Middle East Books

This was a powerful and sad story about a young boy growing up in Syria, and about the hardships in a person's life due to culture and geography. Most people don't know much about Syria, let alone the Middle East. The story does a superb job of revealing the agony of hunger, sickness, poverty, the marginalization of women and the poor, and it brings up the excesses of our own American society. It becomes obvious that Syria lacks the infrastructure to realistically support its people. Thus, they are forced to live day by day, barely avoiding injustice and death. It's a miracle that the author survives to tell his story. Sickness and poverty take on a new meaning in this book, showing how death can be much more humane than life itself, and how God can be ruthless, how begging can be dehumanizing. There are just so many elements of the human experience compacted into this story. If anything, after reading this book, I gained an appreciation for the relative comfort and security of my life. Lastly, I think this book shows how work and the ability to work give value to a person's life. A truly worthwhile read.

Fragments of Memory is a socio-historical novel that illustrates the characteristics of rural life in Syria at the time of the French Mandate. This biographical novel is particularly effective in illustrating issues related to the exercise of power and the role of the state. There will also be an analysis of the expectations of family life and the respective roles of men, women and children and the role of religion in daily life. The Novel offers considerable insight into relations of power and the role of the state in rural society. The vicissitudes of the author's family in al-Suwaydiya and the village of al-Akbar clearly show that the landowner and the village headman - mukhtar - held all the power, especially when the landowner was also the mukhtar as was the case in al-Suwaydiya. The first chapters of the novel describe the family's move from the administrative capital Latakiya to the coastal village of al-Suwaydiya. There the family virtually submits to a sharecropping arrangement with the mukhtar, Mr. Elias, who owns the land, which entitled it to earn a quarter of the income accruing from the cultivation of mulberry trees while the rest went to the mukhtar (p.19). The paramount characteristic of this arrangement, however, is the relationship of dependency that the family develops upon the assistance of the mukhtar that borders on slavery.

This book is a fine introduction for young people to the history of Israel and its relationship with the U.S. Unfortunately, much that has been written today consists of revistionist history that ignores the facts: In 1947, six months before the declaration of the Independence by the state of Israel, Arabs were already fighting against her, with help from the British. In the war that ensued, some 6,000 Israelis were killed, fully 1% of her population. That was roughly equal to the half the U.S. losses of the Civil War--still the most devastating both proportionately and absolutely--of all U.S. wars. It is only a third of the proportionate U.S. losses of World War II. Israel nearly lost--and won with no help whatsoever from the U.S.

Subsquently, Israel fought four other defensive wars against Arab aggressors. Arab officials admitted last November and again in March that current low-level war, which makes six, was planned by Arafat during the Camp David talks. They began attacks on September 24 with bombs at Netzarim junction, one of which murdered Israeli David Biri--days before Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount.

Israel, now 53 years old, has lived in a virtual stage of siege since her founding. Of 22 Arab nations, only two are offically at peace with her. The other 20 remain officially at war, by their choice. Mr. Finkelstein's work is an important--and honest--contribution to the understanding of this history. It is a positive contribution, being a much-needed antidote to the propaganda war that the Arabs have mounted, with increasing success, for the last 25 years. Alyssa A. Lappen

This book is a fine introduction for young people to the history of Israel and its relationship with the U.S. Unfortunately, much that has been written today consists of revistionist history that ignores the facts: In 1947, six months before the declaration of the Independence by the state of Israel, Arabs were already fighting against her, with help from the British. In the war that ensured, some 6,000 Israelis were killed, fully 1% of her population. That is roughly equal to the half the U.S. losses of the Civil War--still the most devastating both proportionately and absolutely--of all U.S. wars. It is only a third of the proportionate U.S. losses of World War II. Subsquently, Israel fought four other defensive wars against Arab aggressors. The current low-level war, which makes six, was planned by Arafat during the Camp David talks, and started by Arabs on September 24 with bombs at Netzarim junction, and the murder of Israeli David Biri.

Children should learn that Israel, now 53 years old, has lived in a virtual stage of siege since her founding, with 20 of the 22 Arab nations remaining officially "at war" with her. Mr. Finkelstein's work is an important contribution to the understanding of this special friend to the U.S. Mr. Finkelstein's is a great contribution to the body of work on Israeli history. It provides a much-needed antidote to the propaganda war that the Arabs have mounted, with increasing success, for the last 25 years.

it is a great, quick review of persian history with highlights of the richness of persia. I learned so much that i did not know. It is easy to read and fascinating facts. Anyone interested in the rich persian history must have a copy. I bought many copies and gave it as gifts to my friends.

