Middle East Books

This is a great book for those who would like to understand how the Middle East really works and thinks. It contains information not readily published about America's challenges in the region. It looks forward to what we can expect from this area and gives an understanding of why and what we are doing there now. Mr. Robison's experience there, working with military, intelligence, and business sources along with his love and knowledge of the cultures of the area, give this book depth and breath not found in other publications. A great read for anyone who really wants to understand our involvement in the area. I gained a completely new understanding of our challenges, opportunities and risks as he explained them from the perspective of the power, governments, culture, and history of the people there.

The MIDDLE EAST WAR PROCESS is easily understood by the lay reader, yet interesting and informative to anyone working in or studying the Middle East. The book provides new, unusual and little-known facts explaining America's challenges and long-term problems in the region. The United States has shouldered a long-term commitment in the region that will last for generations. The MIDDLE EAST WAR PROCESS offers insights into ways to make this transition less painful, if we will learn from the past.

With American interest in the Middle East at an all time high, The MIDDLE EAST WAR PROCESS is an insightful and interesting book.

I found this book easy to read and very informative. The writer explains in lay man terms why the Middle East is so relevant to America's interests. In addition, he explains that there is a "war process" in the Middle East as oppossed to a "peace process" (a quote from Shimon Peres if I recall correctly).

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a fresh, interesting, and personal analysis of the situation in the Middle East.

I had the opportunity to interview Richard Robison for a two-part article in Utah Spirit Magazine (March & April 2004), and in the process I read "War Process." I found a thoughtfulness that only nearly a quarter century in the Middle East could deliver, an insight that only a CIA case officer could gain, and the kind of read that only a master storyteller could create.

The message of the book is tactful, but very forward. Robison loves the Middle East, its culture and people, but he doesn't let that stop him when it comes to calling a spade a spade. The pages of "War Process" contain many elements of U.S.-Mideast foreign policy that readers won't currently find in mainstream media. For instance, Robison examines the Islamic "taqiya," where "a lie is not a lie," and also how terrorists often exploit the idea that "Americans don't bleed well" to create incredibly damaging attacks on American forces and civilians.

"Fear the man who has little to loose," Robison warns.

Robison also spends a great deal of time examining the gap and overlap between Islamic and American cultures. He uses many personal experiences to show how little known parts of Islamic culture, when overlooked, can create a great embarrassment and, in some instances, a great divide. He also explains how popular American culture with all of its tantalizing skin and revealing clothing has become the perfect recruitment tool for terrorists.

He offers an interesting insight into why the US went into Iraq, even toying with the idea that America might have had some part encouraging the first Iraq war. And however incredible such a claim might seem, Robison was there as part of the Gulf War Task Force, something that few others can claim. He was there.

Robison says that America is in the Middle East to stay. It has little to do with the price of oil, and yet it has everything to do with the security of oil. For the answers, Robison says, look to China, its increasing dependence on oil, and a future conflict that many intelligence experts (both American and Chinese) say is inevitable. America is in the Middle East to place a firm hand on the spigot---a tactic similar to one that America employed against Japan in WWII.

The book is beefy with ideas, but it can be read fast. Robison keeps the info simple and critical, never wasting his readers' time.

I absolutely recommend "War Process." Readers will find that many of the more cryptic reports in the world press more revealing. There's a lot to miss out there when, as Robison said during the interview, "you don't know what questions to ask."

I concur with the other reviewers - a thorough and interesting book.

I am an avid reader of books about religion and political science, and am most concerned with the impact of religion on a nation's policies and politics. Dr. Wickham's book is the most interesting and profound book on modern Islam I have read. She has the ability to allow the reader to understand Islam from the inside out and therefore to make sense of what we Westerners often feel is not logical. The author held my attention from beginning to end with a style that was both interesting and informative. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about Islam and it's impact on the United States and the world today.

Too often Islam as a comprehensive systme of life is overshadowed by the comparatively few but dangerous terroriist individuals and organizations. Though I am not a Muslim, I do think that the Western perceptions toward Islam and Islamism is excessively biased and near-sighted. And more often than not, people are hung up on analyzing the radical extremist aspects of Islamism, or the politics of the movement.

This excellent book by Rosefsky Wickham does not provide answers to the whole notion of Islam being 'opposed' to the West, or the debate about whether Islamic countries can become democratized 'like us'.

