Middle East Books

Two stories interwoven into one poetic narrative. The story of the author's relationship with his father is enmeshed in the greater story of his people falling under Israeli occupation. There is much tension in this book: the tension of defending political prisoners subjected to torture in Israeli jails; the tension resulting from the author's choice not to follow in his father's footsteps and concentrate on human rights work rather than law practice; the tension from the destruction of land by the occupation and the erection of settlements. In the end, the two narratives unite as the the author's efforts to find his father's murderer are frustrated because of the occupation. A sad and moving human story, has much to tell for people everywhere.

This is an excellent look into occupation and the way it affects those under occupation. The Palestinian voice is one seldom heard by the West which is why this work is so very important. To often it seems as if the Israeli/Palestinian narrative is simply scripted for us by those outside of the conflict so that we form conclusions without actually knowing the story from those who are living it.

One of the things I really liked about this book is that it is not a one sided harangue about the horrible Israelis and how bad the occupation is and how the Palestinians are simply victims, but is instead a telling indictment of both sides. The author sees the plethora of missed opportunities that have plagued the Palestinians since the creation of the state of Israel. The Palestinians so often seemed content to simply play the role of victims rather than actually take responsibility for their own lives and move forward to build a functioning society. Many times they waited to be saved by neighboring states, the UN and others without realizing that they are the only ones who can save themselves. They have allowed themselves, under terrible circumstances granted, to stagnate instead pushing forward.

The Israeli occupation and government shoulders a heavy burden of blame for the situation also. They have made Palestinian life so difficult that it was almost impossible for a positive, healthy society to erect itself in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel had a choice between taking more land and helping to create a stable neighbor or expanding their territory. They chose the latter and so chose perpetual strife. The animosity runs so deep now that even if a solution could be found it will be generations before the hate and anger can be healed.

Neither side is innocent in this conflict, and both sides are guilty for the current situation. This book shows how even a moderate can be pushed into becoming radical. I think one of the most poignant aspects of this book is that from the beginning there is always this hope. Hope that one day the land will be restored to the Palestinians. Hope that there will be peace. Hope that a decent life will be able to be lived. There is always this hope until the end of the book when the author finally backs the intifada. I felt as though the author had lost hope in moderate, peaceful solution. The whole book seemed to be a moderate man attempting to find a compromise solution to the problem. He fought both sides for the middle and end the end recognized the futility. Both sides have done so much to create futility out of hope.

I was at first taken aback by the way Palestinian lawyer and writer Raja Shehadeh chose to begin this book, his memoir. Knowing that he is a very important figure in Palestine, I expected (even half-dreaded) a right-on plunge in the middle of Israeli/Middle-Eastern politics. I was wrong.

Although he begins by mentioning the 1948 war as a fact that explains his having been born in Ramallah and not Jaffa, where his family was very important, that's just about it.....in the beginning. We are treated then to a delicately rendered description of the writer's childhood: to a vision of the almost sad figure of a fragile child whose life seems always measured against the looming and powerful figure of his father (a very important Palestinian lawyer), and the impossible to reach lights and colours of neverland-Jaffa, the way of life that the family had lost forever.

It is the relationship with the father, however, what soon becomes the focus of this memoir. And here we must admire one of the most important aspects of the book: an honest-to-God account of how this boy, then young man, then adult, managed his growing, changing relationship with a strong and powerful father. I was swept from my feet at having such a first hand description of a never-easy son/father relationship. I must confess I was astounded that this incredibly sincere testimony was rendered by an Arab man since, as the same author acknowledges, his is a culture where the son/father bond tends to be quite distant, formal and formidable.

We, readers, see how having such an important father proves to be a load, but also a challenge for the author. And as he begins to be more sure about what his place in the world is, and what his mission is, the world of politics (which had never quite disappeared from the background) returns with force, but in such a way that provokes a fatal crisis in this already difficult son/father relationship. And just as the situation appears to be unbearable, just as the breach seems impossible to mend......Raja's father is murdered.

Here the book takes an abrupt turn. Raja decides to help as much as he can to find the murderer, whom he believes to be someone involved in a land dispute his father was working on. He is good. The pace and tempo of the narrative change so that we begin to feel the urge to know who this murderer is, for we are much pretty sure of why the murder took place......and I won't spoil the ending for you. I'll just say that it is important. Very important. For Raja and for all of us.

Just as this seemingly humble book is terribly important: as the personal memoir of a man who has always been politically moderate, a fighter for human rights, one of the few Palestinians who has ever dared to criticise the politics of the Palestinian leaders and of the Arab leaders; one of the few who was always convinced that Arabs had to negotiate with Israeli, that Israel was there to stay; as a honest, moving homage to a father who was a powerful force in the author's life (and who taught him to see politics and the Middle-East the way he saw it);..... as a way to know more about that rarely-found-in-the-news-and-media specimen: the Arab, Palestinian moderate, and the way he fares.

As an American, I have grown up to believe that Israel is a close friend to us. I would imagine that an ally of the United States would be a country that follows human rights guidelines. However, I was mistaken. "Strangers in the House" is a brilliantly written piece which provides personal experiences in an occupied Palestine. With all of the conflict in the Middle East currently, it is a must-read, to understand the viewpoint from all angles. Raja Shehadeh thinks way past his time, as his father had. He has written this book for the world to know what daily life is like under occupation and that it is a constant struggle. Mr. Shehadeh is admirable in his open-mindedness. If you would like to see the viewpoint from the other side, this book is perfect. It will help you open your mind and see the truth.

Shehadeh's book is perhaps the only one to lay out the multi-faceted nature of the Israeli-Palestinian-Arab conflict. Or, as Shehadeh, puts it so eloquently a conflict between Palestinians, Israelis, the "inside" and the "outside".

