Middle East Books

In this highly readable and informative history Martin Gilbert highlights the history of the 3000 year old City of David, from 1900, when it was a small provincial Ottoman town (with a Jewish majority since 1840) until the 1990s.
In 1900 Jerusalem had a population of 70 000 made up of 45 000 Jews and 25 000 Arabs.
British census reports show that the increase in Jerusalem's population between 1921 and 1933 amounted to 20 000 Jews and 21 000 Arabs. These Arab immigrants came, like the Jews, from distant lands, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Yemen, as well as Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon.
It has been proved beyond doubt by documentation and records that Arab immigration into the Palestine Mandate was indeed greater than Jewish migration into the Holy Land during the British Mandate period.
This was documented and apparent long before Joan Peters gathered and displayed these findings in From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine.

The author documents how even at the beginning of the twentieth century Jews, including children were attacked in the streets by Moslem and Christian Arabs and, as recounted by a Christian visitor to Jerusalem in 1904, a Mrs Freer, "Jewish children, girls especially have to be protected mainly from the other children, Christian and Moslem. On the way to and from school; one frequently wonders at the patience- the heritage of centuries- with which Jews ignore the insults shouted after them in the streets, and considering how much they contribute as citizens of Jerusalem, it is sad that large sums of money should be paid for permission to pray beside the western wall of the Temple enclosure, to the villagers of Siloam for not disturbing the graves east of the village, and to the Arabs for letting alone the Jewish share of the tomb of Rachel on the road to Bethlehem".


Gilbert recounts the capture of the city by the British in 1917, and the triumphant entry into Jerusalem by General Allenby.
He recounts the crude anti-Semitic statements of the " Executive Committee of the Haifa Congress of the Palestine Arabs" which cannot be distinguished in it's statements about the Jews around the world from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or from German Nazi propaganda.

He recounts the Arab pogroms in which Jews were attacked and murdered and Jewish women and girls raped in Jerusalem, during the Arab pogroms of 1920, 1921, 1929 and 1939-1939.
The British reacted each time by restricting Jewish immigration into the Palestine Mandate at a time when Jews were under threat from Nazism ,in Europe.
He also recounts how the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al Husseini turned the issue of the Temple Mount from a religious one into an explosive racial and political one by the use of crude propaganda including faked photographs depicting Jews hosting the Star of David flag from the Temple Mount and even Jews with machine guns attacking the Dome of the Rock.
The Arabist anti-Israel lobby, especially the international media has through the years perfected these techniques, the highlights perhaps being the staged blood libel falsely blaming Israel for the death of a young Arab, Mohammed Al Dura in 2000, who it was subsequently found could not have been hit by Israeli fired bullets and was probabely not killed at all, and a faked massacre of Arabs which never took place, at Jenin in 2002.
In response to the White Paper preventing Jews from entering their ancient homeland, Winston Churchill speaking on the 23 May 1939, in the House of Commons opposed the new policy of allowing the Arabs to exercise a veto on all Jewish immigration after five years.
'He knew that since the publication of his own White Paper in 1922, more Arabs had emigrated to Palestine than Jews, despite that White Paper's declaration that Jews could enter Palestine virtually without restriction. Emphasising the point Churchill declared " So far from being persecuted, the Arabs have crowded into the country and multiplied till their population has increased even more than all world Jewry could lift up the Jewish population. Now we are asked to decree that all this is to stop and all this is to come to an end. We are now asked to submit, and this is what rankles most with me, to an agitation which is fed with foreign money and ceaselessly inflamed by Nazi and by Fascist propaganda".



The author records the bloodshed of the last years of the British Mandate and the War of Independence.
It is worth noting that millions around the world have been brainwashed with the image of Arabs being 'expelled from their homes by the Jews" while the destruction of Jewish homes, suburbs and villages, in areas taken by the Arabs is airbrushed out of history. For example how many people know of the destruction of Jewish synagogues in East Jerusalem, including the Hurva, after it was captured by the Arabs in 1948.
Similarly we are continually reminded of the King David Hotel bombing by the Irgun freedom fighters and the death of Aabs after the Irgun and Lehi fighters captured the Arab outpost of Deir Yassin, which had been used as a base by Iraqi and Syrian soldiers to murder Jews on the roads.
But we hear nothing of the Ben Yehuda Street bombing, the bombing by British terrorists helping the Arabs (shadows of today's International Solidarity Movement) of the Palestine Post, the attack of the Hadassah medical convoy to Jerusalem in 78 doctors and nurses were butchered.
Gilbert also details the great building of the city by the Jews and Israel from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Mount Scopus dedicated in 1918, the many hospitals and homes, including the Hadassah hospital of whcih the first cornerstone was laid in 1934, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial set up in 1953.
He also records the dire poverty of the Jews of Jerusalem in the early years of statehood and the absorption of hundreds of thousands of destitute Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
But the world hates Israel because she lifted her people from the dirt of poverty into a a first world nation?
He go's on to describe the Six Day War in which Israel survived a war forced on them by Egypt, Syria Iraq and Jordan and how so contrary to the Arabs the Israelis, even in the thick of the fighting took care to avoid damage to any Christian, Moslem or Jewish holy places.
He recounts the reunification of Jerusalem and the return of Jews to the East of the city, as well as the care taken to protect the welfare of the Arab inhabitants of the city which has mainly been answered by Arab terror against Jews, in which thousands of Jews have died.
The book ends on the note of the failed 1993 Oslo Peace Accord and the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The beginnings of ruthless homicide bombings carried by terrorist gangs are written about.
They had began soon after Israel signed the Peace Accords with the PLO which Arafat would so cynically break on every point.

