Middle East Books

I originally became interested in reading this book after my friend's professor mentioned some pieces in it. So as soon as I thought about it again and had a little extra money I went ahead and ordered it, my first exposure to something more than an article of Nibley's.

I feel shallow for saying this, but my favorite aspect of this book was that it was simply fun to read. I'm sort of a geek in the way that I like learning, and this is it. Nibley writes simpler than I would expected and as many pieces in here seem to have been speeches, the style is very conversational and I would almost say rambling--which only makes me respect the man even more. There is just something nice about a scholar who likes to reveal information rather than making a stiff report.

The work is literally divided into two pieces: specifics of the temple concept, modern and ancient; and temple themes of the gospel. Some chapters are more random than others, but all are fascinating due to Nibley's thorought research and sharp mind.

Nibley is indeed a scholar, but that does not mean there isn't a healthy dose of faith in here--which probably makes this more applicable to the LDS folk. Rather than a dump of research, I would say this is more to the respect of educated observations.

All in all, a great, fascinating read.

I have loved this book for years. Hugh Nibley was not only a brilliant man, a great scholar, and a dedicated teacher; he also had the gift of being able to cut past all the endless intellectual distractions to focus on what is important. When I first read this book, frankly, I was blown away. There was so much richness about the temple that I did not know. However, more than all that are the essays and talks on what the implications of all this are for the way should live our life here with regard to what comes hereafter.

A temple is the House of the Lord and God uses it to teach, enrich, and endow the lives of his children. Brother Nibley is right that the temple is a scale model of the universe. It shows not only our place and purpose, but sets us on the correct path through teaching, covenants, and ordinances. Temples make eternity understandable and unite all ages of time in one eternal present with our Father. In this book we not only see what was restored with the Church through revelation, the author also shows us echoes (not sources) of the true teachings in ancient and pagan temples and ceremonies.

There are a wide range of essays on various aspects of the theme of the temple and the cosmos (the everything). In one of them, Brother Nibley even talks about science fiction and the gospel! It is full of interesting illustrations.

Hugh Nibley enriched my own appreciation of the temple through the essays and talks collected in this wonderful book. If you are interested in what he had to say on this important gospel topic, I recommend it to you. The author makes so many great points of so many details that are easy to miss that you will never be able to look at the temple the same way again. And opening your vision to seeing the world anew is what a great teacher does.

I'm no scholar, but I foind this book to be very readable and extremely stimulating. Nibley's thought is astounding. While a couple of his statements on science are now a tad dated, the thought itself is as sound as ever. The coverage of the essays in this volume is astounding--you name it. Nibley's thought is very helpful to all who wish to supplement faith with intellect

This book is amazing. Nibley's grasp of the subject matter is truly astounding. While it is true that Nibley is a mormon apologist, this work is not skewed like many of his other works. This is his best effort. Whether you are mormon or not this book brings up a lot of intersting similarities with almost every ancient religion and their temple type. Zoroastrian fire temples being the most notable exception. a pure joy to read.

Nibley does not go into depth concerning mormon temple ceremonies but many of the things he discuss will still be easily understood by the non-mormon reader. In addition, a large portion of the book is devoted to the actual structure of the temple as a microcosm of the universe. Also of note is his discusion of sacred vestments through the ages.

Often the scholarly become so involved in proving their thesis that they lose sight of where they are going. In other words they can't see the forest for the trees! Such is the case with Nibley's Temple and Cosmos. Although very informative and well documented, in his zeal to justify the existence of Mormon temples by showing many amazing similarities to temples and temple rituals of the past, he fails to notice that nearly all of his examples are from pagan cultures. Nibley proves well that the origin of Mormon temples is paganism. While the Mormon Church claims its origins stem from ancient Hebrew culture, any real evidence supporting such a claim is conspicuously absent from Nibley's book. ...Go figure!

This is not National Geographic stuff, but if you find that being able to combine war coverage from the eyes of soldiers with a documentary approach of photojournalism done by complete amateurs, then you will be impressed. The book takes pictures that our brave young men and women shot with a simple digital camera and turns them into life in Iraq for our armed forces. Sometimes it's humorous and sometimes it's serious, but all the time, it is real and from the eyes of soldiers.

I love it and I recommend it.

This book is great and would have recieved 5 stars instead of 4. But some of it was kinda cheesey. Like the pics of the guys girlfriend. Who cares?And some jerk standing in front of the flag with praying hands trying to look hard. That guy sucks. Other than that. The pics are great and show alot of emotion. That's the good part. Guy looking hard standing in front of the flag with prayin hands. Uh no. That guy sucks

THIS IS OUR WAR: A SOLDIERS' PORTFOLIO: SERVICEMEN'S PHOTOGRAPHS OF LIFE IN IRAQ is simply outstanding: it offers powerful and personal photos all taken by the men and women serving in Iraq, thus going beyond a reporter's outsider impressions to provide nearly three hundred images culled from tens of thousands GQ collected from servicemen and women. From everyday life to combat, all aspects of the Iraq experience are illustrated.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book is a remarkable look into the daily lives, trials, and hardships our troops in Iraq are facing. The beauty and truth in the images taken by soldiers is a priceless glimpse into our mission there that every American ought to see.

As I write this review, it is Memorial Day in the United States, a time for remembering those who have sacrificed in conflicts past and present in defense of the nation. We are currently engaged in a conflict, one like no other in many ways (however, I am reminded of the words of Anthony Swofford, who wrote 'Jarhead', that every war is different, and every war is the same). One of the differences of the war in Iraq is the ubiquitous nature of personal recording devices - virtually every soldier and marine on the ground there has a digital camera, a cell phone that takes pictures, a video camera, or other way of making a personal chronicle. This gives a remarkable view and insight into the daily life and work of those who are fighting in Iraq.