For me, the most touching moment of the book came when the young Shehadeh heard the PLO radio denounce his father for daring to work for a two-state solution. "A.S.," it declared, "you are a traitor, a despicable collaborator. You want to surrender and sell your birthright. We know how to deal with the likes of you. A. S. you shall pay for your treason. We shall eliminate you. Silence you forever. Traitor. Collaborator. Quisling."

The PLO quite simply could not afford to lose the funding it received from the surrounding Arab states to create a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians and also to ensure that Israel would no longer "be the subject of fiery speeches in which the people's rage could be articulated and released-they would be distracted from dealing with all that was wrong at home."

The PLO simply could not afford peace because it wasn't being paid to bring about either peace or an independent Palestinian State; it was being paid to keep the Palestinians miserable and angry. To ensure that the Palestinian plight remained a distraction for the Arabs earning for democracy.

Shehadeh's father dared to stand up to the PLO and its backers. He was murdered.

And now, his son is carrying on his father's work.

It is our job to make sure that Raja's life lasts longer than his father's.

I visited Budapest several times from 1997 through 2001 and am very glad I purchased this guidebook at a bookstore in that city (and I'm happy I still have the copy, especially considering the prices people are asking for it these days). It stands apart from all the other travel guidebooks I know -- Andras Török's humor, literary flourishes and, above all, in-depth knowledge of his native city make it delightful reading even if you're not in Budapest, but the author never forgets that he's writing for travelers whose time in the Hungarian capital is likely limited and who are therefore keen to make the best use of that time. The detailed walking-tour maps are the best of their kind I've ever seen, and the short articles on such topics as the local language and viticulture further enrich the reading experience. Budapest has changed so much over the past six years, however, that I'd recommend obtaining the latest edition (published in 2007 by Park Könyvkiadó) -- and since it's nearly impossible to obtain outside of Hungary at this writing unless you're OK with paying ridiculous shipping fees, I'd recommend buying a copy as soon as you arrive in the marvelous city of Budapest.

We lived in Hungary for one year and used this guide for our weekend trips. Our good Hungarian friends gave it to us. Torok gives you a glorious, historic, poignant trip through this powerful city. Good to read and take the tours, even if you do it from your couch.

I am an ex-pat living here in Budapest. We run a small B and B called BudaBaB, so when we found this book, we bought and lend it to each guest to read. Although we have been here for almost five years, the book is a delightful read that provides interesting facts and information that we would never have learned otherwise. Torok writes with humor and a deep sense of love for his city. It has opened our hearts again and again to a city that we have loved living in already. It just makes it all the richer.

Ryan James

As a true city-lover, I found this book invaluable. Not only will you learn what it is you're looking at, but why you should care, and what makes it interesting. The friendly narrative style is truly entertaining, and all the recommendations are spot-on. It's full of enlightening sidebars by a variety of cultural figures, including "Directors Picks" for some of the major museums. Other guidebooks to Budapest don't do the city justice, but this is the book I wish I could write about my big-city hometown. I completely empathize with Mr. Torok's passion for Budapest--large cities can be just as nurturing and familiar as a small town, particularly when it's your own. If you love exploring cities, and trying your best to unearth their individual personalities (suspecting that it's impossible, but being driven to at least scratch the surface), this book is a must. My only regret was that I only found this book while I was there and already half-way through my visit.

I came across this little gem in a small bookstore while strolling down Andrassy Ut. in Budapest. It's essentially a loving and learned essay on the city slyly disguised as a guidebook. Of course he's got the requisite walking maps, addresses and practical information, but what he really does is to capture the soul of the city and its denizens, past and present. It's clear that his evocative observations and opinions, laced with wit and candor could only have come from one clever guy who's truly lived the life in Budapest. You'll read every page of this book as though it were a novel.

For the amateur historian, like myself, I was pleased that the author separated out the sources contemporary to the events of the Crusades. Also, the author often cites these sources (such as Anna Comnena and William of Tyre) directly and openly evaluates their positions and prejudices. Considering the limited extent of these original viewpoints, that few people were literate in those days, this emphasis helps in establishing some validity to what is a very distant interpretation.

The Frankish barons, who are the major players in the three Crusades discussed here, led a loose mob that included a fighting force of knights and squires along with any number of illiterate fanatics. They were inspired by a central religious authority, the Pope, and certain fiery orators such as Peter the Hermit. The Franks were not much further advanced than the federated tribes they had been when they overran Western Europe. They were hardly more than barbarians, fierce fighters, glorifying War, recently converted to Christianity, who used the Pope's urging to continue their heritage of invading and plundering.

The overland journey of the First Crusade, with Jerusalem as its goal, must have been unimaginably difficult to survive. The Franks fought their way through the insufferable summer heat of the Mideast, conquering and plundering as they went. When their situation became dire, when it became exceedingly difficult to obtain supplies, they resorted to terror. Bohemond, the Count of Toulouse, who became the prince of Antioch, is reported to have actively encouraged the notion that the Crusaders were cannibals.

It was an age of illiteracy, lawlessness, fanaticism, and superstition. There were these material possessions - the Holy Lance (a piece of rusted iron claimed to have been the sword that pierced Christ's side), the True Cross, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - that the Franks used as rallying cries. The fanaticism combined with the brutal conditions of the journey drove them to the point of insanity, to the point of massacring as many civilians as they could once they entered Jerusalem.

The slaughter in Jerusalem marked the beginning of the Frankish occupation of the Holy Land. It is true that in some ways the Franks learned to live with their Muslim neighbors, and for their part the Muslims, although perhaps more civilized at that time, could also reach extremes of cruelty; still, it is hard not to sympathize with Saladin who kicked the Franks almost all the way out of the Holy Land less than a century after they first arrived.