It is more focused on the deeper, underlying social movements that propel Islamism in Egypt, the people/organization/methods through which the religious movement has gained ground. She also examines how this change takes place, via what she calls "transvaluation". It's a nice departure made from the conventional obsession with the violence and the need to 'save' the Muslims under Islamic autocrats.

The narrative she provides does not use the normal political science jargon and is an enjoyable academic read. I found it quite refreshing.

This book is an excellent account of the rise of the most important opposition movement in Egypt since the 1952 revolution. While its discussion of the last 8 years is unfortunately a bit truncated, this is probably one of the best texts out there to study a major islamic political movement in its proper context. What the author successfully does is not only take the study of social movements outside of its standard western milieu, but also look at the critical role ideology plays in mobilizing particular segments of the population to support and join a (r)evolutionary movement.

While political economy explanations can show the context that leads to the creation of a potential audience for a message of social justice and transformation of society from below, it doesn't explain why people would do so when the costs of such action in an authoritarian country are so high. Usually survival is the paramount concern of most in society outside the coopted elite, unless an opportunity for change occurs. But such was not the case in Egypt in the 1970s and 80s, not one sufficiently great in and of itself anyway, to mobilize the disaffected semi elite who did join and became the backbone of the Brotherhood. What was needed also was a message of hope, social justice, and fairness, and that message was supplied by moderate political islam. The opportunity of course was facilitated by the traditional failure not only of the state's own neopopulist economic, social, and educational policies, but also of the main other opposition socialist movements. Moderate political islam provided the answer for many.

It should be noted that this book, unlike many other studies of egyptian political islam by authors like Barry Rubin and Mary Anne Weaver, does not focus on the more violent offshoots of the Brotherhood, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and Al Qaeda. Ergo this is not a book about terrorism. But that's kind of the point, this shows the fact the even now (at least before 9/11) mainstream political Islam in most Moslem nations in the Middle East and beyond are quite moderate and while wanting to create a Moslem state in the long run (i.e. over decades) are willing to do so from below. Wickham quotes a female activist in the book who says precisely that, i.e. that by teaching children about the religion, its values, and goals, as well as their mothers and fathers, that over time this will help build support for the movement until it grows to a large enough popular majority to overtake the state peacefully. This could be called revolutionary in the sense that the long term goal is change of the state and society, but it is neither a top down, not militant movement, but rather one that seeks to achieve its goals at the ballot box, in the mosques, schools, health care centers, sports clubs, newstands, in professional associations, and such rather than with weapons. It therefore very much is a study of a movement in a major Moslem nation that joins a growing list of outstanding works in English on the subject from other countries such as Jenny White's "Islamist Mobilization in Turkey" about Turkey's AK party, which recently came to power and Robert W. Hefner's "Civil Islam" about Indonesia's Nhladatul Ulama of former President Abdurahman Wahid.

If you want to understand what mainstream political islam stands for and is seeking to achieve, in the most important Arab nation at that, this is probably the most important book you could read.

Very detailed description of the modern history of kurds. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the kurds.

The only shortcoming of the book is that it stops in the year 1996. And thus does not account for the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader PPK, and other major new incidents. Nevertheless, you will learn a lot!

Although the authorhas cut some of the subjects very short such as Kurdish language and excluded Yezidi and LUR from Kurdish nationality,he is very detailed in the history of the last century of Kurdistan in amanner i have never seen.I truly encourage every Kurd,Turk,Persian, and Arab to read this Treasure.I also would like to get in touch with Mr Mcdowall to discuss the possibility of translating it into either Kurdish or Arabic.

The tragic history of the Kurds, with regards to their internecine politics vis-a-vis the various tribes, and more importantly their use as a pawn by larger states in the harsh realpolitik of the region has been captured in this extraordinary book. From the Treaty of Sevres, which offered a glimmer of hope to the Kurds for statehood, to the Treaty of Lausanne, which ultimately marked the end of any Great Power support for statehood aspirations, the book creates a remarkable story.
Following WWI, and with the subsequent jockeying for power in the region following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, McDowall presents a clear pattern of failure by the Kurds to coalesce and create a common front to articulate their views. Also presented is the similarly clear pattern by the states, which currently have Kurdish populations, to disenfranchise the Kurds and marginalize their political aspirations.
This history covers the fallout from the Coalition war against Iraq (Operation DESERT STORM). I would love to see a more current version of the book which discusses how the current status quo has refueled Kurdish aspirations for autonomy...likewise I would like to see how recent events in Turkey have affected the Kurdish population of SE Turkey.
A great book for both the casual reader of the history of this volatile region of the world, and for the scholar alike...Highly recommended. McDowall has penned the authoratitive modern history.

