Middle East Books

In my studies of Mesopotamia, I had never really known much about Dilmun and Magan, places which are mentioned in several Mesdopotamian texts. My choice was between Geoffrey Bibby's book on Dilmun published in 1972, and this book which was published in 1998. Having read Professor Crawford's book `Sumer and the Sumerians' I finally decided on her book primarily because it was more recent.

The book, which focuses on the period 5000-1700BC, is a detailed survey of the findings from about 125 archaeological sites on the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf from the island of Falaika at the head of the Gulf, the `Eastern Province' of Arabia including Tarut Island and the Bahrain Islands, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates to the Musandum at the Straits of Hormuz, the interior sites of Oman and the coastal sites along the east side of that peninsula down to the most easterly point of the Arabian Peninsula at Ras al Junayz.

Chapter 1: The Setting, describes the physical setting of the area, and provides the rationale for identifying Dilmun with the Eastern Province and the islands of Bahrain, while noting that references to Dilmun in the Mesopotamian texts may have referred to different parts of this area at different times The copper rich sites in Oman is the reason for identifying it with Magan whose copper mines were of considerable importance to the Sumerian and Akkadian dynasties.

Chapter 2: The Earliest Settlements, covers the archaeological sites for the earliest period period of human settlement in the Eastern Province and Bahrain from about 5000BC to 3000BC which is the time of the Ubaid, Uruk, and Jemdat Nasr periods in Mesopotamia. Current archaeological evidence is sparse, but it seems that after the initial settlement phase during the 5th millenium, these were largely deserted during most of the 4th millenium until the Jemdat Nasr period when contacts between these areas and Mesopotamia revive.

Chapter 3: The Development of Dilmun, covers the archaological sites and textual evidence of the 3rd millenium. There is little evidence of settlement in the Eastern Province and Bahrain until about 2500BC, when the first urban settlement developed on Tarut Island where workshops for pottery manufacture, and other material such as lapis lazuli, copper, and steatite have been excavated. On Bahrain Island itself, the vast area of ancient burial mounds at Saar date from around 2500BC and were built and often reused over a period of about 2000 years lasting into the Hellenistic age. Professor Crawford points out that over the past 30 years surveys and excavation of newly identified towns and villages show that enough local people lived on the island to fill the graves, arguing against the hypothesis that Bahrain was a necropolis for Mesopotamian royalty and aristocracy.

Chapters 4 and 5 cover the period 2000-1750BC when there was a dramatic expansion of settlement on Bahrain This is the so-called period of `Early Dilmun', when it appears that Bahrain traders acted as the middlemen between the states of lower Mesopotamia and the mining businesses of the Oman Peninsula. The evidence for settlement, the architecture of domestic, workshop, and temple buildings, graves, and artefacts is described in considerable detail.

Chapters 6 and 7 cover the same things for the Oman Peninsula, where direct contact with Mesopotamia seems to have been replaced by contacts with cities in Central Asia and with the Harappan cities on the Indus River.

Chapter 8 provides an overview of the Development and Decline of Dilmun.

This is a thorough and up to date study of the findings from the archaeological sites along the south side of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf and the Oman Peninsula. Of the 250+ references in the bibliography, fully two thirds were published in the 15 years immediately prior to the publication of this book in 1998. The descriptions of the architecture of buildings and tombs is well supported by photographs and illustrations, and the differences and similarity in styles between the two areas is also very clear. There are several maps showing the general area of most settlements, but only about half of the named sites are shown on any map. I eventually found a more detailed map of Oman and the UAE on the web, but still had to resort to Internet searches for information on those sites which I couldn't find on this map. Even so, this left about a dozen which were not listed in the index, and for which I have no idea as to even their general location. A small point perhaps, but I find that knowing where things are is helpful to my understanding.

A similar observation can be made about dates. I recognize that it is obviously very difficult to pinpoint 3rd - 5th millenium dates with any certainty, but it would have helped if the author had included some kind of dating line even if it was broken down into every 250 years. I eventually developed one for myself but I still have some doubts about its accuracy.