Is Jerusalem all that special? Does it compare with London, Paris, or Honolulu? Well, whether it does or not, here is an excellent book about Jerusalem in the twentieth century.

The book opens describing a city of about 70,000 people (45,000 of them Jews). And I found it interesting that the Jewish percentage of the city did not change all that much during the century, even though there were all sorts of political changes: World War One, the British Mandate, World War Two, Israeli independence, and the reunification of the city.

Some of the stories are fascinating, such as how on December 17, 1902, during a severe drought, Muslim authorities permitted Jews to pray for rain at the Tomb of David. Within hours, there was a huge rainstorm.

There's plenty of interesting historical material as well. We find about about King and Crane, and their report (they said that Jews ought not be given guardianship over Christian or Muslim holy places). We learn about the riots of April, 1920, in which Arab mobs attacked Jews, explaining that the Jews were their dogs. And we see how everyone fared in the period prior to World War Two, and how more Arab violence led to the scuttling of the Peel Plan to create a small Jewish refuge in the region to which European Jews could have fled. And how that violence then led to the infamous British White Paper of 1939, which very severely limited Jewish immigration.

One of the best parts of the book is the comparison between the Jewish and Arab parts of the city from 1948 to 1967, when the city was divided.

Probably the weakest part of the book is at the end, where there is some mention of attempts to achieve peace between Arabs and Jews in the city. I think no one has the perspective to discuss this very well right now. Those who boast of compromising words and predict that peace may be in the offing are taking a serious stand. And that stand, while it may have been tossed out casually, has been disproven by events. Most of the talk about peace from known Arab terrorists has been insincere. Nor has this insincerity been a surprise to most historians. I think Gilbert would have been better off to simply admit that there has been recent violence and recent peace proposals. And that it is possible that in the future, we'll all see that some of the violence was historically very significant, or that some of the peace proposals were actually significant. But that now, it is too early to say anything of the sort. And that would have been a good way to avoid overdramatizing any of the most recent happenings in the city.

Still, this is an excellent book, and I strongly recommend it.

Gilbert is magnificent in his ability to take a complicated history of events and tell them to the reader in a concise, readable text. He also refrains from editorializing the content towards one side of the struggle. I believe this book is essential for grasping the current unrest in the Old City and throughout Israel. As a recent visitor to Jerusalem, I only wish I could have read Gilbert's work prior to my trip.

I really enjoyed this book. This book has given me a clearer idea of the history behind what is happening in the news. Thank you Mr. Gilbert for taking a complex subject and history turning it into something that most anyone can begin to understand.

This is another meticulous study by Sir Martin Gilbert, one of the most prominent, knowledgeable and admired experts in the Middle East. Here he provides a remarkable insight into the history of the City of Jerusalem during the 20th Century.

The author commences with a description of Jerusalem at the dawn of the 20th Century, as a small provincial town in the Ottoman Empire, comprising of a population totalling some 70,000 people. The majority being Jews (45,000) and the remainder mostly Arabs (25,000). The Century approaching it's end with the City's population being more than half a million, the majority Jewish but with some 25% being Arabs.

The book documents Jerusalem under Ottoman rule until their defeat by the British during the First World War. The writer then continues to illustrate the City under British rule through the Mandate period. Appropriate attention being paid to the Arab riots of 1929/36, describing many of the horrific incidents, the role of all the entities involved and the ensuing casualties. Many factors & commendable detail so often overlooked are included here.

The author analyses the City during the Second World War and how the latter affected it's occupants. It is clearly shown that the coming of peace to Europe did not bring peace to Jerusalem.

Indeed, from 1945-47 the writer describes Jerusalem as a City in turmoil, with the imminent end of British rule and the intended UN partition. A partition which unbelievably intended to leave the Hebrew University and the City's 99,000 Jews (one sixth of the total number of Jews in Palestine) outside of the intended borders of the Jewish state. The author describes this and the resentment that this intended move caused.

The ensuing conflict of 1948 is recounted including the siege of Jerusalem and the horrors suffered by the inhabitants. This extends to the 1967 Six Day War with detail also provided of the fighting for the Old City between Israel and Jordanian forces. Indeed, the author omits nothing, extending through the Yom Kippur War on to the Palestinian `intifada' of 1987/89 and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.

Numerous maps and photographs are provided in abundance. Notably inclusion is a photograph of the often ignored & forgotten bombing by British Army deserters of the civilian thoroughfare in Jerusalem's Ben Yehuda Street in February 1948, which killed over 50 innocent Jews. (A captured British soldier apparently boasting of his involvement, but complaining that he did not receive the £500 promised him & his colleagues by the Arab Mufti).

The carnage and destruction in the Ben Yehuda photograph rarely receives the light of day with most `neutral' sources tending to highlight the attack on the King David Hotel by the Stern gang. Photographs are also included of the devastation inflicted on Jerusalem's synagogues by Jordanian bombing in the 1948 conflict.

The writer concludes this excellent work by declaring that Jerusalem can be the `essence of peace' or the `source of conflict'; `the scene of riots' or `of reconciliation'; the `focus of celebration' or `of protest'; of `religious devotion' or `religious hatred'; of `quiet contemplation' or `loud exhortation'. Those who know the City of Jerusalem will know that indeed this City is unique. I highly recommend this book.