This book is a collection of these photos. They are not professional-quality photojournalistic spreads - quite a number of pictures are blurry, grainy, or otherwise lacking in what would be considered 'professional' aspects. However, what they lack in that regard is more than made up for in the individual power of the subjects - the subjects in this case being both the photographers and the photographed.

The pictures here show victory and defeat, as such comes in small and larger ways each day in Iraq. There is hope and there is despair, but above all there is humanity, and this book captures current history in its most basic raw form.

This book has no particular political bent - like many images and icons, those contained here will be subject to multiple interpretations. What I took most from this is the need to remember those in the pictures, and realise that these are people who, like me, hope for a time beyond the war, and that such a time may come soon. This book is a tribute to current day heroes.

Keneally vividly conjures up the dilemmas that the artist in a repressive regime faces. "The Tyrants Novel" alows the reader to fell the vise closing in on Alan Sheriff as he is forced to work with the regime that is destroying his homeland.

"The Tyrants Novel" avoids the stereotypical scenes of repression - physical abuse, direct threats - in order to spin a web of gnawing anguish. A few scenes in "The Tyrants Novel" will remain with me for years to come - not because they are rendered so graphically, but because they are presented in a plausible manner that makes them even more disturbing.

One thing that Keneally does is to give all of his characters - in what is clearly Iraq - Englich and Irish names. At first, this seems bizarre, but the sad fact is, westertn readers will more readily identify with characters named "McBrien", "Sarah" and "Andrew" than they will with "Abdul" and "Mohammed".

A great novel and one that has sent me serching out Keneally's other books.

In this novel within a novel, Australian author Thomas Keneally returns to the political themes which won him prizes for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Voices from the Forest, and Schindler's Ark. Keneally has always been at his best depicting ordinary people facing extraordinary pressures, especially from governments bent on totalitarian rule, and this contemporary allegory is no exception. Taking place in an unnamed oil-rich country in the Middle East ruled by a tyrant who calls himself Great Uncle, the novel centers on a man calling himself "Alan Sheriff," a short story writer given one month to write an "autobiographical novel" for which Great Uncle will take full credit. Sheriff, we learn in the opening chapter, is telling his story to a western journalist from a detention camp in an unnamed desert country, where he has languished for three years.

Keneally increases the impact and universality of the story through his clever use of western names. As Alan Sheriff tells the journalist, it is important for his credibility in the west that he be like a man you'd meet on the street, which is much easier with a name like Alan--"not, God help us, Said and Osama and Saleh. If we had Mac instead of Ibn." Alan believes his "saddest and silliest story" will interest Americans, despite the fact that his country and the US are now enemies.

Through Alan's story, the reader meets Mrs. Douglas, whose nephew, not careful enough of the pH level of Great Uncle's swimming pool, has been shot and hanged from the ramparts; Mrs. Carter, whose son has been missing for six years; Alan's beloved wife, Sarah Manners, an actress who has become unemployable; Matt McBride, another writer who becomes head of the Cultural Commission where he works for Great Uncle; and Louise James, an American who would like to get Sheriff to come to Texas as a visiting professor. All these characters contribute to a stunning conclusion as Sheriff tries to write the required novel.

Easily the best Keneally novel in over a decade, this serious and thoughtful novel has significant political ramifications. The characters are "ordinary people," much like the rest of us, caught in extreme situations, and Keneally builds up enormous suspense as the long tentacles of the tyrant grab everyone in their path. Though most readers will recognize the unnamed country and the tyrant, it is a tribute to Keneally that their specific identities are totally irrelevant to his themes and plot. The author makes it clear that a government's manipulation of the people's perceptions through staged events is not limited to the Third World. Mary Whipple

In this novel within a novel, Australian author Thomas Keneally returns to the political themes which won him prizes for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Voices from the Forest, and Schindler's Ark. Keneally has always been at his best depicting ordinary people facing extraordinary pressures, especially from governments bent on totalitarian rule, and this contemporary allegory is no exception. Taking place in an unnamed oil-rich country in the Middle East ruled by a tyrant who calls himself Great Uncle, the novel centers on a man calling himself "Alan Sheriff," a short story writer given one month to write an "autobiographical novel" for which Great Uncle will take full credit. Sheriff, we learn in the opening chapter, is telling his story to a western journalist from a detention camp in an unnamed desert country, where he has languished for three years.

Keneally increases the impact and universality of the story through his clever use of western names. As Alan Sheriff tells the journalist, it is important for his credibility in the west that he be like a man you'd meet on the street, which is much easier with a name like Alan--"not, God help us, Said and Osama and Saleh. If we had Mac instead of Ibn." Alan believes his "saddest and silliest story" will interest Americans, despite the fact that his country and the US are now enemies.

Through Alan's story, the reader meets Mrs. Douglas, whose nephew, not careful enough of the pH level of Great Uncle's swimming pool, has been shot and hanged from the ramparts; Mrs. Carter, whose son has been missing for six years; Alan's beloved wife, Sarah Manners, an actress who has become unemployable; Matt McBride, another writer who becomes head of the Cultural Commission where he works for Great Uncle; and Louise James, an American who would like to get Sheriff to come to Texas as a visiting professor. All these characters contribute to a stunning conclusion as Sheriff tries to write the required novel.