This is a fairly short book (the main body of the text is only 156 pages), but the level of detail is such that I found a single reading was insufficient for me to truly absorb what I was reading. As a result I had to reread it several times and make copious notes on the findings by site and time period. While this is not a criticism of the book it does mean that if you want to get the most from this book, then a quick read through is not going to do it unless you are very familiar with the latest archaelogical information.

In this book, professor Crawford provides an excellent, up-to-date report on what is presently known about the ancient society of Dilmun and others in the Persian Gulf area. Three areas are reported upon: North-western Arabia, Bahrain (Dilmun), and Oman (Magan). The author exhaustively reports on archaeological findings (including architecture, burial items, pottery, and more), analyzing their significance, but avoiding any broad speculation.

I can't say enough about this book. If you want to know what is presently known about Dilmun and Magan, but wish to avoid the extreme speculation (if not outright guesswork) of many books, then this book is for you!

This book is a gem. Eschewing the conventional historical narrative/survey approach, the author weaves a tapestry of anecdotes and vignettes tied to events and artifacts, thus creating a fascinating historical pastiche of the Caspian region. This book is a particular achievement in how it manages to reveal Iran's (Persia's) view of itself -- its role and relationships with other players in the region's power politics through the centuries. Mirfendereski, in an erudite but engaging writing style, provides not only interesting information but a nuanced glimpse into a world view.

This is a good read. For those who know the Caucasus and Central Asia, it is a fascinating look at the rivalry betwwen the Tsars of Russia and the Shahs of Iran over almost three centuries. For international oilmen concerned with petroleum development in the Caspian, it is must reading. Furthermore it is timely because of the discussion of Afghanistan in the history of Iran. And finally, for those who lived and travelled in Iran, it is a return to a beautiful nostalgia that is, alas, no more.

This book is a collection of history as well as pictures of past and present history.Greek,Ottoman,Roman and modern. It includes all the phases of Alexandria.From the time of her popularity to her downfall.The book is rather small compacted and has about 200 pages.
Extremely well written,with many interesting details.
Having lived in Alexandria for 30 years of my life I can sincerely vouch that this book is great.
If you really like Alexandria Egypt then this book is a must to have.

This slim little volume is a nice, accessible history of Alexandria from its founding by Alexander the Great to the present day, written by an expert for the sake of interested non-experts. "A picture's worth a thousand words" seems to be the guiding axiom behind the format, which abounds in colorful and helpful illustrations. That said, a lot of interesting detail is packed into the deceptively short, compact chapters as well. The selection of excerpts from primary sources at the end also fleshes out the historical narrative nicely. Portable and with frequent section breaks in the chapters, this book is ideal for those who want to do some armchair travelling during their commute by bus or train--and the tourist travelling for real will of course find it a handy reference. And it makes a great intro for anyone curious about this great, fascinating city.

With over 300 pages, countless well-reproduced color illustrations mostly from historic prints (printed in Italy- no surprise)and oversized pages around 10 x 14 inches, this book is one of my favorite "coffee table" books. But it is more than that. It is engagingly written and filled with information on the discovery of the Nile and more. I especially like all the historic maps reprinted in it. There is so much more, too, including David Roberts' prints in very accurate color. If you are at all interested in this subject, you will love this book!

The plates in this LARGE volume are absolutely stunning! If you are at all interested in the history of Africa, it will be well worth your while to get this book before all of the cheaper copies are bought up.

For anyone interested in understanding the depth of the poetry of Hafiz, Clarke's translations are a must. His comprehensive knowledge of Sufism and the hidden meanings in Hafiz' poetry is superior to any renderings that have come before these translations or after. Well worth reading whether for pleasure or research.

This book is an excellent tool for learning Persian. What could be added, if anything, is the book in farsi of which the author speaks. But since one is supposed to study, is kind of fun to search through the web or with the help of Iranian friends, in libraries or wherever, the texts in persian.

One or two originals (texts in persian) are certainly enough for at least six month's study. So with a book like this all that one needs is to work with patience, pleasure, and with the hope that the spirit of Hafiz will come to whisper into the student's heart.

