Peacerunner

One of BenBella’s biggest books of the year is Penn Rhodeen’s Peacerunner, with an introduction by former president Bill Clinton. This is the true story of an unknown American politician who played a critical role in ending centuries of conflict in Northern Ireland. Without the president’s permission, and breaking every conventional rule about how to deal with terrorists, former congressman Bruce Morrison helped end a conflict that most observers thought would continue indefinitely. A former newspaper reporter and schoolteacher, Rhodeen, now a lawyer, is hoping to present Morrison’s story to inspire readers and to show how best to lend aid in countries afflicted by unending war.With cameos from Tony Blair, George Mitchell, Gerry Adams, Jean Kennedy Smith, John Major, and other larger-than-life figures, Rhodeen dramatizes events that have somehow receded into the past without getting their due.