Dr. Leon Hesser, Palestinian Sir Rateb Rabie seek Mideast peace

Coralville, Iowa July 23 —- Dr. Leon Hesser, former director of US government’s global efforts to increase food production in developing countries, whose authorized biography of Cresco Iowa-born Nobel Peace laureate Norman Borlaug has foreword by President Jimmy Carter and endorsements by President George H.W. Bush and former presidential hopeful Dr. George McGovern, is among discussants at the 5.30pm August 4 peace through books symposium in Dubuque Iowa.

Happening at John Kennedy Mall as part of the August 4-6 Christian Book Fair International to be declared open at 11am August 4 by Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol, the forum which is open to the public examines how book writing, co-authoring, publishing, distribution, sales, preservation, reading and sharing can help push the frontiers of peace.

Themed "Building Bridges of Peace Through Books", it comes amid the raging Israeli-Hezbolah war, the perennial Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the high casualty Iraq War, the Darfur genocide that has claimed UN estimated 200,000 lives and displaced 3 million people, and the fighting in Democratic Republic of Congo that has taken 3.3 million lives and displaced 2.25 million people since 1998, among others.

Coralville Iowa-based organizers, Family Reading Ministries, Inc., posit there has never been a better time for books, book industry professionals and book lovers to champion the cause of peace than now when statistics by US-based book tracking firm, R.R. Bowker, show there have been significant increases in published books, publishers and the revenue derived from book sales.

"It therefore behooves the book trade to turn their fortunes into assets for peace especially in the Middle East," opines Family Reading Ministries, Inc. founder Rev. Paschal Eze.

Other discussants include Palestinian-born Sir Rateb Rabie, head of Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation Maryland that pleads cause of persecuted Palestinian Christians, and Bankole Thompson, Detroit-based author of “Ignoring The Underprivileged: A Journalist’s Indictment of Mainstream Media.”

There would also be the August 1-3 free Dial-An-Author-Reading events featuring US, Canadian and British authors like Joseph Simons, Victoria Ryan and Akeem Shomade who would read their books and chat with callers.

For more information on these events or our various speakers, visit www.readingspree.com or call Shanita at 3193519695.