A fantastic book on the subject of animal mummies in ancient Egypt. It is written by some of the top Egyptologists in this field of study and can provide huge amounts of information on all that you would want to know about this ancient practice...from the reasons behind animal mummies (why they were scared etc.), the actual process of making them and the areas where these votive offerings were placed (i.e. holy sites such as Saqqara, Tuna al-Gebel and so fourth). It's a highly academic book and perfect for all Egyptologists out there or those who immerse themselves in the study of ancient Egypt. There are a number of beautiful picture within the book as well. Overall, it's a wonderful book!

An excellent book by a professor of Egyptology at the American University of Cairo. It deals with all the reasons why animals were mummified in ancient Egypt, why these mummies acccmpanied their masters into their tombs, and also the hoaxes that were sometimes perpetrated on unsuspecting pilgrims who thought that they were actually purchasing mummies of animals to offer to the gods. Salima Ikram is the leading authority on the subject of animal mummies. She has written widely on the subject, lectured on it at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and several other well-known institutes, and appears frequently on TV (I have seen her on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, etc, etc.) She has established a room for animal mummies in the Egyptian museum in Cairo, the first of its kind in the world.

The subject matter of this book is the life (and struggle) of the Palestinian citizens of the State of Israel as seen through the eyes of a Palestinian doctor in his native Galilee.
During the Nakba (Disaster) of 1948 more than 750.000 Palestinians were uprooted from their land, villages, towns and cities. They fled or were expelled through force of arms by the victorious military forces of the nascent Zionist State of Israel. Hundreds of villages were levelled and destroyed in an effort to erase the memory of Palestinian society as it existed prior to 1948.
Most of the Palestinian refugees ended up in camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, the Westbank and the Gaza Strip. Only a remnant of around 150.000 Palestinians managed to remain on their land in what became Israel, mostly in the Galilee with smaller communities in the Little Triangle and the Negev and pockets in cities like Haifa, Jaffa, Acre, Lod and Ramle. For a long time, until 1966, they lived under a harsh military regime overseen by a military governor to be replaced later by civilian officials like Israel Koenig, who dealt with the Galilee's Arab citizens for 26 years and gained notoriety with the Koenig Memorandum.
How these Palestinians fared under the regime of Zionist overlords is explained in this fascinating book, the memoirs of Dr Hatim Kanaaneh, a native from the village of Arrabeh in the hills of the Galilee, not far from the Horns of Hittin, where Salaheddin and his forces defeated the Crusader armies.
When we hear about "Israeli Arabs" or "Israel's Arabs", as the Palestinian citizens of Israel are often referred to we are told things like: 1. They have the vote, 2. They never had it so good, much better than in the surrounding Arab countries. Hatim Kanaaneh's book goes far beyond these standard phrases and offers us a unique insight into the life of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
His father sold some of his land to his neighbours to enable Hatim to get a plane ticket to the USA and $500,-. After he arrived in the USA he struggled and worked hard, finally securing a scholarship for Harvard medical school. He was among the first young Palestinians in the early 1969s to embark on a medical career in this way.
After he qualified as a medical doctor he specialised in public health and family practice. He became an employee of Israel's Ministry of Health and tried - working within a system, prejudiced against the interest of the Palestinian citizens - as a District Public Health Physician to bring benefits to his community. He resisted attempts by the Shin Beth, the internal security agency, which is present at all levels of Palestinian society in Israel, to recruit him and tried doggedly - working with Jewish colleagues - to improve public health and bring sanitation to the villages. He soon encountered a wall of bureaucratic indifference and even outright hostility. We learn how from the perspective of bringing health services to the Palestinian community in Israel the system systematically discriminates against Palestinians.
Particularly in the Galilee the Palestinians were the legal owners of vast tracts of fertile farmland. The villages depended on subsistence farming to a large extent. The Galilee was relatively sparsely populated with Jewish Israelis and the growth of the Palestinian community was and is perceived as a 'demographic threat'. The Jewish state aimed to change all that by confiscating as much land as possible and settling it with Jewish kibbutzim, moshavim and townships, the so-called judaisation of the Galilee.
Over the years much land has indeed been expropriated, forcing Palestinians to become cheap labourers in the Jewish economy. In 1976 the efforts at mass expropriation led to a general strike and mass demonstrations, during which the army killed 6 unarmed Palestinian demonstrators. This became known as Land Day. Since 1976 Land Day is held annually on March 30.