Easily the best Keneally novel in over a decade, this serious and thoughtful novel has significant political ramifications. The characters are "ordinary people," much like the rest of us, caught in extreme situations, and Keneally builds up enormous suspense as the long tentacles of the tyrant grab everyone in their path. Though most readers will recognize the unnamed country and the tyrant, it is a tribute to Keneally that their specific identities are totally irrelevant to his themes and plot. The author makes it clear that a government's manipulation of the people's perceptions through staged events is not limited to the Third World. Mary Whipple

THE TYRANT'S NOVEL is at once ingenious and innovative in its ability to mirror recent world history events without disclosing vital identities. While reading it is difficult to not think of current geopolitical events. When we first meet protagonist Alan Sheriff he is being held as a political prisoner in an undisclosed Western nation. While being interviewed by journalists Sheriff explains his tale of how he ended up in his current predicament and his former life in an anonymous nation suffering from U.S.-led oil embargo and is ruled by a ruthless dictator. As the narrative unfolds the similarities between Sheriff's home country and Saddam Hussein's Iraq is quite uncanny and difficult to overlook.

Sheriff was once a member of the elite middle class largely unaffected by the devasting economic repercussions of the oil embargo. But despite his social standings he has created a reputation for his literary skill he is ordered by the tyrant to write a novel about the chaos that has burdened his country to be published under the tyrants name and released in time for a forthcoming G7 summit. Sheriff's been provided a very short deadline and in order to complete this unthinkable task he must battle personal demons that plague him.

Thomas Keneally performs a superb job in creating this fast-paced thriller that failed to lose steam at any given time. I was immediately hooked by the opening paragraph and couldn't wait to reach the end. Recommended.

Thomas Keneally's The Tyrant's Novel opens in a refugee holding camp of sorts in a Western nation. The initial narrator tells a brief story of meeting one of the refugees held there, Alan Sheriff, who is seeking political asylum and whose story makes up much of this enjoyable novel. Alan was a very successful novelist, with an American publishing contract, in a fictional country that is a thinly-disguised contemporary Iraq. His life is ideal, or as much as that can be when living under a despot's rule, when it pretty much crumbles in front of his eyes. His beloved wife dies suddenly and he is subsequently 'asked' by the Great Uncle, the tyrant of his country (and a dead ringer for Saddam Hussein) to ghostwrite a novel for him. The request is not just for any novel, but one which is so wonderful and moving, one which so exposes the effects that economic sanctions are having on his country that the world's superpowers will be convinced to removed those sanctions. Part of what makes Keneally's novel so wonderful is that it is both a politcal novel and a novel about writing and the creative process. Keneally masterfully, seamlessly blends these two genres into an enjoyable whole. The novel is at once a politcal allegory and a story of symbolic writer's block. It is an excellent, heart-breaking story, well-done and compelling. Enjoy.

Almost a quarter of a century after he lost his throne Mohammad Reza Shah ¨Pahlavi remains at the centre of Iranian politics.
This book by Iran's leading journalist is the best on the late Shah because it reveals both the weakenesses ( all human) and the strengths of Pahlavi during his 37 year long reign.
At the same time this book could be read like a novel, full of twists and turns.
Rivniz Bibarg

As Iran comes under the limelights as the next candidate for regime change in the Middle East,anyone interested in the complex politics of that region could do no better than read this fascinating biography.
But even if a reader is not interested in politics , this book would still be a treasure trove as an enjoyable read.
The author, sympathetic to the Shah although never forgetting his shortcomings, shows that the Shah was a good man in a bad time.
Taheri compares the Shah to the wizard in the Wizard of Oz who says at the end of the film, when he is discovered, : I am not a bad man, just a bad wizard!
But even that may be a bit unkind.
Was Muhammad Reza Pahlavi a bad Shah?
Taheri does not believe so, and may be reflecting the sentiments fomented against the Shah by years of propaganda by his enemies.
The book shows that what the Shah offered Iran was the best deal posisble at the time.
As Iran braces for change it may still be the best deal it can get today.
A.Keame

The Iranian students who demonstrate against the mullahs in Tehran arebeginningto feel nostalgia about the time of the Shah. Many of these students were not even born when the Shah left his country for good, allowing the mullahs to take over.
This book, now also available in samizdat version in Persian, is certain to feed that nostalgia.
But the book's purpose and ambition seem to be grander.
The author is trying to show that the program that the Shah offered for Iran was the only realistic one, and remains the most attractive one today.
Personally I disagree with that thesis. But I liked this book because it is well written and sheds light on many dark spots of Iranian history.
A READER IN TEHRAN

A generation ago the last Shah of Iran was seen by most people as a dictator engaged in some of the most complex politics of the Cold War.
In this book, however, we discover a fragile man, caught in the counter currents of a violent history.
It is as if someone re-wrote Macbeth to turn the principal character into Hamlet.
Which of the Shah's images was true? May be both. And the author of this book is careful enough to narrate in some detail some of the worst aspects of a 37-year long rule.The tragedy sufffered by the Iranian people since the fall of the Shah is only darkly hinted at.
In the end what counts is that this book is a fantastic read. It gives the reader a deeper insight into human character.
A READER, Paris, France

I read this biography of the late Shah of Iran after I had read a biography of the man who deposed him: Ayatollah Khomeini.
Both biographies are written by Iranian journalist Amir Taheri who seems to have known the two men personally.
When I told my Iranian friend that I found the two, the Shah and Khomeini, to be twins, he was shocked.
He wanted to know: How could I compare a monster like Khomeini with a moderate modernizer like the Shah?
But Taheri shows that the two men emerged from the same culture of violence and hatred.
Khomeini was an orphan who wished to take revenge on the world. The Shah was a shyster who dreamed of becoming a dictator.
I know that Iranians are divided between those who think Khomeini was a saint and those who adore the Shah as the symbol of all that was good in Iran.
As an outsider, however,I can see how the Iranian people were cuaght between the two forms of despotism that the two men represented.
The book on Khomeini has a faster pace and is generally more fun to read. This is why I read it twice. But the book on the Shah also merits at least one close reading.WV

