Bookmark at Bennett Hall: Jeffrey Goldberg interviewed by James Bennet

Photo: Liz Huberman

Plum and The Atlantic Monthly have teamed up to bring some amazing authors to Nantucket for Bookmark 2007. On Sunday, August 5, we sat down with Jeffrey Goldberg at Bennett Hall to discuss his powerful novel Prisoner, a book that takes us into the heart of an Israeli prison accounting Goldberg's interaction with a Palestinian insurgent being held there.

"Israel was not a complicated subject for me as a kid," he said during his session in front of a live audience.

"I wasn't happy about being assigned to this prison," Goldberg stated, but, he continues, "I saw two positives to being there. One positive, I was an incipient reporter in this place, I'll make use of this and meet some of these guys and see what they're about. Two: By talking to these people, maybe I could, in some small way, soften some hearts and the way people feel about the conflict [between Israelis and Palestinians]."

Goldberg's life-changing experience began in the early 90s, as the conflicts in Israel and the Gaza Strip began to escalate. "These things change quickly," he said, "Unfortunately for us, they're changing in a negative way."

To view clips on this interview, click on the photo.

To learn about our August 26 Bookmark on the Beach event in Nantucket, visit our Events page.