GAZA: THE DREAM AND THE NIGHTMARE | Busboys and Poets Books

"A brave and compelling book that brings together many voices from Gaza and beyond to help readers understand the region’s history as well as the grave contemporary moment it faces.” –Amahl Bishara, Tufts University

In this urgent and compelling book, Julie M. Norman and Maia Carter Hallward tell the story of Gaza from its early foundations, across decades of occupation, to the horrors of October 7 and the subsequent devastating war. Rather than focusing on elites or abstract politics, at the book’s heart are ordinary Gazans -- students, aid workers, journalists, and teachers -- whose first-hand testimonies vividly illuminate the realities behind the headlines.

Refusing to sensationalise or oversimplify, the book reckons with the legal, moral, and humanitarian debates surrounding Gaza, from war crimes investigations to the contested meaning of resistance and the politicization of aid. Combining a nuanced narrative with hard-hitting reflections from everyday Gazans, the book serves as a timely and necessary disruption of media clichés and political binaries, telling the story of Gaza with clarity, compassion, and from the perspective of its own people.

Julie M. Norman is joining us on the Busboys stage alongside Ishaan Tharoor, a columnist for the Washington Post, to discuss this “vivid narrative of the Gaza experience” (Alan Dowty, University of Notre Dame). Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Norman will be signing following the program.

This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of GAZA: THE DREAM AND THE NIGHTMARE will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person.

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Julie M. Norman an Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at University College London, and an Associate Fellow on the Middle East at Chatham House.

Ishaan Tharoor is a columnist on the foreign desk of The Washington Post, where he authors the Today's WorldView newsletter and column. In 2021, he won the Arthur Ross Media Award in Commentary, a prize administered by the American Academy of Diplomacy. He previously was a senior editor and correspondent at Time magazine, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York. He also periodically teaches an undergraduate seminar at Georgetown University on digital affairs and the global age.

BOOK DETAILS

Gaza

The Dream and the Nightmare

By Julie M. Norman and Maia Carter Hallward

December 30, 2025 | Paperback, 240 pages, $24.95

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