America's Conscience
Bernadette T. Vadurro

Whether you support or oppose the so-called Neo-Conservatives in American government, this is a book well worth reading, guaranteed to be eye-opening, cage-rattling, and pointedly informative from page to page. This is not the angst-driven opinionated rant we see so often in books about the American scene. Moving coolly and rapidly through some very complex and turbulent subject matter, America's Conscience is a stimulating analysis of the rise of the political movement which has swept the halls of power in Washington DC, and has committed our future to extreme peril in pursuit of a world American hegemony.

Though this analysis is focused to reveal the movement clearly, and to show the author's viewpoint, it is not biased, or burdened with personal views. It is researched, documented, and footnoted like a Masters thesis (or so I would presume, as I don't hold the degree). As a literary work, it is trimmed and sleek, and with its many tight sidebars, it enables the reader to absorb a lot of information in a very fast read.

Those who agree with the fundamental axioms and objectives of the Neo-Conservative movement, in both domestic and foreign matters, will likely be pleased to see so well documented how deliberately, and for how long a relatively small association of colleagues have been working to bring about events which have forever changed our world. They will be pleased to know those patriots do not hesitate to use whatever means, methods, or misinformations are necessary to accomplish what they have begun.

Those who disagree will likely find reason in these pages to consider the Neo-Cons to be a gluttonous cabal of military-industrialists who have wrapped themselves in the Flag and seduced both Christians and Jews into getting into bed with them, who have lied to the Congress, the press, and the people to enable their agenda, and who have committed the lives and fortunes of all of us to that militant global marketing campaign. They will be astonished to see how openly this fraternity of political extremists and industrialists has been declaring its ideology and systematically acting to bring about a world objective, of which the war in Iraq is only one step, and control of the American mind by market manipulation through a symbiotic media monopoly is only one tool.

In America's Conscience, Bernadette Vadurro focuses the spotlight on the motivation and actions of this small but powerful group of leaders, like Toto drawing back the curtain to reveal who has been pulling the strings and giving the orders. Even so, it is neither an indictment nor a call for opposition. It is an invitation, an exhortation to examine certain things closely and realistically, and then to decide for yourself how to best respond to what they reveal, in the most positive and productive manner you can. As an exhortation to those who, like myself, I confess, have felt politically disenfranchised and socially disconnected, her message is refreshingly optimistic.

James Nathan Post
Postscript Publishing Company www.postpubco.com

Bernadette Vadurro's, "America's Conscience" is a remarkable book. Ms. Vadurro was brought up in a family where political discussion at the dinner table was the "blue plate special." Moreover, she was encouraged to question what she had seen, heard, and was being told by the media. This is how one becomes an informed citizen able to separate the truth from the spin and then make a cogent critique of the propaganda that is spoon fed by the media as "news."

"America's Conscience" is a remarkable book becasue predicated on this process that combines objectivity with critical analysis Ms. Vadurro, like Nietzsche and Kierkegaard found in their day, has discovered that when one strips the veneer of deceit and lies from social institutions, particularly political ones, all that is left is rot. It is not surprising that when Ms. Vadurro applies this process to neoconservativism and the Bush Administration the stench of rot is unbearable.

In a clear, concise, and cogent manner Ms. Vadurro creates a framework and then builds upon it an argument that exposes neoconservativism and the Bush Administration for what it is: a myopic, truncated, self-aggrandizing movement that has hijacked both America and what it means to be an American. She then clearly illustrates specifically how this happened and the disastrous result for not only America and Americans but for the entire world.

"America's Conscience" is the voice of Ms. Vadurro calling each of us back to the vision of the Founding Fathers as expressed in the Constitution of the United States of America. As such, she echoes the voice of Thomas Paine who understood that freedom, true freedom, requires more than "Summertime soldiers and Sometime patriots." True freedom exacts, in Pain's words, "a dear price."

In Chapter 20 of "American's Conscience" Ms. Vadurro challenges us to become full time soldiers and full time patriots. She challenges us to pay the "dear price" and return America to the vision of the Founding Fathers.

I most highly recommend "America's Conscience" as a book that in the words of Sir Frances Bacon everyone, "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest."

Bernadette Vadurro has provided a wealth of detailed information and its my hope that this excellent book will be read all over America. America's Conscience, provides the information essential for an informed electorate. An informed electorate is critical, for without it democracy cannot possibly fulfill its potential.

As Lincoln said, "Democracy is government of the people by the people." That means citizens comprise the government and it is political leaders who are elected to be servants of the people.

There can be no excuse for ignorance. It is ignorance that has allowed power to defer to a sophisticated, arrogant, dishonest and exceptionally dangerous administration. It is time people woke up before its too late. American Conscience is the place to start.

The Bush administration, the entire neocon cabel, and sadly, the response of the American people themselves--has had a profoundly negative impact across the planet. The tired and hungry of the world have looked to America with its promise of justice and freedom for all, and found it wanting.

I'm deeply concerned for it seems, barring some drastic changes, the world is headed into a profoundly unsafe state, where extremism becomes the norm and violence a way of life.