Zoé B. Oldenbourg (1916 - 2002) was both a highly esteemed specialist in mediæval French history and a critically acclaimed and prize winning historical novelist. She is best known for her novels The World Is Not Enough and The Cornerstone. The Crusades (Les Croisades) was first published in 1965.

Concentrating on the period of the first three Crusades Oldenbourg's book is a social, cultural, political and military history of the period, and covers the history of Turkey, Persia, Iran, Iraq, the Bosphorus, the Balkans, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Sicily, Spain and southern Europe. She makes illuminating references to other phenomenon such as colonialism and pogroms, and is exceptional in that she is able to imaginatively suggest the attitudes, beliefs and limitations of the people she is writing about.

The subject is an immense one: the results of the Germanic invasions; the position of the Papacy; the 'Holy War' and its legacy; the economic effects of overpopulation on a poorly developed agriculture; feudalism; the differences between eastern and western Christianity; heresies and national differences in the east; the history of Constantinople; the rise of the Turks; the divisions and unity of Islam; relations between the Turks and the Arabs, Christians and Muslims; cultural effects of East on West and vice versa; literary influences in both directions; the legend of the Crusader; the subsequent history of 'crusades' such as the Albigensian, the Inquisition and the Conquistadores.

Oldenbourg on contemporary medieval attitudes: it was a time before machines were widely used. 'Man was therefore infinitely closer to physical reality than we can be now. Tools and raw materials had a value and immediacy not easy for us to understand. This direct contact with matter whose laws he knew only empirically made man simultaneously more superstitious than we are today and more skillful and enterprising.'

She is illuminating on the distinction between western and eastern religious feeling, in a way which explains much subsequent Catholic history. She says also that 'men thought of themselves first and foremost as religious beings...'

A plethora of suggestive ideas: that popular religion was (and is) largely pagan (and pagan is used in a non pejorative way); that miracles occupied the space in our lives of science; that war and religion were combined in the Latin west in a way they never could be in the Byzantine east.

'This exclusive, even excessive, exaltation of physical valour was something the Byzantines could never understand. The people of Western Europe believed implicitly that a man's worth was, first and foremost, measured by his prowess in battle. To the Greeks, courage was certainly an estimable virtue... but they did not rate it any higher than many 'civilised' virtues.'

'The fundamental difference lay in the co-existence in the Western mind of two quite separate ideas, the warrior and the Christian. Byzantium never seems to have been affected by any such ambivalence: it was too blatantly paradoxical for the logical Greek mind to accept.'

On the tangle of military and political objectives pursued by both east and west Oldenbourg sheds a clear light.

She suggests a connection between the German tribes who destroyed the western Roman Empire in the 4th century and the Crusaders. The feudal nobility, she says, were of Germanic or Nordic extraction, unlike the Latin peasantry. They preserved their ideals of love of battle and glorious death despite their conversion to Christianity. The union of these two diverse traditions led to the idea of a holy war, and such wars were waged in Syria in the 12th century. The Germanic tribes, many of whom admired Rome as a great civilising power, conquered it. Later, as admirers of Christianity, they attempted to conquer the Holy Land. In 1204 they conquered Constantinople.

The defining 'cause' of the Crusades was the rise of Turkey as a major power. This rise threatened both the Western, Greek and Arab states, although Turkey itself was Islamic. The Arabs, friendly to Christians, had been accepted politically in their position of power in Syria and the Middle East as well as elsewhere for 400 years. Now the Turks were conquering areas towards the Holy Land, and also areas in the Bosphorus - they posed a direct threat to Byzantium. The Crusades were initially launched to protect Byzantium from the Turks. But the Crusaders included Normans, who were more interested in conquering Byzantium than the Holy Land. And the Great Schism had recently separated the Churches of east and west: instead of reuniting them, the Crusades were to widen the gap between them and exploit their differences.

'Alexius saw no reason to fight the Turks simply because they were infidels (he had suffered too much from Christians to share any prejudges of this kind)...'

'the Greeks were trying to use the Latins in order to reconquer their own lost provinces, while the Latins thought the Greeks had a duty to help them in the much more important task of recovering the Holy Places.'

Oldenbourg follows this concept of the holy war through subsequent history. The union of the military culture of the barons and the culture of love and romance of southern France led to the ideal of chivalry. Later this culture in turn was conquered during the crusade against the Albigensians. Relics of these ideas can be seen in the Inquisition - the Church Militant - and in the deeds of the Conquistadores. Most recent was the attempt of Hitler to conquer the Jews.

The more one explores a subject the more there is to explore. Oldenbourg's book suggests this complexity. There are no easy answers, few generalisations. It is both honest and learned, and motivated by a clear and compassionate intelligence. It has had a far greater effect on me than the celebrated study by Stephen Runciman, still a standard work on the subject (strangely, another major study is Gibbon's, 200 years out of date and still an acute analysis despite it). Oldenbourg explores one of the great conflicts between Christianity and Islam so as to show how misleading it is to regard it as a simple conflict between two ideologies and in this way her book can be helpful and relevant to those who wish to see present day conflicts in a broader, less bigoted context.

I thought reading this book would be a daunting dask, at 593 pages, on a subject that I knew nothing about, and considered dry. Was I wrong! Ms. Oldenbourg makes the crusades and the participants come alive. She imbues the participants with personality, so each individual is memorable, the reading better than any novel. From the blonde, blue eyed cunning soldier Bohemond to the tragic love triangle of Melisende, Fulk and Hugh, this book has it all. Scheming clerics, ambitious men, massacres, acts of superhuman strength, love, hatred. Not boring at all! And the great part is that it is not fiction. Well worth the read!