The book is fair and illuminating in giving us a Kurdish side of Turkish, Iraqi and Iranian history. It's an important story, full of significant sub-plots. For just one example, McDowall explains that after Saddam nationalized Iraq's oil in 1972, Kurdish rebels like Mulla Mustafa feared that "Kurdish oil would be turned into Arab oil". They still wanted 2/3rds of all oil revenue reserved for the Kurdish community, and now they sought support from the United States. As the Pike Papers revealed in 1976, Henry Kissinger argued that "a new regime might let us back into the oilfields". In 1973 Mulla Mustafa threw secrecy to the winds by announcing in the Washington Post,

"We are ready to act according to US policy if the US will protect us from the wolves. In the event of sufficient support we should be able to control the Kirkuk oilfields and confer exploitation rights on an American company."

I bought this for my nephew's 2nd birthday (which was, coincidentally, spent in India during the monsoons). I almost wanted a copy of it for myself, so evocative were the illustrations and text. My nephew is almost 4 and his parents tell me that it is one of his favorite books. He's at an age where the appeal of a book does not of course lie in the memories it evokes, but in how captivating the the illustrations and the story are. I have to add that this is not one of those tiresome books that presents India as the exotic land of snakes and snake-charmers, and that in itself is a huge selling point.

I received this book yesterday and read it to my 2 1/2 year old daughter. (I try to get books about India whenever possible because it's the land of my husband's birth.) She asked me to read it twice through and then said, "That's a good story, Mommy!" And we've read it twice already today!

I don't think anything else needs to be said!

I can't decide if I love the beauty of the paintings or the words more in this picture book. My overwhelming reaction was nostalgia for India, where I grew up, yet the book appealed to my toddler, who has no memories of India. She gave it her five star rating, by saying "Again" when I finished reading it - that's reserved for the most captivating picture books.

Sometimes, when a picture book deals with another culture, it sacrifices story and style for explanation to it's readers about the who where and what is going on. They can become text heavy and too pedantic for young listeners who are more interested in what happens next than a rounded education. The rarest-and the best-multicultural books don't try to explain at all, they let you discover as you read the story. Ms. Krishnaswami's MONSOON is one such jewel of a picture book. It tells the story of a young Indian girl waiting for the monsoon to come after all the hot, dry weather. It shows the cycle of seasons that is necessary for living and the simple poetic beauty of the place the narrator lives.

The theme of this story--a child impatiently waiting for a change in the weather-is a fairly common one in literature, especially picture books. But the heart and soul of this story is India, and properly so. It's no surprise to anyone that reads this picture book that the author grew up in India. In the story India is not a far away or exotic place, it is home-and Ms. Krishnaswami's poetic prose paints that love of her home on every page, with every word. The text on each page is brief, but it is text to be savored, full of rich imagery as everyone prepares for the monsoon rains. This is clear from the very first line: "All summer we have worn the scent of dust . . ." The author does not fall back on old clichés, but finds new metaphors to describe the town and the coming rains. The result is description that is refreshingly vibrant and just different enough to tantalize--but not to alienate-readers. It allows me to step into another country as if I were a native, experiencing the anticipation through the young narrator as she waits, worries and hopes for the rains to come. At the very back of the book the author has included a page of information about the monsoons and India for those who want to understand the 'what' and 'where' of the story better. The addition of the information at the back allows the author to accomplish the goal of sharing the knowledge without allowing it to bog down the text of the story itself.

All that, and I haven't even mentioned the pictures yet. This is Jamel Akib's first picture book. I, for one, hope it is only the first of many. The artist has perfectly matched pictures to Ms. Krishnaswami's marvelous text. Vivid colors with the soft edges give the images a slightly dreamy and comforting sense of familiarity. Golds and warm reds and misty blues dominate the palette, making the book feel rich and sensuous. The scenes themselves are delightfully clear portrayals of life in an Indian city, with cows wandering down the streets next to the cars, spice merchants selling their wares, a modern house with patterned rug and wall hangings. The effect is contemporary and yet culture specific. Like the author's text, the pictures never become so foreign as to lose the reader, evoking comfort, but including elements and details that never let the audience forget the setting.