Bernadette, provides an unflinching examination of what is transpiring in her country and calls upon her fellow citizens to reclaim the promise of their nation, to hold political leaders to account and thereby bring about the required course correction--not just for the United States, but for the impact it has on the rest of the world as well.

Colin D. Mallard.

Jam packed into this 20 chapter gem of a book are maps, charts, pie graphs and detailed source references to enable the average lay person to coherently challenge the faux news on Fox and the entertainment posing as "info"-tainment news on every other Main Stream Media television outlet.

This fact-filled first edition will forcefully arm your brain to Fight Against "Spin". Stash a copy into your daily backpack arsenal or heavy-hitting handbag, then go out to "Preach the Truth"! (Want PROOF: check out Chapter *9*, Spin, Baby, Spin.)

A MUST HAVE book ... purchase, read, share, keep in your library at home, and DEMAND a copy at the library in your hometown or your school.

I just sent "America's Conscience" to a young lady in California as a special occasion gift upon her "party promotion" in a State political organization!

As author Bernadette Vadurro writes in Chapter *20*, World Redemption: "Where do we begin to redeem the good name and honor of our nation?" I say let's start RIGHT HERE. Let us begin by reading and sharing both the knowledge and the ideas outlined in, "America's Conscience: Facing Threats to Democracy, the Middle Class and Our World."

Bernadette T. Vadurro's "America's Conscience" is a great place to start reading for anyone who is just becoming aware that the neoconservative power structure that has orchestrated George Bush's presidency serves neither Americans nor the rest of the world well. And it's a valuable resource for readers who, already aware, would benefit from having facts, figures, sources, and resources at their fingertips in a single volume.

The author has organized and assembled a dizzying volume of information, documented each of the twenty chapters with notes, and provided the reader with wide-angle views of everything from endless war to those elusive WMDs; from spinning stories to outright lies; from quieting dissent to an often lazy media; from who gives money to whom to the impact of the contributions. And more.

Transcending the extremists on the political left and right who don't let research or fact interfere with their respective agendas, Vadurro constructs her argument with reason, backs it with documentation, and, in my reading, essentially asks Americans, "Is this what you want?"

"America's Conscience" provides intelligent, concerned and open-minded American citizens, regardless of political affiliation or lack thereof, with verifiable evidence to back up the cliched, but nevertheless accurate slogan, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

The author has paid and is paying attention. Her book calls on the rest of us to do the same.

this is a great book for children. there are lots of fun activity's as, well as alot of info. your children and you will find many interesting things to do. if you have children you will want to buy this book.

This is a gem of a book.As an educator and child psychologist(and parent!),I welcome this exceptional addition to the literary field.Though its defined audience is 9-12 I found ANCIENT EGYPTIANS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS;AN ACTIVITY GUIDE full of ideas and interesting facts.I admit I did not attempt the activities,but the text itself is exceptional--thoughtful and beautifully written as well as meticulously researched.Broida concentrates on four ancient neighboring cultures revealing what their lives were like.The activities give the child an opportunity to become part of these cultures, greatly enriching the reading experience.Let's hope this is only the first of a series.Congratulations to a talentd,innovative and intelligent author.

We use "Our Young Folks' Josephus" as our primary history spine which mentions all these cultures as they relate to Israel. What I like best about this book is that it covers cultures that are often not well represented in other books of this type, particularly the Nubians, Mesopotamians and Hittites. There are many craft activity guides available for Egypt, but nothing that I know of for these other cultures. The crafts are really well thought out and a lot of fun to do. They also have a lot of real learning value and are not just play. Our family highly recommends this book for the study of Ancient cultures.

So much more interesting than a textbook for our homeschool study of ancient history! This book covers not only the familiar Egyptian civilization but also several lesser-known yet equally important ones to whom we owe a great deal. For example, the Babylonians gave us our first written laws; the Sumerians gave us writing and the first real cities; the fierce Hittites discovered how to work iron. Children will remember what they learn in this book because the text is accompanied by recipes, crafts, and other activities. I recommend the Hittite Hummus myself.

This book introduces four cultures : the Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, the Nubians and the Hittites. The author accurately presents aspects of these civilizations such as history, geography, architecture, clothing, food, religion, writing and labor. Children will enjoy themselves and become part of these ancient worlds by easily following the instructions of the activities. These include constructing a boat, cooking ancient food, creating clothes, and writing on clay. All in all, it is a fun and informative book for children ages 9 to 12.

Contrary to other information, this book is a good neutral source to the history of the middle east in maps.

The book does not take a stand on the issue of what land was and was not promised to arabs during the first world war. Anyone who claims they found an easy answer to that question in this atlas is misrepresenting the material.

Further maps show patterns of Jewish popluation growth. But none of the maps claim to show: 1) the price at which the land was sold, 2) that Palestine was a waste land, 3) the motives for land sales to Jews during the mandate and pre-mandate period.

Other maps show conficts between the communities within what is now Israel. They show a pattern of consistant and growing resistance of local people (palestinians) to the creation by force of a Jewish State around their homes.

The book also does not claim that Transjordan was ever a part of any intended jewish homeland, consistant with history. Any suggestion that the league of nations had ever sought to incorporate lands east of the jordan river into a jewish state is false. See the text of the mandate, the discussions of the negotiation of the mandate...etc. It is further false and not suggested by the book that the 1920-21 riots by palestinians against the mandate ended any jewish immigration.

The atlas shows the growing violence between palestinians and jewish settlers throughout the mandate period. What maps cannot show however are movements among the settlers to economically exclude all arabs from their lives. Movements such as hebrew labor which attempted to create economic segregation within palestine are not easily shown in maps.

