CPT Books and Writings

Books on the work of Christian Peacemaker Teams, written by Corps members and our supporters.

• Captivity: 118 days in Iraq and the struggle for a world without war 
  by James Loney; Knopf Canada, 2011.

  In November 2005, CPTer James Loney and three other men (Canadian Harmeet Singh Sooden, British citizen Norman Kember and American CPTer Tom Fox) were taken hostage at gunpoint. Captivity is the story of what Jim described upon his return to Toronto and reunion with his partner Dan Hunt as “a terrifying, profound, transformative and excruciatingly boring experience.” At its heart, the book is a hope-filled plea for peace, human solidarity and forgiveness.

• Create Space for Peace: 40 years of Peacemaking: writings of Gene Stoltzfus
  edited by Dorothy Friesen and Marilen Abesamis; Trimark, 2011.

  A collection of articles, letters, and speeches from Gene’s journey of Christian peacemaking. This collection draws from his peacemaking experience around the world and contains stories of direct peace actions, including highlights of current political and military trends. Gene Stoltzfus (1940 – 2010) was the Founding Director of the Christian Peacemaker Teams from 1988 until 2004.
   

• As Resident Aliens: Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, 1995–2005
  by Kathleen Kern; Cascade, 2009.

  In 1995, a small cohort of Christian Peacemaker Team members set up a project in the West Bank city of Hebron. Over the next ten years CPT forged relationships with Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals who were resisting the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. This book charts the growth of CPT in Palestine, how it adapted to changing political conditions, spread to locations outside of Hebron, and developed networks with activists throughout Palestine and Israel.
   

• In Harm’s Way: a History of Christian Peacemaker Teams
  by Kathleen Kern; Cascade, 2008.

  This book provides a window into the mistakes and successes, the triumphs and tragedies, that CPT has shared in with local partners around the world, from its beginnings in 1986. The book chronicles the work of CPT up through its twentieth year in 2006.
   

• 118 Days: Christian Peacemaker Teams held hostage in Iraq
  edited by Tricia Gates Brown; Christian Peacemaker Teams, 2008.

  On November 26, 2005, Christian Peacemaker Teams members Tom Fox and Jim Loney along with delegation members Norman Kember and Harmeet Sooden were kidnapped in Iraq. Tom Fox was killed on March 9, 2006. Jim, Norman and Harmeet were freed two weeks later on March 23 after 118 days of captivity. The kidnapping of these four peacemakers was like a rock thrown into a pond. This collection of essays by CPTers and CPT supporters describes the ripples on the water, the impact and results of that rock, in stories characterized by hope, courage, friendship, and forgiveness.
   

• Getting in the Way: Stories from Christian Peacemaker Teams
  edited by Tricia Gates Brown; Herald Press, 2005.

  A collection of first-person narratives written by members of CPT, documenting their own experiences, including stories about their work in. Palestine, Chiapas, Mexico, Esgenoopetitj (New Brunswick, Canada), Haiti, Iraq, Colombia, and more.
   

• To Baghdad and Beyond: How I got born again in Babylon
  by Jonathan Wislon-Hartgrove; Cascade, 2005.

  The story of a young evangelical couple who followed the conviction of their faith into a war zone on a CPT delegation and discovered an alternative to the violence of empires and the complicity of quietism in the “third way” of Jesus’s beloved community. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove writes of his journey from a rural Southern Baptist church to Iraq in a time of war, to a Christian community of hospitality in an urban neighborhood.
   

• West Bank Diary: Middle East Violence as Reported by a Former American Hostage
  by Jerry Levin; Hope Publishing, 2005.

  When he was CNN’s Beirut Bureau Chief, Jerry Levin was kidnapped and held hostage by the Hezbollah for almost a year. Yet when he was released, instead of being vindictive against his captors, Jerry decided to devote his life to giving voice to peoples silenced by foreign policies that often victimize the innocent. Rather than return to his role as an observer and reporter, he became a dedicated advocate for nonviolence and a CPT worker in Hebron, Palestine. In this book Jerry describes his firsthand observations and personal experiences.
   

• Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace
  by Peggy Gish; Herald Press, 2004.

  Peggy Gish went to Iraq as an attempt to prevent war. But on March 20, 2003, the bombs began falling on Baghdad. In her book, Peggy recounts the moving experiences of CPT’s work in Iraq, before, during and after the 2003 war and occupation. Told as her personal account, Peggy makes real the story of prisoner abuse, the character of the Iraqi people, and a passionate vision for peace.