If you want to introduce your child to India for any reason, this is an excellent first step. The images and text provide fertile ground for sparking a child's interest and curiosity and giving parents a starting point for discussing the Indian culture in greater detail. It is one of my favorite new discoveries in the world of multicultural books and deserves a look by any picture book reader who loves the delicious feel of diving into rich art and image-rich language. Best for children of four years and up, and for adults of all ages.
If you enjoy this, you might want to look for THE DAY OF AHMED'S SECRET by Florence H. Parry and COME ON RAIN! by Karen Hesse.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

El libro me lo bebí en unos cuantos días. Es muy ágil para leer y te llena de intriga, mas al suponer que todas las "revelaciones" tienen algo de cierto o fueron reales. Algunas cosas son comprobables por las mismas noticias, otras creo que caen en lo novelesco. Aún así no lo compré como documento histórico, sino para entender un poco mas de la organización Mossad y no me decepcionó. Excelente si buscas este mismo objetivo

Pues el libro esta muy bien redactado y los traductores hicieron un buen trabajo.
En lo que toca a la veracidad de lo escrito, solo un ignorante o alguien sin la menor idea de la realidad creeria que los hechos expuestos son completamente ciertos. Mas bien se podria decir que lo que se escribio fueron especulaciones, bien fundadas, si, pero especulaciones al fin. Es sobreentendido que no somos espias buscando claves para infiltrar el Mossad y vamos a usar este libro para lograrlo. Al contrario, lo leemos por placer. Viendolo de esta forma, la lectura es informativa y divertida. Aveces se reira, y aveces se rascara la cabeza, pero al final disfrutara el libro. Lo recomiendo.

Este libro de investigación nos da a conocer con ejemplos sabidos por todos a través de la historia el papel crucial que este servicio secreto ha jugado en la defensa del estado de Israel, las tácticas que ha usado para neutralizar o eliminar a sus enemigos, convencer a sus aliados del peligro que corren para justificar sus acciones y los hilos que ha movido y sigue moviendo para proseguir con su política desestabilizadora en el Medio Oriente como forma de dividir la unidad árabe como medio de subsistencia en una región hostil. Aunque está de más decir que por razones obvias lo más secreto sobre el Mossad está por escribirce.

Este libro hace muchas "revelaciones". A decir no creo que todas sean ciertas pero si al menos un 40% de lo que dice es cierto entonces vale la pena. Hay especulaciones sobre los actos del Mossad: Que el mossad estab intentando reclutar al chofer de la princesa Diana y Dodi Al Fayed el día del accidente en que murieron, que mataron a Robert Maxwell, que tenian grabadas conversaciones comprometedoras de Bill Clinton para evitar que investigara a un topo del Mossad. Además nos cuenta hechos conocidos como el rescate en Entebbe, el robo del MIG iraní y el asesinato de Gerald Bull.
En general, es un libro ameno de leer y haber un alinea especulativa, que de cualquier modo es imposible de comprobar pues ningun gobierno confirmaría lo dicho aquí, asi que no es posible saber hasta que punto es cierto lo aqui dicho.

The illustrations leap off the page as does the poetry of the language. Bejewelled and virtuous women, strong and manly and spiritual men, powerful demons, selfless sacrifices, and a revenge that lasts for three stories. Potent stuff with wonderful truths.

The main story of the Mahabharata is of the Pandava princes and their eventual victory over evil with the help of Krishna. But the Mahabharata is full of many smaller stories, generally told by various characters to illustrate a moral, spiritual, or philosophical point. This book tells some of those stories in a delightful and exciting way, so that modern readers can easily relish this ancient classic of India. It's great for both children and adults.

This collection of stories from the Mahabharata makes for great reading! Unlike most modern page-turners, this one is based on ancient stories that include elements of magic and mysticism that go beyond even that found in today's fantasy and science fiction genres. Yet there is an unmistakable moral to each story that inspires the reader to look within and take his own measure. It's both inspiring and really fun to read, so much so that my older children loved it. Mystical Stories from the Mahabharata brought us a lot of joy; we highly recommend it!