This volume, first published almost thirty years ago, gives an account of the first three crusades along with the history of Jerusalem up to its conquering by Saladin. The author does not view the Crusades as primarily a war of conquest or as a search for new colonies and trade routes. In addition, she wants to contrast the Crusades with the Islamic expansion of four centuries earlier, the goal of the latter in her opinion being the total conquest of the world. The goal of the Crusades was primarily to retake Jerusalem, and this viewpoint makes the author definitely at odds with many contemporary assessments of the origins and reasons for the Crusades. Readers who thirst for an in-depth knowledge of the Crusades will find a book that is well written and easy to read. Whether or not the book constitutes sound history can only be decided by a lifetime of intense study of the historical documents and sources. The general reader will thus have to remain in a state of suspended judgment on the accuracy of the book. Other books, especially those written in the last decade, should be consulted to gain further insight and alternative points of view.

The author wants to emphasize the human aspects of the Crusades, she asks readers to remove themselves from their modern context and try to understand (however difficult this might be) what life was like in medieval times. She gives a highly interesting account of the conditions of life in those times, referring to it as "simple" because of the state of technology at the time. Whether the technology of today makes life more complex is perhaps a matter for debate, but to claim life was more difficult back then is a credible proposition. The expenditure of human energy needed to obtain the basic life necessities was certainly a lot greater than what is required today. But the author reminds the reader that mental abilities were not necessarily diminished, pointing to the "better memories' that were developed in those times, due to general lack of writing skills. But she definitely wants to emphasize that society at that time was based exclusively on masculine ideals, and that the Catholic Church was "resolutely antifeminist." Her evidence for this is somewhat weak, and this position has been criticized vociferously in more contemporary accounts of the Crusades and the history of the Catholic Church.

There are many places in the book where the discussions are particularly interesting or surprising. Some of these include: 1. That "popular opinion" held that Peter the Hermit was the real instigator of the Crusades, having received a "letter" from Jesus Christ that he was commanded to deliver to Pope Urban II. The author reminds the reader that there is no evidence that Peter ever met the Pope. 2. That after the fall of Antioch, the Crusaders, with the assistance of native Christians murdered all the Turks that they could find in the city and believed that the this massacre was "pleasing to God." The author though does not offer the reader any evidence for this view. How does she know that the Crusaders against Antioch really believed this? 3. The author believes that the number of women and children that were murdered in the "Great Massacre" was exaggerated by chroniclers of the time (especially Islamic historians). But she is quick to point out that putting the real number aside, that most of the population in Jerusalem was completely exterminated, with most of these being unarmed civilians. 4. That the Muslims of Palestine did not anticipate the religious intolerance of the Christians. Interestingly, the author states that the Muslims who conquered the area centuries earlier did not attempt to force the conquered peoples to convert to Islam (Mohammed though murdered nearly all of the Jewish peasants in southern Palestine). 5. The author mentions that Baldwin, in the process of conquering the coastal cities, permitted various massacres in some of these cities in order to "terrorize" the defenders of the others. 6. The origin of "Sunnism" and "Shiism" is discussed, where Sunnism represents the "official orthodoxy" and Shiism is the "breakaway sect." At the time of the Crusades, the Sunnites (as the author refers to them) were represented by the Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad and the Shiites were represented by the Fatimid caliphate of Cairo. The extreme hatred between these two sects survives to this day. 7. That Bohemond blamed the failure of the Crusades on Alexius Comnenus, the Byzantine emperor of Constantinople, and tried to convince the Pope to launch a Crusade against Alexius. 8. The author contends that the concept of a holy war, or "jihad" was alien to Muslim leaders at the time of the Crusades, but that they acquiesced to public opinion and so were not willing to speak out against launching a jihad against the Franks. The thinking of the Muslim chroniclers gradually changed though, and by the time of the battle of Hattin, jihad became part of the consciousness of Muslims, and soldiers became "soldiers of God." Victory in war was the direct cause of God's favor to those who were faithful. 9. That religion at the time was "inseparable from politics" and consequently that any action taken by a statesman had to have a religious motive and must be justified by a religious point of view. The author describes predilection towards religion as a "universally recognized moral necessity." 10. That with the exception of Anna Comnena, the history of the first three Crusades was of minor interest to the historians of Constantinople. The author describes Anna Comnena as being only marginally interested in the events of the first three Crusades. The Fourth Crusade, which is not discussed in the book, was of course of great importance to the Greek Christians.

Zoe Oldenbourg's "The Crusades" was one of the first books I ever read about the subject, and still remains an unsurpassed introduction to the topic in my experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it is still one of my favourites.

Oldenbourg covers the main events of the major Crusades, and informs the reader in great detail of the situation at hand. Oldenbourg gives a very detailed introductory account of the world and lives of the Crusaders. It will certainly give you enough to decide if you want to learn more on this fascinating topic, or just leave it with Oldenbourg's book.

As an initial introduction to the Crusades, "The Crusades" stands as one of the best available, and will keep you engrossed throughout.

This book was faced paced and difficult, in fact impossible, to put down! Just when you think you have the story all figured out....you realize you don't. You're not sure who the good guys and the bad guys are. Like one reviewer said you really don't know the WHOLE story until the end. I had a lot of admiration for Giselle. She was a very strong and smart woman. I also fell in love with Raz. He was a man of many secrets but he did have a true love for Giselle.

This story had it all...military intrigue, action, suspense and romance. I highly recommend this book. It's one that you can easily read again and again and see things you missed the first time.

I hope we see more books in the future by L.K. Malone.