This booklet narrates the history of Iran (Persia) from a positive perspective -- a good contrast to what the Western mass media have projected over the past two decades. The text is brief and to the point, and the illustrations enhace the richness of the text. Given its modest price, this booklet makes a great gift for friends (young or old) interested in Iran.

This book has three themes in it: Universality, Empowerment, and Human-Centered Approach. All these themes deal with the human rights approach to foreign relations and intervention. Ideally, the the concept of human rights sounds okay and progressive. However, Chandler reveals the flaws of the human rights approach to international relations and how it undermines democracy. The irony of the human rights approach to world affairs is that it undermines democracy and even republic forms of government. Sometimes democracy is simultaneously presented as a by-product of ethical intervention, which is the case with President Bush. Yet, Chandler argues that human rights motivated intervention is a polarized effort that undermines automony of states and individuals and also it undermines the political system. Chandler
presents the example of Kosovo as the example of failure of ethical intervention that inadvertently creates a fragmented society without the moral cohesion the intervention is supposed to produce. The latter parts of the book seem to mention the emergance of a liberal elite which uses ethics to create a New World Order with moral superiors in control. This sounds rather radical, yet this book does a good job of presenting the case that ethical intervention is not what it appears to be. The book brings shocking instances of dubious international law practices and it shows a lack of structure in the ethics first defense. There seems to be no objective criteria or accepted moral system to guide the decision making of the so-called liberal elite and NGO's of Chandler's. In addition, the book introduces the concept of a new political system that is disenchanted with the status quo and the presents a growing emphasis on normative forms of reasoning for international intervention. Lastly, Kosovo to Kabul presents a new non-functional "political" system that legitimizes hedgemonic practices.

This outstanding book shows how British and US governments use the anti-democratic human rights ideology to boost their image and support foreign interventions. Chandler proves that attacks on states' sovereignty are also attacks on democracy.

A government's duty is to its own people, where there is accountability: only within a state can a people control its government and govern its affairs. But now a liberal elite of `the great and the good', a `global civil society, independent of states and state boundaries', appoint themselves guardians of others' rights, as against the rest of us, mere `vested interests'.

`Our betters' redefine political matters as moral or legal, to be decided not in public by the people, but behind closed doors by World Bank or European Central Bank, by Royal Commissions, judicial reviews, task forces or think tanks, and at work by ethics committees and Quality Assurance groups.

Abroad, Blair uses a `people-centred' approach of rights enforcement, which trumps peacemaking and negotiations. `Morality' and `international justice' trump law and destroy sovereignty. ...

I found this biographical dictionary convenient to use. It provides the reader with a rich cultural overview of the ancient world.
The entries are organized for quick, concise reference.
The well developed chronology was useful.

From Polis To Empire: The Ancient World c. 800 B.C. - A.D. 500 is a dictionary of biographies featuring notable and influential figures of the ancient world. From Alexander the Great to Zoroaster, and including countless lesser-known rulers, mathematicians, historians, and more, From Polis to Empire, deftly edited by Andrew Traver (Assistant Professor of Ancient and Medieval History, Southeastern Louisiana University), not only presents the lives of history's spokespersons but through them, a snapshot of life in the ancient world. An excellent, scholarly reference highly recommended for academic and community library collections, From Polis To Empire is also fascinating for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in antiquity to simply browse through.

I had the opportunity to meet the author some weeks ago. We had a great conversation so I decided to read his book. The first chapter is an excellent historical survey of Egyptian intellectual shifts from European secular framework to an Islamic and fundamentalist framework. The following chapters explain the disillusionment one secular Egyptian student felt with the colonial system of administration and traces his search for an intellectual and cultural identity. This book is a fascinating study for anyone interested in understanding the appeal of, and to some extent the sociology, of Islamic fundamentalism. I strongly recommend this book!

Adnan Musallam puts in a hardback capsule, the understanding of the life and trials of one Muslim Man's growth and struggle's with God in relationship to his fellow man's social structure.

Profoundly articulate, scientific and even artful in its presentation of the man- Sayyid Qutb and his life's work as a, poet, writer, critic, author, Bureaucrat , educator, philosopher and Radical Islamic Ideologue; all combine to make this book a must read for anyone interested in today's fast paced political world.

Dr. Musallam takes you on an extraordinary, systemic journey of understanding;just how this one man's thoughts and ideas developed from early childhood as a secularist to his execution as a devout Islamist- and beyond!