"Mystical Stories from the Mahabharata" is Amala Bhakta's latest hot set of tales from ancient India. He's chosen 20 gripping tales of adventure with purpose: to convey the long lost morality, heroism, wisdom and virtue that only the spiritual yogis and great kings of ancient India can deliver- and with a punch, because instead of telling us how to live, the characters in these stories live lives so noble and meaningful we have only to enjoy the story and our minds are automatically pushed into transcendence. This book a must for persons who are pursuing yoga and want to know what is it's background. This book is imperative to read for those who are exploring human sexuality and want to understand the divine characteristics and pastimes of the angels and devas of the higher planets. A warrior gains yogic powers to be invincible in battle. A spiritually-empowered woman curses a rapist to die. An old yogi renews his body through mystic power. A conversation between two queens about the secrets powers of womanhood. The stories in this new collection awaken our eternal inner search for the divine.

This book has been the most helpful to date for a new visitor to Egypt. Alongside the Michelin guide, it works wondrrs!

The only book one needs to take on a tour of Egypt. I found this book informative, up to date and easier to use than those I had previously purchased. I learned of this book when I saw fellow travel companions reading theirs. Since returning from my trip to Egypt I purchased the book to further my research and edit my photographs.

I have gathered several books on travel to Egypt, Lonely planets, Passport, Travelers Key, DK eyewitness(second fave) and this one I would rate the best. Its got tons of great pictures, some of which I haven't seen in other books, plus its very full on information. Usually with such books its either tons of info and few pictures or vice versa. This one balances both well. It also has some nice maps and diagrams (tomb layouts, pyramid chambers)a section rating hotels and restaurants, a small section on usefull arabic terms, and a book and movie guide with egyptian themes.
The book starts out with an introduction to the history and culture of Egypt, something many travel guides lack and require a second book for. Then it moves on to points of interest in Cairo, around Cairo, The delta and Suez, Alexandria, Western Desert, Middle Egypt, Luxor, South of Luxor, Red sea and Sinai, then the final part of the book is basically travel tips. Lots of great information. I was happy to see they included a section on the rescue of the temple of Abu Simbel. I've heard of how they moved the temple to save it but was having trouble pondering how such a task could be done. This book explains the actual 'why' the temple was in danger, the various ideas of saving it, and the technique used. Just an example of how in debth this book is.
The pages are nice and glossy as well. And though thick for a traveling book(to take along) its still a reasonable size to fit into a travel bag to take with you.
I would say if you were looking to buy one book only, by far, I'd recommend this one. I like the DK eyewitness book too, but this one I rank higher due to more volume of information and pictures. If you want something slimmer and less in debth I'd go with the DK one, which is still a great book on its own.

I took this book along with me on a recent family trip to Egypt, and I loved it! National Geographic magazine is famed far and wide for its amazing photographs and interesting articles- its travel guides are much the same! The book is written by a British expat living in Cairo, and so you get both the tourist feel and the local bent on travel through Egypt. The guidebook contains a rich historical and cultural section, and then is full of information about places to visit, foods to eat, and things to do.

I especially liked the detailed information about sites of interest- for many of the old temple ruins, such as those at Luxor, Karnak and Abu Simbel, there are pages devoted to describing the ruins in detail. I found this particularly useful to read just before heading off the bus to visit the sites, as then I knew what I was looking for.

Overall, the National Geographic Traveler guide was a great companion on my trip to Egypt- I will definitely be looking for more Traveler guidebooks in my future travels!

I read this book for an introductory cultural anthropology course I took for personal enrichment. Although it does not at all explore the conflict between Israelis & Palestinians, it did give me some astounding insights into why conflicts in that region of the world seem so intractable to Westerners. It reveals how personal and political identities are created in societies and cultures that are tribal and oral. It challenges easy assumptions that writing things down is simple and desirable, and that talking produces political peace.

This book is a scholarly ethnography with the footnotes and discussion of theory and methodology requried in such books, and it is not a leisurely, easy read. But the diligent reader is rewarded with some eye-popping realizations about a culture that is very different from ours, some beautifully evocative tales from the Bedouin tradition, and even some flashes of perhaps unintended humor in Shryock's accounts of his present-day efforts to track down the 'truth' in a setting that makes the American red-state/blue-state rift blur into a pale shade of lilac.

I am an admitted egghead who enjoys academic writing more than the average person, but I intend to read this book again now that I am beyond the requirements of the college course that first brought it to my attention. Perhaps Sec. of State Rice might also enjoy it?

