A tragic portrait of a disappearing world, created with all of the great Janine di Giovanni’s passion and literary grace

An award-winning war correspondent, with a particular expertise on the Middle East, di Giovanni focuses on the persecution and “vanishing” of Christian communities in the Middle East — the birthplace of the religion. Focusing in particular on Egypt, Gaza, Iraq and Syria, she examines the impact of Islamist militancy and tells the stories of the individuals and families affected

Janine di Giovanni, a former winner of the Courage in Journalism prize, is a shining example of the dwindling band of investigative reporters

di Giovanni brings a compassionate perspective to her narrative, interweaving complex, sometimes dense history with evocative vignettes and interviews

Extraordinary … di Giovanni has a fine way of capturing landscapes and people

Janine di Giovanni is a humane and persistent witness who knows when to stand out of the way, has a unique ability to be both unflinching and tender and, most importantly, never forgets that war is always a human tragedy. And because the story of Arab Christians is also the story of the Arab Middle East, the book is a record of the painfully fractured region, the consequences of war and foreign intrusion, of which its peoples, of all faiths, but particularly its minorities, have suffered most

Profoundly moving

Janine di Giovanni’s beautifully written and deeply researched study of Christian communities in Iraq, Gaza, Syria, and Egypt is important not only for what it reveals about those vital but largely effaced communities, but also for its careful examination of an issue that is far more complex – as so much is in the Middle East – than typically presented or understood … A compelling and powerful study

Gorgeously written and deeply felt

Janine di Giovanni, a former winner of the Courage in Journalism prize, is a shining example of the dwindling band of investigative reporters

Ms di Giovanni brings a compassionate perspective to her narrative, interweaving complex, sometimes dense history with evocative vignettes and interviews

There could scarcely be a better person than Janine di Giovanni to write about the disappearing Christians of the Middle East

Di Giovanni writes elegantly, her reporting informed partly by being a Christian herself

This is an interesting work of journalism that mixes personal reflection with a patchwork of reportage

Each book of hers should be required reading … In addition to contextualising the conflicts, Janine shared the human stories … She exposes what we find so hard to confront in humanity

A moving and insightful portrait of the Middle East’s shrinking Christina population

The Vanishing is unique because di Giovanni is not seeking a solution, and indeed knows there may not be one. As a war reporter for 30 years she knows the reality of man … I like The Vanishing because it’s true, and people in the West need to read the truth, even if they don’t like it and can’t do anything about it

Praise for Janine di Giovanni: It is crucial to reveal the human stories behind the news – and Janine di Giovanni does this with heartbreaking eloquence

Like the work of the Belarussian Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, Ms. di Giovanni’s book gives voice to ordinary people living through a dark time in history

Such reporters as Giovanni, who not only visit but also live (and often die) through wars not their own, are heroic

Few writers can match her evocations of individual suffering in wartime

Compelling reportage at its best

Janine di Giovanni has described war in a way that almost makes me think it never needs to be described again

Read this book and you may begin to understand what war looks and feels like

Janine di Giovanni writes with unblinking courage about war, death, marriage, motherhood, loss, love, redemption, fear – indeed, about all the world’s most pressing risks and dangers … Her writing here (as ever in her remarkable career) is a great and important achievement