After reading this book you will not only better understand the man- Qutb; but also more importantly just how his thoughts and ideas have been woven so tightly since his execution (by so many others )so as to now form the very fabric of the flags being waved throughout today's volatile Muslim World

This book at times was boring, but it is kind of meant to be that way. It's a book on war gaming leading up to the liberation of Kuwait, the politics of how the first Bush administration heroicly gathered a large coalition, the tactics, and execution for victory! It is still worth the read even if your not into military weapons and technology.

This book gives a thorough explanation of the troops and equipment used during the Persian Gulf War and the build up to the war. The authors dig to find the most accurate numbers. Also give expert analysis on the Iraqi army and coalition forces in terms of diplomacy and experience. Also good background on the history of the region. I give the book an A.

In 1954, two members of the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient published a commendable scholarly work titled: Connaissance du Viet-Nam. Pierre Huard and Maurice Durand meticulously, but not laboriously, capsulized Vietnamese geography, history, education, agriculture, family relations, literature, and music, amid many other topics. Their essential thesis was that this economically impoverished nation has a bountiful cultural heritage.

Almost half a century elapsed before a work of comparable revelation emerged in English. The late and noted lexicographer Nguyen Dinh Hoa's cultural memoir proves the Huard and Durand thesis. The memoir focuses on Vietnamese customs and mores as the author experienced them growing up in Hanoi: Lining up for water at the community well; collection of night soil, a friend's accuracy with the slingshot, sleeping under a mosquito net, introduction to the martial arts at ten, burial of the placenta and umbilical cord, silversmithing techniques, and marketing of the urine of a pre-pubescent boy as a tonic. This personalized approach humanizes and vivifies what otherwise might have been dry text.

Hoa either had total recall or was the most fastidious keeper of a journal since Samuel Pepys. He lists the names and characteristics of his grade school teachers, and describes the menu offered to him on his arrival in New York in 1948. Woe to anyone who met Hoa since Hoa was five years old, and couldn't remember Hoa's name, for he surely would have remembered yours. Particularly for someone who spoke no English until his early twenties, he manifested a remarkable grasp of English idiom and nuance. In all the memoir's two hundred pages, only four slightly infelicitous expressions emerge. None interferes with meaning, and they are all too petty to elaborate on here.

This fabled memoir is an argument for nature over nurture. Hoa came from an illustrious family in which, for several generations, all the males have been named Nguyen Dinh this or that. In fact, in the memoir, the reader sometimes gets lost in the forest of Nguyen Dinh's.

The memoir is wisely non-linear. It does not pass directly from birth through adolescence to maturity, but skips entertainingly back and forth in time. For example, we learn about Mit, Hoa's wife, through her encounter with a stereotypically uncomprehending official of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, long before he tells us of their early betrothal.

Hoa's memoir is a revelation of the richness and humanity of Vietnamese culture, and a a welcome antidote for those whose image of Vietnam is shaped by Oliver Stone and Stanley Kubrick.

As a linguist, and also someone steeped in the history of Vietnam, no doubt Dr. Nguyen Dinh-Hoa has thought deeply about the symbolic significance of "Ha-Noi," named for Vietnam's northern capital. As the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, it literally means "the city inside the Red River," hence the title of the book. The word "Noi" in Vietnamese denotes "inside" and suggests either insulation or introspection. The word "Ha" on the other hand, means "river" and suggests flow, confluence, and change. In fact, Dutch, Portuguese, and British merchants in the 16th century had referred to the bustling city by the Red River as "Ke Cho" or "The Market Place." Thus, in the very title of Dr. Nguyen's work, "From the City inside the Red River," there exists already a tension between tradition and change--the tension that defines the essence of Vietnamese culture.

In his book, Dr. Nguyen covers at length the history and geography of Hanoi, or "The Old Capital" of Vietnam from the 11th century to the 19th century. At the same time, he weaves his personal history into the larger tapestry of his native city. The street where he was born and lived until early adulthood is at once imbued with rich historical context and future portent. It is called to this day "Pho Hang Bac" meaning "Silver Street." The French called this street "Rue des Changeurs" ("Moneychangers' Street.") It is one of the oldest streets in Hanoi and used to serve as the financial center of ancient Vietnam. Like Hanoi, Silver Street embraces both the Old World, and the change brought by commerce with the New World.