Andrew Shryock captures the fragmented nature of oral histories among the Bedouin tribes of a Jordanian region known as the Balga. This text, which is actually an ethnography, brings into relief greater concepts of history that are often not obvious. The histories that Andrew collects have never been written, except a few segments in travelogues. This brings to mind questions about the unsubstantiated faith in written historical texts. Andrew illustrates that it is possible to interrogate the oral histories in the same way other historians interrogate archival data. Questions of the source of the document, the identity of the author, the comparison of data with other sources creates a "complete reality" of history. While Andrew flirts with this definition of history in chapter one when he compares the data he retrieves from oral histories to data found in archives, he also opens several other issues entirely. The oral histories of the Balga tribes are by their very nature fragmentary and disjointed. They do not lend themselves to a uniform, linear universal whole history. Instead, they provide only highlights. This brings to mind a question of validity for so-called modern history. How much is filled in like the archeologist filling in the gaps in crumbled structures? Is it possible that the Balga tribes' oral histories, untouched by the pressure of conformity, be closer to historical truth than the modern version whose rough edges have been hewn squarely into a proper line? Andrew also illustrates the uses that are not directly historical. Oral histories contribute a part to building political clout and are propagated because of political clout. Moreover, the oral histories play a part in identity forming for young members of the tribes. They relate to their place in the universe, not only in the tribe, but also in relation to other tribes, Jordanian politics and the world at large, based on how they see themselves in relation to the oral histories. For these two purposes, the non-textual aspect of the oral histories is part of their significance, part of their social power. It brings into question classic historical texts all over the world. Exactly how historically accurate is everything we call history? An excellent piece of work, it's easy to see why it won scholastic awards.

The author does an excellent job of skirting the volatile plausibility of transcribing oral histories to the written word. For anyone wanting to understand both the intricacies and basic histories of the Jordanian Balga Bedouin, it is a fascinating read. Having a Jordanian father and a Palestinian mother, I especially enjoyed Shryock's investigation into their age-old rivalries. Tribalism is alive and well, as Shryock adeptly shows, and he brings it to us in clear and cunning detail.

Andrew Shryock is the oldest of five boys. All the brothers are very close and that is why I, his youngest brother, am very proud of his work. All the brothers will be home for Christmas and will anticipate reading his work of art. Andrew is a great writer as well as a great person. Number Five, Benjamin Shryock.

Pictures are a great addition to this informative book. If you have books about Islam -- this is the book to cement your collection!

I wanted an overview of the major topics and issues of Islam. This is a great introduction, providing enough basic material to guide further investigation. Not all that many photos, but a good chronology as well as the "family trees" of the sects/off-shoots of Islam, and the major governing groups and individuals.

Worth having.

First of all, I'd like to say "BRAVO" and "EXCELLENT JOB" to the Author and international lecturer Mr. Cyril Glasse.

I used the 1989 edition to find some information about a few entries. I thought i'll just find the entries, read about them, and close the book. But it didn't happen. Each enrty lead me to other entries which were more interesting and so on.

I really enjoyed every second I spent using this encyclopedia. That's what I call a "quality time". That is because I am interested in comparative religion and I like reading about Christianity, Judaism, Freemasonry, and Islam. And this is a very nice addition to my small library of cool books.

Highly recommended...

This is THE outstanding reference on Islam for non-Arabic speakers, and to my thinking sets an extremely high standard in terms of clarity, balance and coverage for one-volume reference works generally. Highly recommended.

I was impressed with a pace that Jason Burke established in reporting his decade or more of travel through Southwest Asia (Pakistan/Afghanistan) and Middle East. His optimism and hope stays alive throughout his various first hand encounters with horrific events. His book provides a very different viewpoint compared to the ones that I was able to follow through the USA based newspapers and magazines reports for the two post 9/11 wars (USA/Aghan War or USA/Iraq War II). He does not pretend to be a scholar and is certainly not biased in his analysis. I would recommend this book for folks who want to get a better insight of the Islamic World and all the precieved and real dangers surrounding it.

I read Jason Burke's Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror, and found it the most factual book on the events surrounding 9/11. So, I had high expectations and was hopeful for further updates from his previous 2004 publication. As other reviewers have noted, this book is a travelogue and personal memoir of Mr.Burke's travels around the world, rather then an analysis of the Middle East.