I also highly recommend a work covering the City's most recent political altercations by David Bar Illan entitled `Jerusalem; The Truth'. Coupled together these two books will provide a thorough grounding in the background to the City. Those with an interest in the City's Biblical history and it's prophetic element will enjoy John Hagee's `The Battle For Jerusalem' which includes a detailed coverage of the Palestinian `intifadas'.

"Kisses From a Distance" was recommended by a friend and I'm thankful to her for that! It's a very readable memoir, touched with humor and filled with first-hand stories handed down to Raff Ellis. His narrative flows easily and the photos add much interest. I drew many connections to my own Irish great-grandparents' experience. They immigrated to NYC during the Irish Potato Famine. I just wish I had the treasure trove of letters and photos that Raff has. They are priceless. All Americans are descended from immigrants, so we can all identify with "Kisses From a Distance," no matter our ancestors' ethnicity. Kudos to Raff for this labor of love.

I so much enjoyed this book so much I found myself slowing down towards the last pages because I didn't want it to end! Someone recently said facts are numbers, dates, and events . . . the "story" is something else altogether. As a first born child of immigrant parents, it brought my own family history to life while helping me to fill in many gaps. "Kisses From a Distance" is filled with many interesting historical facts . . . but the author's true gift is his ability to bring the past to life in an objective and hearfelt way as he tells his family's "story!" Liked it so much bought several copies to give to others.

Raff Ellis's story of his family's immigration experiences can be read as if it is an engrossing novel in today's market of published written works. Combining his miraculous discovery after the death of his mother, of a cache of over 200 letters, extensive research and visits to Lebanon, the author is able to tell in narrative form the family's trials and tribulations. I found myself continually referring to the family trees to keep track of all of its members and their interactions.

The highlight of the story for me was in the fact that I discovered more about one of Raff's brothers, Al, (like how he got his name) with whom I worked for 5 years in our parish in Andover, MA. This past June I also visited him in South Africa where he is pastor of a mother parish with three "outstation" Zulu parishes. I came to realize that we all have family and personal backgrounds that make us who we are. Don't miss this fascinating tale of one family that journeyed to America, becoming a part of the whole of our nation of immigrants. You won't be able to put it down. The story will be circulating in Andover and wherever else it finds its way. Pass it on, for that is what storytelling is all about!

I teach a course, Writing Your Memoirs, in which I not only encourage and instruct students in writing their own stories, but to read the stories of others. I read a lot of published memoirs---in fact, it is one of my favorite genres---and provide my students with bibliographies of Recommended Reading.

Raff Ellis' "Kisses from a Distance," the life stories of his immigrant parents who came to America from Lebanon, is a book I'm definitely adding it to my Recommended Reading list. It's a good story, very readable. It is obviously a long labor of love, good writing, and much research.

Especially interesting is the way this author interweaves the past, the lives of his parents, and the present, his commentary on the research, talking with relatives and others in Lebanon who knew his parents. I hope he will now write of his childhood growing up Lebanese-American, and bring the story up to the present.

I highly recommend "Kisses from a Distance" to everybody who likes to read memoirs, is interested in the immigrant experience, and who appreciates history and good research.

Raff Ellis has done an incredible job of chronicling the struggles, courage and dreams of immigrants coming to America in the early 20th century.
After discovering numerous letters written to and from his mom he was able to put together this historical and fascinating sequence of events that led to his fated life as an American. His eloquent writing style makes this story interesting, enjoyable and a great lesson in American history.
This is a must read for anyone, but especially for those who've had family members migrate to America from foreign lands.

Whether you live in New York City and want to understand how to synchronize your life with the city's rhythm, or you are just a visitor eager to taste both the past and the present of one of America's most vibrant neigborhoods-the Lower East Side-this book is an excellent companion.

Joyce Mendelsohn gives an excellent walking tour of the Lower East Side pointing out landmarks with interesting facts and accurate accounts of the rich history here. Anyone who lives on the Lower East Side or whose relatives came from the Lower East Side should read this book complete with period and modern photographs. I loved it.

Even if you can't visit the bakeries and restaurants of the Lower East Side (and you should) you can enjoy the ethnic flavors by reading Joyce Mendelsohn's book. Like the best historians, she tells stories of the past from a present-day perspective. New York is a city of remakes, architectural and cultural--Mendelsohn combines both. As a former History teacher, I recommend it for a good read.

I found this book to be an incredible resource for me, in my wanderings around the City. From the history of the African burial grounds to finding the best doughnuts, this is a great book. I read most of it from my couch, but then took it with me when I went looking for Napoleon Le Brun firehouses. The details of the history are among the best I've seen published.

This is an essential book for anyone who lives in or plans to visit New York City. The first 22 pages give a succinct but by no means shallow history of immigration to New York, beginning with the earliest slaves arriving in New Amsterdam in 1626 to the latest arrivals of Hispanics and Asians in the later years of the 20th century. The remainder of the book consists of four self-guided walking tours, each approximately 2 hours long, through 4 different neighborhoods of the Lower East Side. The description of each tour begins with directions for arriving at the starting point by public transportation--a helpful bit of information. Among the various sites on the tour are the birthplace of Eddie Cantor, the first municipal-built playground in the U.S., the place where Arthur Murry took his first dance steps, the library that Leon Trostsky used when he lived in NY in 1917, and the Wah Mei Bird Garden, where caged Asian song thrushes fill the morning air with song. The book is small enough to carry around easily. The index is especially good. The photographs, new and old, give a sense of the city both today and yesterday. This is a friendly book.

