elegy for a son, a story of loss but also of hope, for out of the tragedy have come projects in Gaza and friendships with both peace-loving Palestinians and Israelis. Her moving book gives a vivid picture of the realities of day-to-day life in Israel and in the bleak and beleaguered towns of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It puts a human face to a situation that affects us all, and speaks for the plight of countless forgotten people in the Middle East who suffer such losses on a daily basis.
About the Author
Jocelyn Hurndall was born in Winchester in 1951. In the early 1970s she worked as kibbutz volunteer on the Israeli/Lebanese border and travelled through the West Bank to Jerusalem, where her father had worked as a pioneer of wave energy in the early 1960s. She began a career as a teacher in 1974, eventually becoming Head of Learning Support in a multi-cultural school. She lives in London with her family.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book really touched me. It moved me to tears in several parts. I didn't know about Tom's death until about a year later but have followed the news since then. I'm so pleased to be able to read now about the feelings and emotions that his mother has gone through since it happened.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Somehow this book communicates the situation in the middle east to a level that TV news cannot quite achieve
This is Tom's mother's personal account of her time in Israel to try and find out what happened to her son. It is moving throughout. Some of the things that are happening there defy belief. What drives a soldier to shoot at an innocent child?
It is well written and a book that stays with you. Tom Hurndall was a remarkable man, and I wholly recommend you to read this book to understand why
This is Tom's mother's personal account of her time in Israel to try and find out what happened to her son. It is moving throughout. Some of the things that are happening there defy belief. What drives a soldier to shoot at an innocent child?
It is well written and a book that stays with you. Tom Hurndall was a remarkable man, and I wholly recommend you to read this book to understand why
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A deeply moving, unforgettable story of a family tragedy, which is written with sensitivity and graciousness. A compelling read with great depth. How difficult it is to have justice in a country where denial is uppermost without the support of friends, diplomats, the generosity and the kindness of many people, including Palestinian and Israeli. The journey taken by Jocelyn Hurndall and her family after her eldest son Tom was shot in Rafah in Gaza by an IDF soldier, sustaining severe brain damage, turned out to be formidable.
The overwhelming grief and anxiety experienced by the family, also has rich, poignant and positive moments. I highly recommend this book for the many insights provided. For the superb writing, the courageous commitment for the truth by both parents, and yes, it does make one weep.
This is a story that will linger with you. Jocelyn Hurndall has turned out to be a writer of considerable talent. Tom's presence through his diaries, photographs, and his mother's memories, is always engaging. Since reading the book, I purchased more copies for family and friends.
Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair
The overwhelming grief and anxiety experienced by the family, also has rich, poignant and positive moments. I highly recommend this book for the many insights provided. For the superb writing, the courageous commitment for the truth by both parents, and yes, it does make one weep.
This is a story that will linger with you. Jocelyn Hurndall has turned out to be a writer of considerable talent. Tom's presence through his diaries, photographs, and his mother's memories, is always engaging. Since reading the book, I purchased more copies for family and friends.
Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A wonderful book
I have just finished this book and it is wonderful. Jocelyn Hurdnall is intelligent, thoughtful and honest. Read more
Published 11 months ago by If Only You Knew
Defy the Stars
This is a fantastic eye-opener for those of us who feel that we know some of what goes on in the Middle East. Read more
Published 18 months ago by RealTake
Truthful & moving
I only read this book after it was recomended to me. I found it to be well written, really deep into how a mother feels about the loss of her son, how a family feels about the... Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2009 by Kauser
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