For the Galileans nothing is more sacred than their land and Hatim Kanaaneh describes in a wonderful way the tenacity with which Palestinian farmers hang on to it. The State usually tries to confiscate land for the purpose of a 'green belt' or as a 'military area'. Next it uses the pretext that the land lies fallow and then proceeds quasi-legally to disposses their Palestinian owners. Kanaaneh describes how Palestinian farmers brave the dangers of a closed military zone with unexploded munitions (some of them dating back to the British mandate) to keep their fields plowed. Some of them clear their fields from stones and boulders with nothing more than their bare hands and a pick axe to make it ready for cultivation. The all important aim is to hang on to the land.
His colourful depiction of Palestinian village life with it's clan system, the interactions of the Palestinian citizens with the State - marked by racism and discrimination - as cheap labourers, peasant farmers, informers, sometimes as collaborators, as politicians and professionals, as present absentees and activists is masterful with many hilarious moments and self-depreciative humour, but also with moving stories of steadfastness/sumud.
Hatim Kanaaneh finally gave up the struggle to improve public health by working from within the system. He resigned from the Ministry of Health and went on to establish the Galilee Society, which became an NGO and aimed to do what he could not accomplish as District Public Health Physician of Israel's Ministry of Health.
He tells us of his disappointment in many of his liberal Jewish colleagues who were not able to transcend their Zionist mindset. Curiously Ezer Weizmann gets a positive mention with his insistence that Palestinians should be treated fairly.
Over the years the Palestinian citizens of Israel have been struggling doggedly for equal rights, but there is still a long way to go. They now make up somewhere between 20 and 25% of the population of Israel, but the racism and discrimination, the exclusion and the branding as '5th column' continues. The idea of 'transfer' is poisoning the minds of too many Jewish Israelis.
In 2000 with the outbreak of the second Intifada in the Occupied Territories there were also demonstrations in the Galilee, with Palestinians protesting at the treatment meted out to their brethren in the Occupied Territories and against the discrimination and racist practices they themselves were exposed to. As if to underline the situation of Apartheid Israeli police and border guards shot and killed 13 unarmed demonstrators. These were supposedly citizens of the democratic State of Israel, but the distinction was that they were non-Jews.
Most recently extreme rightwing Jews petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court and won the right to march through the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm, invoking memories of what happened in the American town of Skokie in 1977.
What becomes clear in the memoirs of Hatim Kanaaneh is that many Palestinians in Israel hang on to their identity. They consider their brothers and sisters in the Occupied Territories and in the refugee camps of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria as fellow Palestinians. At the same time they are citizens of the State of Israel and strive to a future coexistence with Jewish Israeli's as equals. Personally I find it doubtful that this will ever be possible without Israel revising its Zionist foundation as a "Jewish and democratic" state.
The last chapter of Hatim Kanaaneh's book tells about his endeavour to transplant an ancient Rumi olive tree (from Roman times) to his garden. Through this olive tree he declares his attachment to the land.
"This gnarled behemoth, with its two meter wide, beautifully sculptured trunk and over ten metres of exposed root system saw it all. I can prove my belonging to this piece of the earth's crust through it; its roots are my surrogate roots. And they are taking hold in my land that I inherited from my father, who inherited it from his father, who..."

This book - with Jonathan Cook's foreword a welcome addition - is the most important publication in a long time offering unique insights into the life of Palestinian citizens of the State of Israel. It has literary qualities and deserves the widest possible readership.

Good books explicating the reality of the poison spreading throughout the world via Zionist Israel's founding in 1948 continue to arrive--e.g., Professor Ilan Pappe's "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine"; Dr. Ghada Karmi's "Married to Another Man: Israel's Dilemma in Palestine." One must simply maintain pace with them and learn. (My personal advice to anyone wishing to educate him/herself about the Holy Land tragedy is to start with Stephen R. Shalom`s great, concise 2002-issued history at http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Israel/Background_I_P_Crisis.html [I searched in some alarm before finding this site; Professor Shalom's backgrounder had disappeared from its initial ZNet repository]; and then to visit Alison Weir's www.ifamericansknew.com . Don't stop at those founts of information but continue to search and gain knowledge. Please.)