In this book, the hypochondriac genius of movies, radio, television, and the concert stage delivers all the neurotic humor expected. But the author, a talented writer as well as one of the great pianists of the 20th century, also succeeds at conveying the ambience of the artistic world of the 1920s through 1950s. His insights about his contemporaries, including celebrated conductors, musicians, composers, and actors, are fascinating.

Luckily found this among my mother's books, the title caught my eye. When asked about it, my mother laughed softly. I thought, if it can make her laugh it must be funny; well it's the best humor, and I turned to a page and busted out laughing. It's more than that. I read the one I bought from time to time, and there is always a point of feeling I'm in the belly of a beast. Such integrity I'd never known, and never felt I could fit in this world 'til reading "Memoirs of an Amnesiac".

My son had to explain (to my wife) the joke behind the title. An amnesiac can't remember and a memoir is a written record of memories. Hence, a contradiction, but still a great title and an emblematic preview of what's to come when you read this book. And you do want to read this book because Oscar Levant is unique, funny, honest, interesting, and weird. He is the kind of person that you want to read about because he seemed to know everyone who was anyone in American music or in American film and of course he has the inside scoop on those people including Harpo Marx, Louis Mayer, Irving Berlin, Fanny Brice, Aaron Copland, Arnold Schoenberg, Dorothy Parker, Paul Whiteman, Judy Garland, Arturo Toscanini, and Harry Truman. Oscar Levant, as SN Behrman said, is the kind of person that if he had not existed, could not be imagined. Yes, he's that bad. Because he is brutally honest about his life, his loves, his obsessions and compulsions, his drug addictions and his music and friends, we have here a real-life true quill biography that takes no prisoners and lacks the usual apology or gloss or pastiche so common these days. Brutal honesty - that's the ticket. Oscar has to tap eight times to get water from the faucet. He has to tap eight times to shut the water off. He needs to name each street his limo passes and if he misses the name, his driver has to circle back to get the name. He will throw away a pack of cigarettes if someone talks while he is opening the pack. His wife, June, (her title should be Saint June) who picked up the pieces after each nervous breakdown, still must have a separate waste paper pail in each room so that she doesn't contaminate the waste paper in his pail. When Oscar had his heart attack, he had to go through all his night time rituals before he could get into bed for the doctor to check him. In short - a real nut case. And yet, and yet, a world-class pianist, composer, television and film personality who led a life well lived. You wouldn't want him in your home for dinner unless, of course, he kept his mouth shut and just played his marvelous interpretations of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, which, incidentally, I am listening to right now. Ah, genius, - it has its problems and it has its pleasures.

This has always been one of my favorite books. I recall reading it for the first time as a pre-teen, and chuckling at his OUTRAGEOUS stories. I'm probably among the last generation that remembers this brilliant man, which is a shame. In the days of the great "talk shows", like Jack Paar, etc.., Oscar Levant was always one of the most coveted, and controversial, guests. I remember seeing him on t.v., as a kid, & being fascinated by this odd looking man who, though I quite honestly didn't get 90% of what he was saying, was obviously someone truly unique. This book has all his irreverent humor, the humor even evident in his telling of his long battle with mental illness, and his extreme, then un-named "obsessive-compulsive" disorder. His brutal honesty about his ordeal was unheard of at that time, and was long before the trend of todays celebrities, who do everything but hawk their x-rays on informercials. There's many names in this book that you will recognize, and his telling of his encounters with various celebrities is not always in their favor, and will have you rolling on the floor. He was literally thrown off the air in the 1950's, for a remark he made on a live talk show, pertaining to Marilyn Monroe and her conversion to Judaism, which is recounted in this book, but can't be repeated here. But at the time, the staid 1950's, it must have had the audience awestruck in utter shock at his outrageous (and incredibly humorous) statement. This is just a fabulous book about one of the greatest wits of this century, the man who started out as an incredibly accomplished and respected pianist, he was most known for his rendition of good friend Gershwins "Rhapsody In Blue", and became something more than just a clown. Totally touching, hysterical, and honest, this book will have you falling in love with dear, lost, brilliant Oscar. In todays, for the most part, [dissapointing] "celebrity" climate, we sure could use the likes of him again.

This book was a disappointment although it covers the scope of Oscar Levant's life from Tin Pan Alley to Carnegie Hall to Hollywood to mental hospitals.

A major problem with the writing is that it consists of endless name dropping without context. If you aren't familiar with the names (which I wasn't for the most part) then a good deal of the story is lost.

Another feature of the writing is a constant stream of one-liners from Oscar and others. These were undoubtably funny when they were first said, but in the book they seem forced. For example, "I once said cynically of a politician, "He'll double-cross that bridge when he comes to it."" If you enjoy one-liners then this book showcases them throughout.

As a fan of Oscar Levant from movies like Rhythm on the River and An American In Paris, I was pleased that he was up front about many aspects of his life. However, the famous line, "Beneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character" had a lot more truth to it than I had assumed. Oscar really does exhibit rude behavior, selfishness, cheating and drug addiction. And of course neurosis. He is honest to his faults.

A better (but far briefer) description of Oscar Levant is in Harpo Marx's book "Harpo Speaks". That book also has a lot of name dropping, but the literary style is rich so that it's fascinating even if you are not familiar with the Algonquin Round Table.

With Oscar's book, I was satisfied about the scope of the writing, but disappointed in the terse style although it's an easy read.