This book, the first by author L.K. Malone, shows that the author did his homework. It was very well researched, so that everything seemed possible. I have read this book several times, and each time have picked up something new that I missed the other times around. If you are looking for an exciting, intelligent read about a very relavant topic, buy it today! Dont bother to check it out of the library, because you will want to read it again and again.

This is a great story, with plenty of plot twists that keep you guessing until the end. I enjoyed it very much, and will be keeping this one for my bookshelf collection. I only wish I could find more books by this author --- L. K. Malone is a very talented writer. Let's hope we see more in the future!

This was a terrific book! If you like Dee Henderson's books, you'll love this first book by LK Malone. I finished it, and then read it again! (I've only done that about 2 times before!) This is one of those books that won't make it to ebay, it's staying in my library! Get your own copy, you won't regret it!

Giselle, the daughter of a high-ranking navy captain, has lived on secure military bases around the world, isolated and protected. Until Raz comes into her life, and touches her heart in a way no one else has. After Raz saves her life from terrorists, Giselle realizes she's fallen in love. Unfortunately, Raz has a dark secret that he can't share. When Giselle stumbles across it, she will do anything to escape, except she isn't quite sure who or what she's running from, as anyone and everyone seem to have a hidden agenda. Giselle travels around the world and back to Italy in his romantic supense novel. A GREAT read for male or female. Made me wish I could have a man like this!

I bought and read the book when it first came out, and I bought a second so I can loan it to others to read and not worry about my first book getting lost. Besides the Donnellys, some of the people and events in the book were apart of our life as well. Very well written!

I just found out about Michael's death through the Gulflink website. My sympathy goes out to his family. His story, with the help of his sister Denise, will be with us all always. He could have chose to sit back and just kept his disease and facts to himself, but he chose to share it with all in the hopes it might make a difference to someone. What a legacy to leave. And thanks Michael, for helping my family live through our anger we had at my brother's death, and dealing with Gulf War illness. My prayers are with your family....
Kelly Seibert
Hillsborough, NC

In this story there is a message for millions of Americans. In this story the reader will learn about the "wheels of justice."

I obtained a tape of this book from the library of the blind , on tape.
I was fascinated with the whole process of his student days as well as the way they worked in the present time illness.
My heart goes out to him and his family and ALL other Soldiers who became ill with no apparent cause after the war.
I would like to know what his present status is, and would like to help in any way that is possible.
In thinking that our present war situation probably is as tentative, to hold this VITAL information back from those who serve makes a mockery of the Ideals our Country was founded on.
I used to participate in Living History, and the good thing about that is that we seem to LEARN from the past.
War does NOT change minds or hearts.
I would hope and pray that this present generation does not have to pay the price of this brave Soldier, Officer, and Gentleman.

I first came across the book in the fall of '99. It was at a critical time in my air force career. Soon, the mandate to submit to the anthrax vaccine would require a decision that would obviously affect the rest of my life. Take a vaccine that has been proven to cause terrible reactions and has been whispered to be a root cause of Gulf War Illness or refuse and be subject to military justice and the end of my career.

In my squadron, the most asked question to management was "If we become ill following the vaccine, will the Air Force take care of us?" As I saw in this book, the answer to the question is NO.

As pilots, our most treasured asset is our health. Without it, we can no longer perform the mission that we love. The manner in which Michael and Denise describe the physical and mental anguish he endured was truly overwhelming. I could imagine myself in his position and the way I would react; how I would feel.

In my months of research, this book proved to be one of the many determining factors in my decsion. When I talked to former commanders who reminded me of their experiences with Agent Orange or when I spoke with members at my own base that had testified to Congress about their illnesses following the anthrax vaccine, in the back of my mind was Michael Donnelly.

I ultimately made my decision to resign in lieu of taking the vaccine which has led to the end of my aviation career. The only salvation I have is the knowledge that I will never need to worry about unexplained illness in the future.

My most heartfelt sympathy and gratitude go out to Michael and Denise's families. Michael's story is one that I will never forget. Thank you for helping me make my decision.

Having met the esteemed Sharanksy and heard him speak many times, this book, which he autographed for me before a speech last year, is priceless. The tales inside, as well as the lessons, are incredibly moving, angering and inspiring.

I recommend this book to all, especially American Jews who should read this man's story to understand what people of our religion have gone through, especially in Europe -- and how lucky we are to live in a peaceful, tolerant and fair place like these United States...where, like ALL minorities, we are treated better than anywhere else we've dispersed during our near 5800 year religious history.

Ignoring this book is why people don't understand history and evil: be that Nazism, Communism, Islamo-fascism or the dangerous left wing media who appeases these animals here and abroad.

In this classic, in the tradition of The Gulag Archipelago: 1918-1956, Prisoner of Zion, Natan Sharansky, one of the greatest Jewish heroes of our time, tells of his nine years in Soviet prisons and gulags, because of his desire to live in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people.
Sharansky was first denied an exit visa to Israel in 1973. Seperated from his wife, Avital, a day after thewir marriage, in 1974, Sharansky fought for the rights of Jews in the Soviet Union as well as the rights of other persecuted minorities such as Pentecostals, Catholics, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and ethnic Germans, which disproves the repulsive charge by anti-Semites that Zionists only care about their own people.
He worked as a translator for Soviet dissident and human rights champion Andrei Sakharov, and his spokesman.
Sakharov never stopped fighting for Sharanky's freedom, for human rights and for the Jews of the Soviet Empire.
Sharanky describes his life in the preface as a Jews growing up in Russia, and his mental liberation from Soviet thought slavery, by his discovery of his Judaism and Zionism. He then details his 1977 arrest, and his nine years of brutal incarceration.
He never bowed to his captors and refused to have anything to do with the perfidious KGB.
A variety of mental and physical tortures were used to try to break Sharansky, but he never flinched.
Always given courage by the word of the G-D of Israel, and particularly guided by Psalm 23:
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For though art with me..."
Indeed he did not fear the evil of the Soviet tyranny.
His wife Avital tirelessly fought for his release as his cause became known in the free world, and fought for by all freedom-loving people.
The book ends with Sharansky's release in 1986 and his aliyah to Israel, where he was reunited with his wife.
The book is a testament to the evils of a one party tyranny.
It is a testament to the eternal endurability of the Jewish people, and their unbreakable bond wit the Land of Israel.
Unltimately it is a testament of hope and of freedom of the human spirit.
Today the same Communist ideology that persecuted Sharansky is waging a jihad of intellectual terrorism against Israel and her people.
But the courage of people like Sharansky and the people of Israel has shown that Israel can and will prevail.