In Dr. Nguyen's memoir, historical changes occurred side by side with personal changes. Dr. Nguyen mentioned the Confucian tradition of "rectifying names," i.e., the formal ritual of changing a person's given birth name to mark the karmic change that transforms his or her personal essence. Dr. Nguyen translates this symbolic tradition into a loose American colloquialism, i.e., "how not to call a spade a spade." Dr. Nguyen's first name, Hoa, was given to him by his father, which means "The Peace-Loving One." In 1948, Dr. Nguyen received a scholarship to study at Union College, in Schenectady, New York. He was sponsored by Delta Upsilon Fraternity through a Union College Program called H.E.L.P. (Higher Education for Lasting Peace.) Delta Upsilon brothers immediately rechristened him "Wing-Ding," possibly a phonetic equivalent of his family name, "Nguyen Dinh." Ironically, the word "Wing-Ding" in American slang means an outburst, or a wild and raucous party, a meaning, and name that represents the direct opposite of Hoa, "the peace-loving one." As a fateful name, however, it captures perfectly the dual nature of Dr. Nguyen--an open, adventurous stranger in a strange land. In the dawn of post-war America, his new name "Wing-Ding" conjured up an aura of singsong childishness--perhaps unintended condescension-- if not racism, from his good-intentioned American brothers. But I cannot help but think that the name Wing-Ding was a liberating "rectification" for Dr. Nguyen. It allowed him to immerse into the piquant mores of mid-century America without losing his uniqueness. Wing-Ding thrived on whole milk and Coca-Cola. Wing-Ding played canasta in the afternoon with American housewives. Wing-Ding hitch-hiked across America.

As time went by, Dr. Nguyen "aka" Wing-Ding became a traveller across cultures, whose personal life adhered closely with the progress of his academic work in linguistics. Names of places and people in his life began to acquire double, finely shaded meanings. His first-born daughter is named Patricia My Huong, which means American Rose, and also Beautiful Rose of the Fatherland.

While Dr. Nguyen's cultural memoir represents a celebration of multi-ethnic confluences, at times his memoir highlights certain aspects of Vietnamese culture that are impossible to translate into an American context. Dr. Nguyen recounts his experience teaching English to a group of Vietnamese students in the 1950s, using a textbook containing words such as "tulips," "central heating," and "the tube"--words that imparted no concrete dimension to citizens of a tropical, then largely agrarian Vietnam. Conversely, Dr. Nguyen could not find any English word that captured the eccentric sensuality of certain Vietnamese fruits or dishes, such as mang cau, du du, banh chung, che dau xanh (custard apple, papaya, rice cake, mung bean pudding).

Tropical fruits and flowers as symbols and landscape signifiers exist throughout the book, creating a sense of Proustian nostalgia, a remembrance of things past that exists dominantly in the hearts and minds of overseas Vietnamese. Ultimately, Dr. Nguyen's cultural memoir represents a dual testament to mutability and survival. His memoir celebrates the endurance of the Vietnamese language through foreign domination, war and peace--enduring in its power to subvert the external into the internal, enduring in its ability to synthesize the cacophonous into the melodious whole. Toward the end of his book, Dr. Nguyen succinctly captures the wisdom of Nguyen Trai, a famous fourteenth century poet:

Let your children and grandchildren not worry about the meagerness of your assets, your poems and books as a treasure trove shall last ten generations !

It's not easy to go wrong with a book like this. Land of Sheba sets out to relate translated folk stories of Yemen, and succeeds. The short book gives us an insight to the heart of Yemeni peoples, their interests, desires, and needs. The stories certianly often wouldn't delight a Western reader, hoping for a particular moral or ending- but it's a different culture. Of particular interest is "Henna Leaf", a clearly-adapted Cinderella story told in a land where men can't see women, with a uniquely Yemeni twist. If you enjoy understanding other's viewpoints, I'd highly recommend this book.

From The Land Of Sheba: Yemeni Folk Tales is a simply outstanding anthology of some of the oldest stories, fables, and legends of human civilization. Nearly all of the stories are brief; though they carry the weight of history, author Carolyn Han smoothly retells them just as if they happened yesterday. A fascinating, timeless capture of Yemeni culture and traditions, as well as a superb addition to academic and community library folklore shelves.

This should be the primer for garden coffee-table books.

This book features gorgeous photos, a terrific representation of every area of the Adirondacks, interesting stories, and history on the gardens. I especially appreciated the background given for each garden, and the nice balance between historic gardens, personal gardens, and publics areas. I don't often rave, but this is just about everything I could want in a garden photo book.

Very beautiful and informative. Photo's are superb. Text is a well researched and fascinating history of gardens old and new. Keen gardener's eye and knowledge is evident throughout.