I just finished a ride of a little over 1000 miles from my home in NJ to and through WV and VA. I used this book to guide me on some really terrific roads and through some truly beautiful areas. This was the first long, extended ride I've ever taken and it was in large measure due to the "encouragement" expressed through this well written resource. If you're thinking of traveling through the Appalachians then I would recommend that you purchase and pour through this well written book before you go.

I just got back from a near-1000 mile trip through the Appalachians. I used this book to guide me through some thoroughly fascinating and beautiful areas -- the author, Dale Coyner, has create a terrific resource! I am not exaggerating when I say that VA Route 39 has changed my view of the eastern United States (I lived in the West -- Alaska, Utah, and Arizona -- until 2000). I'm sure I won't be the first, but I've set a goal to do all 36 rides in the book.

I showed this to the clerk at the bookstore at the Peaks of Otter wayside on the Blue Ridge Parkway. She's a rider, so she took the name of the book down with considerable enthusiasm and pledged to talk to the manager about stocking the book in the store. It seems strange NOT to have your book on the shelves in such a rider's paradise!

great book detailing not just roads, but local custom and color for the mid-atlantic area from PA down to the Carolinas and eastern Tennessee.

numerouse routes from a central point in each region are detailed and the local dining, lodging, and other points of interest are detailed in an interesting style of writing.

useful for anyone who wants to tour the mid-atlantic region and take their time doing it...

I worked in the motorcycle industry for over 10 years as a service manager and still ride with all my old co-workers.

We thought we knew all the best roads in our neck of the woods but we were wrong.

We pick a route, get into the middle of nowhere and then get lost.

This book has filled in the blanks for us.

A must have if you're a real rider.

For me there are three parts to a good trip - the preparation, the adventure itself, and then the memories. This book has helped me a long way in achieving all these pleasure points. The maps and text are wonderful; the crafty photo's with tasty captions peppered appropriately throughout this guide left my partner (who does not accompany me) recommending more sights than I could handle. A keeper, if not just for that.

In 1919, the international community saw the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, an agreement between the King of Iraq (Faisal) and the eventual president of the World Zionist Organization (Weizmann) that set reasonable conditions for mutual recognition of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and an adjacent Arab Nation. Today, a large number of Middle Eastern nations refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist. Ever wonder what happened? This book offers a significant piece of the puzzle.

This book focuses on the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, and his influence in funneling anti-semitic, Nazi propaganda into the Middle East. From reading this book, you will learn about Al-Husseini's frequent meetings with the Nazis, including Adolf Hitler, Al-Husseini's push for extermination of the Jews and his responsibility for disseminating volumes of ludicrous Zionist conspiracy theories into the Middle East. You will also learn about Al-Husseini's significant influence on Yasser Arafat and former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

The appendix of this book also contains a number of historical documents, including meeting transcripts, letters of correspondence and other relevant documents such as the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement and the Balfour Declaration.

I have a few complaints about this book. First, it is too short. Second, there are many egregious spelling errors, which is very unprofessional. Most importantly, although I think Morse has made a compelling case to argue al-Husseini's influence on the modern anti-Israel facet of Islamic terrorism, I think he overlooks the most significant driving force behind Islamic terrorism: religious fundamentalism. Unfortunately, this is a common oversight of many religious conservatives, who often seem too overzealous in identifying secular roots for acts of terrorism.

Overall, this book is an important chapter in the ideological origins of Islamic Terrorism.

Author would do better if he was not so repetitive. Still it is worth reading as one realizes that Islamic Terrorism is not a new thing starting in recent years, but has deep historical antecedents.

Haj Amin al-Husseini represented the opposite of the noble Emir Faisal Ibn Husein, the enlightened Arab King of Hejaz who had cordial relations with Chaim Weizmann and wanted to achieve a peaceful Middle East with co-operation between Jew and Arab.

Unfortunately Al-Husseini's ideology of hatred won out. As Grand Mufti of Jerusalem he spearheaded the imperialistic or utopian strain of Islam that has turned into a modern hydra. In 1920 he organised the murder of Jews who were praying at the Wailing Wall, and he never looked back. Throughout the rest of his time in Palestine he furthered his murderous designs because of the British policy of appeasement, with further campaigns in 1929 and from 1936.

In the 1930s Al-Husseini became a proponent of Hitler, eventually settling in Berlin where he encouraged the annihilation of European Jews and planned to become the leader of the Arab world in expectation of an Axis victory. He unceasingly promoted the Holocaust and Nazism amongst the Arabs. This strain of Nazism was a blend of National Socialism and fundamentalist Islam that would make deep inroads into the Arab world.

After the war Al-Husseini fled to Cairo where was instrumental in accommodating fleeing Nazis and organising for the destruction of Israel. The hatred of Israel now took on a Leftist flavour as the Soviet Union became the champion of the Arab cause. Arab leaders like Gamal Abdel Nasser, Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat were all influenced by his hateful ideas.

Al-Husseini did not only target Jews, but also moderate Arabs and the free West in general. Nazism was the spiritual and physical bridge by which Islamic extremism became prominent in the Arab world. He introduced the demented belief that utopia could be achieved on earth by the destruction of Israel and the annihilation of the Jews.

This malevolent Islamo-Fascism is the cause of much of the misery in the Arab world today and at the root of the hatred of non-Muslims, particularly the United States and Israel. In this, the extremists are assisted by international leftists. The Western democracies are now tasting the fruit of a decades long policy of appeasement towards this odious movement and its demonic founder.