The facts as shown by the book are that Palestinians resisted the creation of the mandate and a jewish homeland since the start. And that as the pace of jewish migration increased, violence and resistance increased in parallel. And throughout the mandate period there were deaths on both sides. The book also clearly shows the increasing violence that ended in civil war in 1948.

The peel commission did not find that Jerusalem was a predominatly jewish city. But it did use the example of the forced removal of greeks from Turkey in 1922 to suggest all non-jews be removed by force from the jewish state proposed by the Peel Commission. During the late 1930s, the Palestinians insisted on one country for all people. Every British proposal for division of the country involved large-scale explusions of Palestinians and a continuation of british rule over a large part of the remaining land (so-called international rule).

The book finally shows the war of 1948 and its disasterous results for palestinians. The flight of palestinians away from their homes during the war, the destruction of their villages by Israel and Israeli massacres like Dier Yassein of Palestinians are all shown in great detail. It also shows the patterns of settlement following the 1967 occupation of the west bank and gaza.

And while some will use the book to apportion blame, its better to look at the book and get a sense of who has lost what. Palestine, in 1921 was denied national existance and turned over to the british for colonization by europeans. In 1948, Democratic Israel was created by driving what would now be a non-jewish majority out of their homes within the new state of Israel. And after 1967, the clear intent of the Israelis to take all the land through settlements is more than visible.

Beyond that, arguments about what might have been in 1937 are utterly worthless today. The situation is that a huge population of Palestinians today lives in the west bank under Israeli military rule with no rights. That situation must change if there is to be peace. 1948 cannot be undone anymore than 1917 can be undone. But rather than apportion blame or point fingers or rehash the past, what needs to be done is to find a way to give the palestinians in the occupied territories a national state once and for all.

History can provide a source of facts, but it cannot make a peace. Peace can only be made by looking at the grim reality of the current situation and finding a solution.

Professor Gilbert may know more about this subject than any other scholar, and despite some inherent difficulties has reconstructed geographical areas with great precision. Even those who disagree with his views (occasionally expressed in the explanatory captions) must acknowledge the consumate scholarship underlying his maps--which have no "attitudes," only facts.

Very informative. Gives a good understanding of the conflict by one of the best historians alive right now. Buy it.

My 1993 edition of this classic reference contains 147 maps imparting great wisdom, and a depth of understanding rarely presented in the evening news. Only three maps concern periods before the twentieth century. The third shows the Turkish conquerors' vilayet re-districting of the Holy Land in 1888, plus areas of Arab-Jewish conflict during the last three decades of Ottoman rule.

The book's fourth map clearly outlines the areas excluded in 1915 from the independence promised by the British to the Arabs, and requested by Hussein of Mecca for Arab cantons. Neither side mentioned southern Palestine, the Mutasarriflik of Jerusalem or the Jewish people--at all.

Further maps also evidence the eagerness of Arab property owners to sell waste land to Jewish settlers at very high prices, for very large tracts were made available.

Still others show the locations of Arab attacks on Jewish communities beginning in 1882. Through 1914, bands of Arabs assaulted at least 10 Jewish settlements between Jaffa and Jerusalem and in the Jezreel Valley.

From 1920 on, the maps show progressively more attacks, in which Arab assailants destroyed the new landowners' forests, wheat fields, orange groves and cattle, burned and stoned their shops and factories--and murdered unarmed Jews.

A March 1920 attack by a large number of Halsa Arabs on the Jews in Tel Hai killed six; an April 1920 attack on B'nai Yehuda killed one. In May 1921, Arab riots prompted Britain, the League of Nations' trustee of all Middle Eastern Mandates, to end Jewish immigration and "close settlement of the land" throughout Transjordan, both of which the League had sought, with Arab approval, only a few years earlier. Only these attacks, and the Arab 1929 riots that killed 20 Jewish children and elders in Safed, 7 in Hacarmel, 6 in Motza, 1 in Hulda, 6 in Tel Aviv, 2 in Beer Toviya--and 59 in Hebron-- persuaded previously passive Jewish farmers to take up arms, thereby defying British prohibitions against Jewish self-defense.

The fact is, Arab riots occurred well in advance of Israel's creation. They took scores of Jewish civilian lives. And then (in 1921)--as now--the only Arabs killed by Jews were killed in counter-attacks that followed the initial Arab assaults.

All this shows clearly on the maps readers reach page 14.

From here, the pictorials exhibit the precise dimensions of the 1936 Arab riots, with one page devoted to each of four months. The casualties to Jewish life and property were massive and nationwide. More riots in 1937 and 1938 followed.

Most enlightening of all, however, are those maps detailing the various partition plans over the years. The first of these, which the Jewish people accepted, and the Arabs rejected, was the 1937 Peel Commission proposal. The Peel Commission envisioned a tiny Jewish State, an L-shaped affair perhaps 6 or 8 miles-wide along the Mediterranean coast, from south of Rehovot to a few miles north of Acre with a northern corridor no more than 30 miles deep running from the coast, and inland on a border south of Afula to Beit Shean. Even this, the Jewish people accepted, and Arabs rejected.

But the Peel proposal was most remarkable for something else it inherently acknowledged: Jerusalem was not a "traditionally Arab city," as modern-day news repeatedly misinforms us. Its population--which was centered in the Old City--was predominantly Jewish. Christians and Muslims were minorities.

Thus the Peel Commission assigned Jerusalem, Bethlehem and a roughly oval-shaped area surrounding them, to an international trust to be managed by Britain for the League of Nations.