Natan is a hero to the human race. He is wise beyond his years and his wife really proved what true love is. No wonder our Oresident sticks to his convictions. We should all be like Natan

Having met Sharansky in Israel (Birthright alumni!), and having had a long time interest in the Soviet Jewry dissident movement - which allowed my own (Jewish) family to emigrate from the Soviet Union in '91 - I had little doubt as to the outcome of Sharansky's imprisonment. As someone who has read a number of books on similar subjects - in particular the Alexander Solzenytsin "Archipelag Gulag" series - I was a bit dissapointed with "Fear no Evil". (Nevermind that Solzenytsin is widely believed to be an anti-semite; I'm speaking of the literary aspect only.)

In contrast to Solzenytsin's breathtakingly vivid literary style and powerful analysis of the core of the Soviet regime and it's criminal code, Sharansky's book read rather like an eagle's eye view of a convoluted social and political order. "Fear no Evil" reads instead like a game of mental swordsmanship, with a self-inflicted narrow focus quite removed from breadth and depth of a much needed analysis on the Soviet system as a whole.

However, Sharansky does not proclaim himself to be a literary guru. This book is a poignant (if dry) portrayal of one man's fight for freedom - both for himself and 2 million of his people. The uncompromising stance taken by the author with the Soviet regime throughout his imprisonment - his life, family and future hanging in the balance - is awe-inspiring in its simplicity and effectiveness.

It has become a cliche in our time that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". Yet the Sharanskys of the world have proven that one need not be a terrorist to be a freedom fighter. Where are such men today?

"[Saul] put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on [David's]head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around... "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached [Goliath]".

So begins the story of the famous battle between the future King David of Israel and the giant Phillistine during Biblical times. In Natan Shcharansky's "Fear No Evil" (the title taken from one of David's own psalms), the author is less equipped even than young David in battling the ubiquitous and evil KGB, which maintains an illegal presence in the prisons he's held in (again, illegally), accused of spying for western countries. But because of decisions he makes early in his arrest, he is the victor in the struggle waged over his soul by men who would like him to acknowledge he is wrong, who would like him to implicate others in his "crimes" in order for favors from them, or who would simply like him to stop being the delightful fly in the prison ointment he is.

Shcharansky's only weapons during his trial and during his following prison term, consist of his personal integrity, which remains unsullied; his faith and trust in his family and friends; and a tiny book of psalms that he will spare nothing in reminding prison officials he is entitled to. He sometimes has to wage a hunger strike for these things, but always wins. It is true that his wife, who managed to reach Jerusalem before Shcharansky's arrest, is on a worldwide campaign for his release, resulting in no less than two sitting US presidents mentioning him by name in speeches heard by Soviet officials as a political prisoner, as well as global support, but Shcharansky does not learn this until later, and so believes he is virtually alone in the fight.

This gritty autobiography is a lovely example of human survival, and how one can keep his humanity in a horrific place. Shcharansky's relationships with his fellow "zeks" (prisoners) is especially touching, and we're able to get a glimpse of how even the guards in the system have surrendered their souls in this "police state".

A great read for anyone questioning how to survive while it seems suffering and injustice are towering overhead. Very inspiring.

Anthony presents a sober account of how calculated the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq was. Exposing all the rationales for the war as lies, "Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal" turns to the real reasons for the bi-partisan project in Iraq; to further imperial aims in the middle east. In the The Logic of Withdrawal chapter Anthony systematically nullifies all arguments against withdrawal, and the following chapter argues for the only principled stance -- troops out now!

The book is only 105 pages long, but it explains the US/British foreign policies that wanted the war, how the evidence necessary to invade was manufactured, and also the misreporting of the war by the media. It's extremely concise and valueable. The author even manages to squeeze in some semi-tangents that are important. My favorite one is the discussion of the Democratic Party and their belligerence - I just get tired of hearing that the Democratic Party is an anti-war party.

A third of the book is devoted to explaining why the invasion was sought after (as well as the occupation of Afghanistan). Then the book moves to focus on the realities of the war's fighting, and how it is covered. After the end of all "major combat operations" in May 2003 the continued attacks on US troops was blamed on Hussein, who was captured in December 2003. After the fighting continued, it was blamed on foreign interference. The administration said a provisional Iraqi government was needed. After the "free" elections on January 2005 the fighting continued. Since then, the administration has been blaming it on al-Qaeda and other foreigners, which Arnove shows not to be the case. These steps of blaming a domestic resistance to other causes is strikingly similar to that of Vietnam. After facing continued resistance, our policies changed to describe and fight those false causes (strategic-hamlet program-->search-and-destroy operations-->pacification program-->Operation Phoenix-->Vietnamization (which was only initiated after the Tet Offensive of 1968 awakened people to the grim truth of the war). Also discussed in this portion of the book (what's really going on over there) is the liberalization of Iraq's economy - It's straight from the IMF/World Bank playbook. The last section of the book argues, after looking at why the invasion occured and what's happening there now, that we should leave Iraq and provide aid until they're back on their feet.

