The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shocked the world and focused international attention once again on the prospects for peace between Israel and its immediate neighbors. But the Arab-Israeli peace process encompasses a series of talks that draw on a much wider set of participants and issues. These multilateral talks involve some forty countries from around the world meeting regularly to address the long-term issues that bedevil the Middle East, including arms control, economic development, the sharing of water resources, and the protection of the environment. In this penetrating book, Joel Peters pieces together the details of a process that has so often been shrouded in secrecy. He discusses the nature of the process so far, how the talks have broken down the barriers between Israel and the Arab world and how they are shaping a new era of cooperation and prosperity in the region. He concludes by making a number of far-reaching suggestions that may not only enhance the future of multilateral talks in the Middle East, but could also offer lessons for building peace elsewhere in the world.