When that plan foundered on the Arab refusals, two subsequent 1938 partition plans proposed assigning even larger areas to the international trust. The more significant of the pair was the British Woodhead plan, as it was none too sympathetic to Zioninsts. Nevertheless, Woodhead expanded the international area encompassing Jerusalem and Bethlehem to include "traditionally Arab Ramallah" as well.

It is a lot more difficult after consulting this book, to lay blame for the Arab Israeli conflict solely on Israel's doorstep. The pictures tell the story. While the Camp David II final settlement offered in 2000 and 2001 is not shown, the book does contain maps of the "peace enclaves" as the future Palestinian Authority areas were then called. Moreover the later proposals almost seem unnecessary, given the illustrations of intense anti-Jewish attacks that began even before Israel was a state.

In short, Israel could and would have been much smaller than it is today if only Arabs had in 1937 accepted any Jewish state. They didn't, although none of the current issues even existed in 1937. But then, they had begun attacking Jewish farmers decades before Israel had any borders at all. These points are very telling indeed.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

The Arab-Israeli conflict is a fiercely debated topic with numerous accusations constantly being thrown back and forth. For someone just beginning to study the Arab-Israeli conflict, it can be overwhelming. This book is a collection of maps drafted by a professional cartographer to show the real dimensions of treaties, ceasefires, boycotts, and other historical moments in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Would you like to know exactly which land the Oslo Agreements included?

Would you like to know which parts of the Middle East belonged to biblical Israel?

Would you like to know which parts of Britain's Palestine Mandate they forbid Jews to dwell or buy land on?

This resource can answer all those question and more graphically showing you the exact boundaries of, countries involved in, and other important aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. I particularly found this resource helpful in disputing allegations by people that "such-and such a percentage" of the land was to be given up in a treaty such as the original U.N. plan for Palestine or under the Oslo Agreements. After showing my fellow debater the actual maps, the arguments were ended since I was in possession of hard fact thanks to this fine reference book.

Sir Martin Gilbert is a well-acclaimed British scholar, who has written numerous titles in the Historical Atlas series, extensively written about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and was also officially appointed to write the biography of Sir Winston Churchill.

I have reviewed the 1984 Fourth Edition, but several editions have since come out with updated information and additional maps to reflect more recent developments. I recommend getting the most recent edition available.

I highly recommend this outstanding resource for anyone studying the Arab-Israeli conflict, whether pro-Arab or pro-Israeli.

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

Haykal does a good job of detailing the rise and fall of Anwar Sadat. For those in the know, when Sadat was assassinated, few of the populace mourned the passing of this great man. He led the Arabs to victory, and he made a great gamble and went to Jerusalem to seek peace. The peace dividend did not amount to much, and the Israelis used Sadat to some extent.
Haykal who is a prominent journalist in Egypt details the conditions in Sadat's Egypt. They were conditions which were similar to the Shah's Iran. Both Christians and Muslims were very discontented. The IMF wanted food subsidies to go down which caused rioting in the streets. Parliament, journalists, and the bureaucrats were muzzled. Haykal details this in the majority of the book.
The last two sections of the book deal with the unrest and assasination of Sadat. I was not in full agreement with what the author stated in the summary. He detailed how Sadat gave in to an imperial Israel who was trying to dominate the region. I felt like saying give me a break. He stated that Israel was the main terrorist in the region. Of course that would explain how Palestinians like to hijack aircraft and blow things up. This is the typical poor Arab, bad Jew views expressed in most Arab areas. It is not objective and does not hold up to the available evidence.
Sadat was human. He broke the mode by choosing peace rather than endless war. He had democratic tendencies, but he was an authoritarian leader. This book pointed out all Sadat's weaknesses but also gave this man credit for what he did. Muslim fundamentalist terrorists killed this great man, but Haykal points out that if he was not killed, he might have been overthrown. I have read Sadat's autobiography In Search of Identity, but reading this book gives a more balanced view of this great man.

The renowned journalist M. H. Haykal has written a book that explains the fall of Anwar el Sadat, both physically (by his death) and psychologically(the collapse of Arab Nationalism and dignity). This book explains the life of Sadat, his rise to power, his various faults, his policies that crushed Arab nationalism, and finally his death on the hands of one his own soldiers. This book is extremely debatable,however, the views expressed are neutral and the facts clearly outlined. This book has the answer to any Arab wishing to know why the Arab nationalism collapsed after Nasser's death. I recommend this book, as it is informative and extremely lucid and vibrant in manner. Haykal proves that his style is irresistable.

This book is a must read,to anybodyinterested in the Sadat era.It comes from a famous journalist,who is close to power in many countries,and with sources of information that are full of intrigue.A very realistic book,loaded with facts,and analysis...it gives youthe answer to what happened on theday of october 6th 1981,why did ittake place,and why the end had to belike this.i highly recommend this book,thankyou Mr. haykal

HI THERE...I LIKE TO SAY THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I READ THIS BOOK, IT AMAZED ME BY THE DETAILS IT PROVIDES AND HOW EASY IT IS TO COMPREHEND THE CONTENT OF THE BOOK...IT MADE GET MORE INTERESTED IN THE MIDDLE EAST ..I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO KNOW THE FACTS AS THEY ARE .

This book is one of the best if you are interested about egypt's recent history...it comes from a great writer..and at the same timesomeone who's been close to all parties involved in the story. Full of secret details, relatesfacts together..and makes alot ofsensable interptation of well knownbut poorly understood incidents. This book is a must have.i personally read it more than 11 timesi highly recommend it.