I'd also recommend that an interested reader look into Bush in Babylon: The Recolinisation of Iraq and America's confrontation with revolutionary change in the Middle East, 1948-83.

Q: How many pages does it take to make a compelling case for immediate withdrawal from Iraq? A: Apparently not many when you have logic on your side!

It is a myth that Bush & Co.--though misguided--had the best of intentions at heart when they ordered the military invasion of Iraq in March of 2003. And this unfortunate myth prostrates the antiwar movement when it deludes itself into believing that a bloody occupation stemming from an illegal war can somehow be salvaged into something beneficial for anybody besides Halliburton.

Anthony Arnove's book explains the real roots of the Iraq war in the context of power and profit (not misguided humanitarianism), summarizes for the reader three years of blood-spattered occupation history, provides eight excellent reasons for immediate withdrawal and then discusses the ABC's of anti-imperialist struggle drawn from the history of the Vietnam War.

This isn't a catchall antiwar book to give to your chicken hawk uncle at the next family reunion. This is a book for the 50 million Americans who already consider themselves part of the antiwar movement and want some real answers about stopping the blood-letting. Or as the author puts it, "...the U.S. left in particular needs far greater clarity about the reasons for the war, the political context of the war, and an effective strategy for ending it." (page 98)

This is the most articulate, politically sophisticated yet easy-to-read appeal to bring our loved ones home now that I've read since the war began.

But don't trust this synopsis--read the book.

This outstanding book makes the case for the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq. This would meet the democratic demands of the Iraqi people, and also of the American and British peoples. In a September 2005 New York Times-CBS News poll, 52% supported the immediate withdrawal of US troops.

Arnove sums up, "Every single argument the Bush administration made to justify the invasion of Iraq has turned out to be false. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, posed no imminent threat to the United States, and had no connection to al-Qaeda or to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Iraq was attacked not because it had weapons of mass destruction, but because it did not (a fact that has not been lost on other potential targets of U. S. intervention). U. S. soldiers were not greeted as liberators, and the occupation has not paid for itself, or required few troops, or been quickly concluded. Nor has the occupation made the world safer or reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Indeed, it has made Iraq, the Middle East, and the world far more dangerous."

From the start, the war on Iraq was a huge lie. As Arnove writes, "The attacks of September 11, 2001, provided the pretext the Bush administration needed to portray an offensive war to reshape the Middle East as a defensive measure to protect the people of the United States."

Everything we are told about the war is untrue. For example, we are told that the occupation troops conduct a humanitarian war on the ground. In reality, the USA is waging war largely by massive, unreported, bombing: the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing alone dropped more than 500,000 tons of bombs on Iraq between May 2003 and December 2005. We are told that there is no national resistance attacking the foreign occupier, just terrorists attacking civilians. In reality, for every attack against civilians, there are a hundred against the occupying forces.

British governments have always lied to us about matters of war and peace, of security and the national interest. This Labour government is different only because its lies have been more stupid, so that we have rumbled it more quickly.

Arnove's book lays out, in a pretty straight-forward manner (105 pages, not counting the foreword, afterword, appendix, acknowledgement, and notes) the case for pulling all U.S. troops out of Iraq immediately. I read a few other books about Iraq before reading this one, and I would suggest that to any reader, just so they have a frame of reference while reading it. Arnove tries to use well-known quotes and facts to support his argument, and this helps, but there is still so much information on such a complex issue, that I think it would be difficult to read this and fully comprehend it with no prior knowledge of Iraq.

Arnove makes a very compelling case. What's sad is that he's using readily available information to make it, and yet we're now sending more troops to Iraq.

I think the only fault of the book is expecting that it will drive people to action. Arnove isn't really presenting anything new, just laying all the facts out for us in a very clean, logical way, almost like he's writing his thesis. While this style might work if Arnove were a lawyer convicting Bush of war crimes, it just serves to further highlight how this administration works above the law and gets away with it. Even with this much clear evidence against the war it continues on.

The above title are three words that come to mind after reading My Brother's Road. Markar Melkonian puts a human face on an "American-Armenian" legend, noting not only his brother's amazing accomplishments, but also his failings. Never-the-less, this book confirmed the fact that Monte Melkonian deserves the title of a national hero. His selfless ways and unstoppable drive for a cause bigger than himself are deliniated in the context of historical events. In short, one cannot help but admire Monte Melkonian while reading this book.
I thank Makar Melkonian for producing this fitting text about his brother, a revered son of Armenia.

This is a great book. The book is easy to read and has all the information on Monte from the day he was born all the way to his death. It tells us how Monte gave his life to the Armenian nation. After reading the book I sent a thank you later to his brother for writing the book. This is a must read for anybody who is intereted in Armenian Heroes.

I really dont know what else to say. This book details his constant resolve to better the Armenian cause. Though it involves conflicts with other Armenians, his focus is for the Armenian nation (past, during the cold war, present, and future).
He literally gave his life for the Armenian people. Though drawn into political conflicts, he was clearly an apolitical nationalist, and a true hero. May God bless his memory, and his brother, who wrote this book.
I thank Monte and Markar for teaching me so much about Armenian history. Like you, Monte, I am reborn and my spirit will rise up like a phoenix. I am more an Armenian, having learned of your life. You gave yourself for (our) my future, and I will always honor you for it.

Every Armenian and non-Armenian alike should pick up this book and read it.

