REVIEWS

“de Krassel provides a piercing and compelling snapshot of today’s world taken with a wide angle lens. His penetrating observations of the shifting sands of our globe offer a snapshot of the future taken with a telephoto lens. It’s an unsettling look at ourselves, seen through a mirror. A must read.”

“Strong in historical perspective and a sincere addition to the search for Peace in the Middle East. De Krassel’s two-state solution — with Israelis, Palestinians, and their Arab neighbors walking side by side as equals, each sovereign, each respected — could open that door, but only if all choose to step through it together.”

“The book is elegantly and smoothly written. Most of the stories are known but Peter G. de Krassel adds his unique view and flamboyant personality. It is not a book only for scholars. It is a mandatory read for anyone interested in finding a solution to the Palestinian crisis. It was an esthetic pleasure to read, and I have gotten several new important conclusions as well.”

“In the current context, a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine can not work. But inside the pages of Custom Maid Palestine, Peter de Krassel has quite eloquently threaded Middle East history into a narrative that could provide the social and geopolitical fabric that just might give peace a chance for a nation where war is the stuff of daily life. An excellent read backed by telling perspectives that deserve to be heard.”

“The FCC has found its own Michael Moore, no not the one who headed the World Trade Organization for a half term, but that gadfly of American politics, the author of Stupid White Men. His FCC equivalent, Peter de Krassel, however, has the advantage of experience not limited to the borders of the United States alone and his targets for stupidity in Custom Maid go a little wider than white men alone. The result is a wide ranging catty read – Hey, wake up, the world is moving on and will leave you behind if you stay stuck in yesterday’s way of thinking. The style is vintage Michael Moore right down to that folksy chat way of writing and digressions that catch the author’s mind but leave you with the titter of a punch line as the reward for veering aside.”

“Peter de Krassel is mad, but then he has a lot to be mad about. Some people channel aggression with a gun, but not Peter. Instead, he picked up his pen and wrote the kind of book that you talk back to. Custom Maid provides a response. My copy is full of notes in the margin, only a few of which say Amen, brother! I don’t agree with everything in Custom Maid. The book hasn’t changed my life. But, something in the back of my mind, where I can’t quite put a finger on it say, ‘…yet’.”

“By revealing ample historical facts with unparalleled depth and breadth, and while duly recognizing the efforts and peace proposals to date, Mr. de Krassel has put forth a "Two-State Solution" which you may never have thought of to solve the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Some critics might label Mr. de Krassel’s ideas to be unconventional, and you may not agree with him on all fronts, but reading this latest book of his has been an educating experience you don’t want to miss because much of his opinions have been formed from his unique life as well as his multicultural and multidisciplinary background reflecting what I will call conventional wisdom. It is a must read for anyone who cares about peace in the Middle East.”

“Confronting one of the most perplexing and challenging geo-political conundrums in modern history, Dr. de Krassel mounts an exhaustive study of the various historical factors contributing to global fracturing affecting a solution to the co-existence of Israel and Palestine. Viewing the situation from a unique perspective forged in his family history and personal experiences, he presents what may be the only feasible solution: Bring all the parties together under an international consortium that will allow each to benefit politically and economically by contributing land and resources to create a self-governed Palestine State.”

“Generations have grappled with the Palestinian problem, and no solution, past or present, has been accepted by all parties. Donald Trump’s plan to turn the area into a Riviera of the Middle East also falls into that category. Maybe it is time for some out-of-the-box thinking, and Peter de Krassel offers such a radical solution, which may sound impossible right now. But given the history of past failures detailed in the book, perhaps the answer lies in such a solution that defies conventional thinking. As the author says, it is time to end the needless pain and suffering caused by a conflict rooted in outdated religious and political ideologies that have little relevance in today’s interconnected world. A radical two-state solution offered here should be looked at in this context.”

“Peter de Krassel’s book on Palestine is a serious, good-faith effort to lower the temperature of a burning subject and invite people back into difficult, necessary conversation. In elder-sage terms, it is trying to clarify what truly matters, humanize the stakes, and insist on honest trade-offs. The book refuses to treat October 7 and the war in Gaza as isolated horrors, and instead traces a long arc from imperial carve-ups to Sykes-Picot, Balfour, the Nakba, the Intifadas, and Iran-backed militias, so readers see a shared, cumulative trauma rather than a single villain-of-the-week. De Krassel’s own "Palestinian product" biography gives him standing to ask hard questions of everyone. The proposed alternative two-state solution is less an act of utopian dreaming than a challenge to courage: who is willing to consider unconventional geography, painful compromise, and limits on maximalist slogans in order to save actual lives? Even where one may dispute his proposed map or his reading of specific episodes, the book models a stance desperately needed in this moment: unsentimental about violence from any side, anchored in history, and relentlessly focused on how both peoples might step away from the abyss into a future of shared security and statehood..”