But there is still a chance that the legacy of Emir Faisal might prevail, although recent developments in France and Europe as a whole do not look promising. Al-Husseini was without doubt one of the most evil personalities of the 20th century as meticulously documented in this revealing book.

Plenty of black and white photographs enhance the text, illustrating Al-Husseini's meetings with Nazi and Arab leaders, and of Bosnian Muslim brigades in World War II.

There are nine indices with documentary evidence of the historical narrative. Appendix A is the Balfour Declaration of 1917, B provides excerpts of the correspondence of King Faisal, C is the Weizmann-Faisal Agreement of 1919, D provides a dialogue between Lord Peel and Husseini from the Palestine Royal Commission Report.

Appendix E gives the minutes of a meeting between Hitler and Al-Husseini, F is an excerpt from the diary of Al-Husseini on his meeting with Hitler, G is a letter in which he asks the Hungarian government to send 1000 Jews to their death in Poland instead of allowing them to escape to Israel, H is his address to Arab-Americans and I is the Palestine National Covenant that denies the right of Israel to exist.

The text concludes with a moving prayer for the state of Israel by the Chief Rabbinate. It is a prayer that all true Christians would do well to heed and incorporate into their worship in these trying times. The book concludes with notes, an index and biographical information on the author.

I also recommend The Other War: Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for Media Supremacy by Stephanie Gutmann, Our Hands Are Stained with Blood by Michael l Brown, Dream Palace Of The Arabs by Fouad Ajami, Israel: Life in the Shadow of Terror by Nechemia Coopersmith, Myths And Facts by Mitchell G Bard and Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam And The American Left by David Horowitz.

Peace: The Arabian Caricature of Anti-Semitic Imagery

This is an important book for many reasons, especially for providing one especially significant and important aspect concerning the origin of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The author's thesis is that Al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, successfully merged his Islamic fundamentalism with the theology of Hitler's National Socialism. He supported the final solution in Europe, rallied Muslim troops to support and perpetuate the final solution, planned to import the Holocaust to the Middle East, and influenced future Arab generations. As a historian, the author pulls together many esoteric events (such as the Weizmann-Faisal peace agreement)that may surprise those who thought they knew the history pretty well. Morse illustrates how one individual can spread enmity and hate for thousands across generations. Recommended for those who want to gain more insight.

A very informative and revealing book on the role that Al-Husseini played in bringing about the dangerous situation in which we, in all the world, are living today. It leaves many questions unanswered, though, like: how or why the British, and later the French, favored this psycho so unashamedly. The crimes of this devilish man being left unpunished -even covered-up- claim for an explanation that is not offered here.

About 130 pages of fast and furious read. Very relevant to understand today's crisis between the suicidal West and the paranoid Muslim world. It has some very good analyses of the Palestinian conflict. It covers many issues related to the terrorism suffered by Israel thru the personal observation of relevant figures, not only Al-Husseini.

A book covering the whole 20th century, and practically the whole world geographically.

The Holocaust denial that is emerging in some parts of the West is a clear sign (as referred to in page 100) of more trouble on the horizon.

Do you still not know that God will bless those who bless Israel, for truly it is His people? So, also, he will crunch those who mistreat her.
Things pass slowly but surely. This short book gives a tremendous global view of what really matters in the world today. Capture the vision.

Excellent reading for all. This book was well put together and truly helped me understand what a nurse working on the front line during times of war is exposed to both mentally and physically. Page after page the author, Deanna, shows us what the true definition of what a nurse really is and what all nurses should strive to achieve. If you want to read a book that's impossible to put down till it's finished If your a nurse looking for inspiration. Even if you're not a nurse. Most of all, if you are looking for that, "written from the heart kinda book", this books for you.
By far the best book I've ever read. 5 stars plus more!!!
Well done Deanna, well done...

This book was so good, I could not put it down. It shows humanity in the face of war.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Germain said about this book that she hoped "to put a human face on war, showing that it affects us all, no matter what side we are on." She also helps families of returning soldiers to understand some of their loved ones' re-entry issues. The story of Germain's Abu Ghraib experience is important reading, and Lounsbury has done a masterful job of professionally writing the narrative.

Lt. Col. Germain in her memoirs spoke of great values that are easily lost in the battle field. She cared for her Iraqi patients and treated them with respect and dignity. She lived by a strict code of conduct when humiliation and torture of prisoners was taking place so close by. She made us all proud Americans by demonstrating our true values to those who disagree with us and certainly won their hearts and minds.

Great reading. You really have to admire her. News coverage what a bunch of BS.

Even after all these years, this book is an essential for world music lovers, from novices interested in learning more about something they just heard off the radio to seasoned music lovers interested in rounding out their collections. This encylopedic work (the first volume in the series) gives a brief survey of the different music traditions of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, divided by country, region, style or ethnicity. Each article was written by different authors, so obviously there is some variation, but they include very thorough details on the history, culture, background and style of the music, along with a sample discography at the end. Most articles include one or two profiles of famous artists from that country.

The first section, Europe, covers almost every country in Europe, as well as giving articles on the Saami people of Scandinavia, Gypsy music, regional cultures from Spain (like the Basques and Galacians), and Bhangra, the festive dance music of Britain's Punjabi diaspora! Everything you would expect is here, like Spanish flamenco, Portuguese fado, Greek rembetika, Norwegian fiddles, Scottish bagpipes, Celtic music from Ireland, Swiss alp horns, the haunting vocal music of Bulgaria and so forth. There are also quite a few surprises hidden in here too. Much of this section tends towards the folk, for obvious reasons.