Admittedly, I'm impressed with what has kept Mr.Burke busy the last 2 decades. But, there was nothing ground breaking or amazing here. The entire book comes off a bit flat, and shallow. If you're looking for a fun(relatively speaking), walk through the Middle East since 1990, then this book may entertain you. I was looking for more info on the "War on Terror", and didn't find much in here.

A much better travelogue through Afghanistan (albeit, without the political analysis), is Jason Elliot's An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan.

ON THE ROAD TO KANDAHAR: TRAVELS THROUGH CONFLICT IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD could have been featured in our Travel Shelf section - but it's so much more, and shouldn't be limited to a leisure travel-reading audience alone. Jason Burke spent a decade among Muslim people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Thailand and other areas: his guide explores their culture and concerns, blending first-person experiences and encounters with interviews with a wide range of people, from Taliban officials and a former torturer for Husseun's intelligence service to a suicide bomber and an American sniper in Iraq. It's these varied encounters from different cultures in the area which offer eye-opening insights and cultural revelations not to be missed. Any collection serious about Middle East issues needs ON THE ROAD TO KANDAHAR.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is an excellent and informative book that's also a joy to read. Burke reports for Britain's "Observer" and he spent a decade covering stories in places such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Algeria, and Turkey. He often found himself in the middle of complex acts of violence, and this book is part travel memoir and part intellectual memoir as he struggles to understand what it all means.

I look for a few specific things in a good piece of travel writing. First, it needs to be well written, and Burke crafts strong, clear, concise, fast-flowing writing. He writes like a journalist, which means he trades flowery metaphors for sharp, direct statements. His descriptions of characters and places capture both the details and the mood, which ends up being vital to the points he wants to make. I also want a writer with insight. The author certainly needs to show insight into the cultures he encounters, but if self-exploration is also a goal, he or she also needs to show personal insight. Without insight I'd rather read a Lonely Planet guidebook. I liked Burke's approach. He is honest about his knowledge of other cultures, and he admits what he thinks while also staying aware of his lack of understanding. He describes violent acts and acknowledges that the deeper conflicts often prove to be too old and twisted for him to fully grasp. As for personal insight, Burke goes looking for that only in order to understand the conflicts he experiences. He might explore his own reactions under enemy fire, but it's only to better understand the nature of violence. This isn't a work of "spiritual travel" or a man's search for meaning, but it recognizes that any questions about the nature of violence require an understanding of your own nature. Finally, I have to like the author. Reading a travel book is like sharing a journey, and Burke seems like a cool guy--impressed with his travels without becoming arrogant, tough without going macho on the reader, and knowledgeable without needing to be an expert. He never once annoyed me, which is a bit of a rarity in travel writing (and in real travel).

As for the ideas in "On the Road to Kandahar," I think it's fair to say that Burke ends up with more questions than answers. More accurately, he ends up with the same deep questions and only some preliminary answers, but he also learns how complex and troubling the original questions were. He wants to understand what motivates violence in the parts of the Islamic world he has visited, and what the end result of it all will be. The travel writing helps collect information for the first question. He talks to would-be suicide bombers, Kurdish resistance fighters, and Taliban sympathizers--many of them unlikable and unsavory characters--and tries to get at their motivations. He tries to piece it all together into a coherent understanding. He brings up the stress of change, and how the clash with modernity causes conflict in previously peaceful cultures. He discusses al-Qaeda's philosophies and how satellite television and the internet have allowed these philosophies to modify the grievances of local cultures. He explores how cultures react after they accept violence as an answer, and after they see the results of that violence on other cultures and on their own culture. He realizes that 99% of the world simply wants to get by and live life--to raise children and enjoy friendships and have enough to eat and drink each day.

And, finally, he sort-of comes to an optimistic conclusion--that cultures end up turning against violence. He sees much of the conflict in the Islamic world as a short-term answer (even if "short-term" means one hundred years), a trial attempt to solve problems with suicide bombers and violent revolution, and sees it all fading away once the cultures turn against it. I say "sort-of" because Burke is far from convinced, especially after experiencing the closeness of the London bombings. In the end, it's the best answer he has right now. And, in the end, it's this combination of intellectual honesty and optimism--and its telling in an exciting and engaging way--that helps make this such an outstanding book.