In addition to a taut thriller, this masterpiece of plot, timing and description spreads into the world of international tennis, where it scores ace after ace. Lewis is a master writer. Having enjoyed OPAL EYE DEVIL and SAMSARA, I approached this change of pace with trepidation. Not to worry, however, Lewis handles conflicting Middle Eastern tensions with the same intelligence and understanding he shows in the South China Sea. And with such flair. A totally satisfying read!

This espionage mystery is a thrill a minute.A real page-turner set in the explosive Middle East.Spy on spy in the fast paced world of professional tennis.The charachters were deadly and attractive and the action was riveting.Once I picked it up,I coudn't put it down!

Basha was one of the greatest books i have ever read. For someone who is looking for a fascinating thriller and finds the events of the middle east riveting this is a must read......

Basha is a very well written, fast paced thriller, that you will not put down. Knowledgeably written, with a sense of characters, politics and an intriguing area of the world.

BASHA hooked me from the first sentence on. When I finished reading the last word, I closed the book and whispered "Wow." This is the best thriller I've ever read.
An avid reader.

"You enter Ivy House through a screened-in porch, where you can while away the time relaxing after a ride, reading, visiting with other guests, or simply enjoying the peace and quiet. Proceeding into the living area, you'll find comfortable green wicker furniture beneath a ceiling fan that diffuses the fresh breezes off Lake Erie." (Ivy House, Marblehead, Ohio)

Such carefully crafted descriptions abound in this recently published guidebook. The authors, a Toledo-based couple, lodged, dined and biked at 27 bed-and-breakfasts throughout Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. What resulted from their adventures and strict attention to detail is a very thorough and thoroughly interesting guide to the best of biking and lodging in America's Heartland.

The Midwest, especially Ohio, especially, have a tradition of friendliness to bicyclists. It is only fitting, then, that Ohioans have created this latest addition to the Anacus Press Bed, Breakfast, and Bike Series. Co-author Theresa Russell has written frequently on bicycle touring and is currently completing a guide to cycling Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

The truth about the Midwest is that much of it is not flat. Accordingly, the Russells cover inns and nearby bike routes in lands of giant hills (Southern Ohio), valleys, rolling terrain, lakefronts and, of course, plains. One bike route even includes a ferry and an island (Kelley's Island in Lake Erie).

While the appearance and menu of each inn are described in perfect detail, biking content for each is plentiful and handy. Lodging rates reveal many inns that are pleasing to the purse as well as the eye. All of this information is critical for those planning weekend bike getaways but not planning on any surprises.

What does pleasantly surprise the reader, however, is the variety of accommodations (one is a sternwheeler riverboat, for petesake) and the listings of not one, but two, suggested bike routes from each inn. Most routes are comfortably under 50 miles.

But the most pleasant surprise is the final chapter listing 18 recipes shared by inn hosts along the way. Culinary delights range from "Blueberry-Walnut Coffeecake" to "Hash Brown Quiche." Treats for the palate, yes, but also excellent fuel for a hearty morning of Midwest bicycle touring.

While my big behind has never been balanced on a bicycle seat, I thoroughly enjoyed..and benefited from..my reading of Bed, Breakfast sand Bike Midwest, by Robert and Theresa Russell. The Russells have combined descriptive prose with precise information in their well researched work. When I visit the Midwest in the fall, I will be well armed with all the facts I need to make considered decisions in re: my accommodations. And, between now and September, should I be overtaken by the spirit of the winner of the Tour De France, (highly unlikely), I will be well apprised of routes to take, locations of bike shops, landmarks, sights to see, and all other information required to expedite a safe and engaging bike tour. On the other hand, should "the spirit" elude me, (highly likely), I will know just where to go to get a tasty breakfast of "Dutch Babies" and other goodies. All in all, a tasty read.

How can you not like a book that inter-mixes snippets from Voltaire, Chief Tecumseh and the local innkeeper with nitty-gritty facts? The Russells thought of everything. They detail biking routes down to a tenth of a mile, grade them as to severity, even include dirctions to the nearest bike shop. The descriptions of inns and innkeepers reflect the differing personalities of the various lodgings. I've stayed at several; the Russells' reports are unerringly accurate; I can't wait to try the rest. In fact, the inns are sound so delicious that I bought a copy of the book for my non-biking but B & B-loving aunt!

What a great book-- well researched and a very interesting, easy read.

Not being familiar with the B & B's in the Midwest I spent a days beer allowance (in what I hoped would be a good investment) to learn about the area, the accommodations, and the trails. I can only imagine the voluminous research that went into the investigation of the various places mentioned in the book by the Russell's.

For anyone considering biking or staying in a B&B in the Midwest do yourself a favor-buy this book-even if you have to give up a week's beer allowance.

Thanks to the Russell's -write some more on other areas.

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I just picked up a copy of Bed, Breakfast and Bike Midwest and thought it was absolutely the best book on that subject I have ever read!! I was thrilled to have found it and recommend it to anyone wanting to know about B & B's and biking in the Midwest! I first heard of it from listening to "Travel World Radio" on WPBR in West Palm Beach and ran out immediately to find it. At first, I thought I'd just sit in the bookstore writing down notes but once I took a closer look at it, I bought it immediately and won't even loan it out!! As an avid biker and lover of cozy bed and breakfasts, I found the contents to be thorough, accurate, fun-filled and entertaining!! I used it to plan my Ohio vacation and had the best time in ten years!! Please...Robert and Theresa...write another one about another part of the world. I'd love to see one about biking and B & B's in Mexico!! Perhaps the Mexican Government would help you out with research or even fund part of it!! THey can definitely call me for a recommendation!! Congrats on a job well done!!