The Middle Eastern chapter covers the music of Turkey, Iran, Israel, Armenia, Georgia and the Arab states (except for parts of North Africa), as well as Kurdistan and the Sephardic Jews. Theres alot of variety here, from the classical Arabic pop music of Oum Kalthoum, Fairouz and Abdel Halim Hafez, to modern Egyptian pop like Amr Diab, Natacha Atlas, and Hakim. Along the way, theres also the haunting sound of the Armenian duduk, Nubian music, Persian and Turkish classical traditions, Lebanese dabke, dervish rituals, Georgian polyphonic singing, Sephardic romances, Iranian-American pop music and Palestinean folk songs (which is great to see them acknowledge that Palestine DOES have a unique culture). This section is very good, with a very rich mix of traditions and cultures.

The biggest part of the book deals with Africa, with a very strong emphasis on regional pop music. Some countries (like Libya, Somalia and Namibia) are sadly overlooked, but all the powerhouses of African music are hero... Ethio-jazz, Algerian rai, high life from Ghana, Congolese soukous, Malagasy pop from Madagascar, Kenyan benga, South African gospel, Nigerian afrobeat, Senegalese mbalax, Moroccan gnawa, mbira music from Zimbabwe, Kabylie Berber music, east African taraab, recordings of the Pygmy people of Central Africa, Mande music of Mali... so much gets covered here, including numerous lesser known traditions (like the music of Zambia, Sierra Leone, or the Indian Ocean). Its by far the most exhaustive part of the book, full of great information, important artists and numerous CD recommendations.

Over all, its a wonderful introduction to the vast (and sometimes confusing) world music scene. The book was written in the late '90s, so some of the information is a little dated and a few REALLY great new artists or CDs aren't mentioned, but thats a minor detail. In fact, many of the CDs mentioned in the suggested listening section remain best sellers today! Theres also the occaisonal trend of focusing in on pop music or CDs more readily available in the west, but again, theres nothing wrong with this. Think of this book more as an introduction or a guide book and you'll be fine. Once you get into world music, or even just a particular culture or region, you'll be good. So check this book out and see what you like (or don't like).

I love having both volume one and two. They have much useful information. But speaking about the Netherlands where I lived for 35 years as a professional Surinam musician: I didn't like the part about Surinam music because it was very uncomplete. The writers didn't mention the two best known Surinam bands Fra Fra sound and the Ronald Snijders band. They only mentioned traditional style groups like Carlo Jones band pretending that the others are jazz, which is ridiculous.
Every other country mentions it's musicians and bands who fusion their worldmusic with jazz, like Cuba's Irakere, Brazil's Milton Nascimento, Argentina's Piazola, South Africa's Dollard Brand and so on. But in case of Suriname they simple cut that important part away. This also happened in part two. Sad and incomplete, because the mayor part of the innovation, promotion, touring and study comes from these new style bands.

Ronald Snijders (flutist-composer, writer, drs ethnomusicolgy)

Although I wish that there was even more room to fit in all that's needed. I do notice that, for instance, there has since this volume a separate pocket-size one for Irish music, and no doubt others. I studied the areas I was most familiar with to see if any surprises emerged. A couple each time; unfortunately, these were impossible to find on cd (cassette even out-of-print in more than one instance) if you lived more than a few miles from the musician, I reckon!

This inevitable let down between supply and demand for those outside of the countries who want to hear the music does frustrate armchair listeners like me. Go to the Egyptian chapter, for example, and you'll find that most of the genre's picks are bootlegged as tapes in the market stands. Since 1999, I gather that this tendency keeps growing given filesharing and cd-burners, so I'm not quite sure how one would find much of the music on smaller regional labels today even from reputable importers.

This evolution aside and perhaps beyond RG's survey, this does whet your appetite for music. But be forewarned that much of it comes at quite a price from the net or a music store, if you're lucky enough to find what you want. The illustrations in the text, the sidebar profiles, the list of merchants appended: all these represent a labor of love and a fine reference source.

I do wish, finally, that RG had kept their guides on the Net (as it had at least with the Rock Guide in the later 1990s) so they could be updated as CDs go in and out of print.

I love this book - it would be utterly useful to everyone except the MOST savvy World Music person with a big ol' advanced degree.

I do a radio show of Arab music (WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago!) and consider myself an educated aficionado, and I refer to it CONSTANTLY. This is truly the current ultimate guide to World music - just great. They are righ when they say "your CD collection will GROW" It will!

Walk inside the universe of World Music is not easy. You have the feeling to moove in a jungle of names, titles and unknown instruments. A Guide is necessary to understand and help you for orientation. This book is good for primers and experts, speaking about generes, origins, musicians and their best records. From the 1994's first edition the new release is more rich and reflects the high number of World Music records released in the last five years. I think you are in presence of the best guide you can buy today on the matter.

Everyone with a slight interest in MidEast history and the Arab-Israelis conflict should read it. First part is a mine of historical information about what went-on behind the scenes. The palestinian tragedy and exodus was more a result of dis-unity between the Arabs than supremacy of the Israelis.

While now everyone is refusing to nationalise the palestinian refugees, in the early 50's this was offered in exchange for extra land captured on different fronts. Extra land that was palestinian in theory, but since this became a battle field Palestine ceased to exist.

Second part is a bit slow but never the less of great value.

Highly Recomended to arabs and westerners alike.