In reading My Brother's Road, one can't help being made aware of the inevitable reciprocity of history. Monte, and others like him, were modern-day Maccabees, that cultural paradox of virtue and brutality, ideological fervor and compassion. To his added credit, Markar does not shy away from discussing the hard realities of the NKR conflict. In the end, that kind of honesty is the least his brother would have required.

This book is a wonderful, simple, and quick read. Of course the subject matter does get unpleasant, but it's good to know the facts from the perspective of His Holiness at the time that he wrote it in 1962.

The book tells the story which everyone knows: how the Chinese invaded Tibet and the Dalai Lama was forced to feel to India. But this book goes in to detail and as a reader, it was great to finally get the "real" details of that story, again from his perspective. Prior to reading this, I only knew the story based on films and summaries in guide books, etc.

I highly recommend this book, and I would suggest reading this one prior to reading his second autobiography, "Freedom in Exile" from the early 1990's.

Having long been a fan of the Dalai Lama and his other books, I was anxious to read his autobiography. It is an amazing story that he has to tell. We should hope that our world had evolved beyond invasions after World War II, but that proved not to be true when China invaded Tibet and eventually ousted the ruling party in 1959.

Having been previously familiar with the story of the exile of the Dalai Lama to some degree, I was anxious to learn about it in more detail. Truly the people of Tibet are and continue to be victims of China. China crept into Tibet saying only that it would help to modernize the "backwards" people of Tibet. After numerous broken promises the Dalai Lama exited just ahead of the first morter blasts that rocked his palace. China's only real goal was to take possession of the land at any cost.

Few religions place a greater emphasis on peace than the Tibetan form of Buddism. While the author gives readers some of the basic principles of the faith, the language should not be confusing to those not familiar with Buddism. This amazing story, though it ends with the Dalai Lama's arrival in India, is still fresh and eye-opening today.

I enjoyed this narrative, my first experience with the writing of H.H. Dalai Lama. He writes so well. It's clear, descriptive, and engaging from the first sentence to the last. Suitable for all ages, the earlier the better. It has really sparked my interest in this country,, or at least how it once was. It has been almost two generations since this tragedy and I doubt things will ever be the same. Well, at least the chinese have thier railroad at the expense of an entire nation. Oh, but the writing isn't bitter at all. Just me.

I am a college student who has studied China extensively in school. I can speak Chinese and have traveled to China several times and to Tibet once. While I have never agreed with many of the Chinese governments policies in the areas of religion, personal freedom, Tibet, and Taiwan, I think this book could have done more for its cause.

I decided to read this book after I spent 2.5 weeks in Tibet last year while studying in China. Tibet was one of the most fascinating places I have been to and I really wanted to know more about what happened there after China invaded. This book tells the Dalai Lama's story very well. Up until the last 15 pages or so, I really loved the book. However, before closing, the Dalai Lama makes several accusations about Chinese human rights abuses in Tibet (beatings, child abductions and the like) but provides no evidence of their existence.

While I personally feel Tibet was and still is a sovereign country and what China has done is wrong in many ways, the charges made in the last few pages don't belong in this book. While the Dalai Lama's story of his life and last days in Tibet are very powerful, I really think it would have been even better had the those last parting shots been omitted. Charges of human rights abuses such as these are very important and would be better served in a book of their own.

I think most Americans will enjoy this book but not share the same reaction I had to the last few pages. I have studied China for several years now and have heard accusations from both China and the world on countless occasions on a wide range of issues. Maybe this is why I get turned off when I don't see concrete evidence included when someone makes a charge such as the Dalai Lama does at the end of his book. I still think the Dalai Lama is a wonderful man and has an important story to tell, but feel this one could have come across a little better.

Even if you already know the life story of His Holiness, this is a great read. Written in the Dalai Lama's usual clear and forthright style, the story is deeply moving. Recommended for students of both Buddhism and history.

I couldn't put the book down. The horrific realities of women's life is Saudi Arabia captured my mind not only at the time I read the book. It is impossible to comprehend how the interpretation of the muslim religion could be used to put and keep the Saudi women so low and down. Opens your eyes to the realities of a life and culture so different, makes you think, and is something I will never forget. The book is very well written. It is one to keep and to give to read to your friends.

Women need to read this book: The Princess books make it clear how bizarre the world becomes when women are treated like chattel.
Men need to read this book: The Princess books should inspire all men to look at women in a new light--or else the world goes topsy turvy!
Students should read this book: These books by Jean Sasson will inspire many young thinkers to work toward changing the world and making it a better place.

One day, while at my boyfriend's parent's house, I saw Princess on the coffee table. Simply interested, I read the first chapter. Unable to put it down, I simply had to borrow it until I was finished. That Christmas, my boyfriend's mother gave me the boxed set.
What an incredible story! Every person, woman or no, should read this book as it gives you so many different emotions. Anger, fear, and thankfulness, this beautifully written set gives you the umph to finally get out and change your world. If one woman can change Saudi Arabia, why can't you change your own life?

Jean Sasson's books are an accurate indictment a culture of hypocracy! They reflect the cruel slavery under which the Saudi female population has endured for centuries and should be required reading for all human-kind free to do so. Human rights do not exist for women in Saudi Arabia and as women from other cultures marry into that one they swiftly learn upon stepping foot on Saudi sand they've just surrended their freedom for life!! Having spent time in the desert region I can tell you IT IS a culture of hypocracy!
A Lansing, Michigan area reader.

I got the trilogy set as a gift and only started to read it b/c i had nothing else. Turned out I couldn't put the first book down b/c it is so amazing. Its incredibly honest, it pulls you into Sultana's life and you feel the need for more. I'm currently in the middle of the second book and cannot wait to finish it so i can get to the third.