I have read this book for like 4 times...and each time i find out something new that i have not noticed before.
Haykal was in a position to get so much information,and he has a way to put such information in a valuble book.

if you are ready to be neutral,then go ahead and but this book cause then you will know the meaning of secret channels.

It is refreshing to find somebody who tells the other side of the story. No wonder the book is out of print.

Like all his other books..this bookof Mr.Haykal..is full of secrets,inner looks,and analysis. Many questions are answered,alot ofopinions are outlined.This book tellsthe story of the peace process,past& present. I highly recommend this book,and urge everybody to buy it.

Mohammed Heikal is the type of journalist whose inner circle of friends includes emperors, kings and heads of states, in addition to lessor, yet very powerful global figures.

With a powerful analytical mind, a penetrating insight and, a fluent pen, Mohamed Heikal draws on his years of deep, deep connections with the most influential to focus our attention on how Palestine was ignominiously sold out by a pack of vain parvenus with Whom the Arab nation had to content with having at the helm of its political destiny.

Secret Channels gives us a stupendous insight into the vanity, narcissism and cowardice of the frail characters that led the Arab nation through an era that will live in infamy for a long, long time to come.

Mohamed Heikal, hated and despised by the dwarfs of his contemporaries, and hailed by the great pears of his caliber, continues to fascinate the reader with graceful literary eloquence, and a sense of appreciation for the entertainment value of the news.

There are no words adequate to convey the effect THE STONES CRY OUT had on me when I read it in 1986. It haunted me for years. I wanted everyone I knew to read it.

Just several years ago I met a woman whose entire family - her husband and all her children - died under the Khmer Rouge monsters.

Amazingly, after the stories Miss Szymusiak recounts: of the young girl who was killed for being too pretty, of those murdered for daring to exhibit signs of affection for one another, and of unspeakable tortures inflicted upon absolutely helpless and innocent people of all ages, the chapter which really drained my blood was the one detailing her witnessing the beginning of the purge. The author notes the young Communist cadres being themselves called in for interrogation and torture and disappearing one by one.

This is a chilling account of the darkest period in 20th Century history.

One of the earliest (1986) accounts from the survivors of the Pol Pot regime, "The Stones Cry Out" seems to have set the style and standard for another more recent child's-eye perspective on the same era, "When Broken Glass Floats". The minute details of everyday life, not abstract poltical assessments, form the basis for our childhood memories. The author's account carries an unvarnished realism which draws the reader into her film-like image of daily life under threat of starvation and execution. This is probably as close as a reader can come to the truth of events in Cambodia during 1975-79. Oral histories such as "The Stones Cry Out" are perhaps the best way for survivors of human rights abuses to indict the perpetrators. Sadly, tribunals driven by international politics are unlikely to have the same impact as the simple testimony of a victimized child. Highly recommended reading for all those with an interest in human rights, Cambodia, and Southeast Asian culture.

You need a strong stomach to read the grueling ordeal of a 12 year old girl in Cambodia under the Pol Pot regime.
The latter and his cronies turned a whole country into a concentration camp guided by the iron fist of a centrally planned economy which was based on rice production quotas.
Starvation and killing of whole families including babies were part of normal daily life. The author herself lost nearly all her family.
The slogan was 'be deaf and dump if you want to survive'.

Exceptionally, this book also relates the disturbing facts which happened in a Red Khmer camp in Thailand until one year after Pol Pot's defeat by the Vietnamese.

Molyda Szymusiak tells only the facts. She doesn't explain the overall picture of Pol Pot's regime, politically, socially, economically or internationally.
Therefore I highly recommend the eminent works of David Chandler as well as Philip Short's magisterial biography of Pol Pot (Saloth Sar).

This book shows painfully the disastrous consequences of a power grasp by ideological fanatics who created a one party state bureaucracy which wielded total uncontrolled power over the population.
This regime was a terrible shame for the left.

A very disturbing read.

My heart sank lower and lower with each successive chapter. This is certainly not a book one can read while couching comfortably on a sofa. If you are familiar with Cambodian history of the Khmer Rouge regime, this book is indeed a chilling read. But at the same time, one can't help feeling admiration for the author's fortitide in the face of unimaginable hardship and horror.

Actualy I would rate this 4 and 1/2 stars.

Having read "First they killed my father" by Loung Ung It would be difficult for me to review this book with out comparing it to Loung Ung's memoir.

Both are essentially the same story, a young upper middle class girl living in Phnom Phen in april of 1975 when thier life, family and happiness are torn from them by the khmer rouge.

Many of thier experinces are similar as you might expect (long hours in forced labor, family deaths, witnessing murder ect..) but each has a unique story of thier own.

The writing styles also vary greatly and this is where Loung's "First they killed my Father is the better" book. Molyda tells her story in a very straight foward manner. Her discriptions of murder, torture and rotting corpses are alomost clinical in tone as if she is afaid to visit or express her real feelings at the time (and who could realy blame her) we are giving only hints about her family and life before April 17th 1975 (to be fair this may be in part to spare distant family members still in Cambodia from retalation)

In Loung's book however we are treated to two light hearted chapters discribing her life in Phnom Pehn before April 17th 1975 this gives the reader a chance to feel they realy know her, her brother's, sisters and parents thier strengths and weakness'.

Loung's memoir is far more emotional in tone and feeling leaving the reader almost gasping for air at points.

For those overly squimish that makes "The Stones Cry Out" the better of the two books. It is also the better of the two books if your sole interest is the surrounding history of the killing fields.

But for those just wishing to read a great emotional book "first They killed My father" is the better choice but I would highly recomend both to all.