In terms of resources, the just-issued "A Doctor in Galilee: The Life and Struggle of a Palestinian in Israel" is perhaps the best yet. Dr. Hatim Kanaaneh's memoir, which I characterize as a series of journal entries skipping through varying intervals of time from the late 1970s to early 2006, gives new meaning to tour de force. It captures the essence of a visionary, humorous, earthy, self-effacing man of our world, fully capable of interacting with Christian, Muslim and Jew alike. (Indeed, it was the occasional note of Dr. Kanaaneh's dealings with and obvious respect for Christian leaders in Palestine--surely reciprocated--that endeared me greatly as I pursued my read.)

I admit to having great empathy for the rightful inhabitants of Palestine...an empathy birthed by a life-changing experience in 1964-5 when the Army sent my 21-year-old enlisted body to Monterey, California's Defense Language Institute to study the Arabic language and culture for one year.

So I should have been ready for "A Doctor in Galilee," but I was not. My prime focus for 45 years has been the beleaguered souls and trashed "holy" land of the Occupied Palestinian Territories: Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza. Aghast at the unrelenting evil of the Zionist enterprise corrupting Judaism and roiling all with which/whom it comes in contact, my obsession for truth and justice for the Muslims and Christians of the OPT is all-consuming. Vicarious suffering, outrage, white-hot anger, sadness, resignation, camaraderie with those of kindred mind whose journey leads along many diverse paths but converges at recognition of a vast injustice perpetrated on an entire people who deserve, and are owed, so much in recompense and deliverance: these and more are the defining elements of my life.

Now comes Dr. Kanaaneh, who explicates the everyday and long-term continuum of existing as a "citizen" of a "state" which, for 60 years-plus, has done all in its inordinate power to make him and his people feel unwelcome, unwanted, unneeded. The stress level of persevering under such conditions must be well-nigh unendurable. But that the good doctor has functioned for decades in the midst of unremitting hostility, blatant discrimination, grudging concessions, the understandable-but-grating capitulation of those of his people selling out their own cause is at once mysterious and a tribute to the inventiveness and resilience of humanity. (Memo to President Jimmy Carter: Sir, you must read this book!)

From his personal history and actions to his family to the people around him to whom he administers medicine to his professional interactions with the Zionist adversary, Dr. Kanaaneh perseveres with spirit and an indomitable determination to overcome. One step forward, one-and-a-half-steps back, for decades: readers of this review must invest in "A Doctor in Galilee" to attain even a semblance of the full impact of this man's storied life. I am humbled and all the more resolved to seek justice where even a partial measure of justice is inadequate: such is the extent of the evil perpetrated on the Palestinian Arab "citizens" of the oxymoronic "Jewish democracy" avid to make "life" so difficult that they (along with their brethren in the OPT--it is all the same in the end) will just go away.

"A Doctor in Galilee" is replete with great moments and is hard to set down. To whet readers' appetites, here are some vignettes to anticipate:

-- pps. 105-106 (1981): I wept as I wondered "Have overall health conditions for Palestinian Arab kids improved by this 2008?"

-- pps. 181-185 (1986): an awesome, enlightening dialog on Zionism and resistance to it.

-- pps. 191-193 (1988): the revolting and humiliative treatment of Dr. Kanaaneh's beloved daughter Rhoda.

-- pps. 226-227 (1994): an ideal passage illuminating the perception of Dr. Kanaaneh as a skilled political infighter.

-- pps. 242-243 (2001): a rumination, a "lecture" which should be a must read for GW Bush, C. Rice et al...superb, wonderfully profound.

-- pps. 243-246 (2002): a medical visit to Jenin, OPT; once again, I cried copious tears.

Finally, the concluding chapter (2006) makes the book an invaluable, essential read. I'm not sure Dr. Kanaaneh intended this closing to be such, but I take it as a metaphor for the entire six-decade matrix of Zionist crimes against the Palestinian humanity. The ancient olive tree which Dr. Kanaaneh sought and acquired via a fascinating process symbolizes any/all Palestinians' reverence for that venerable mainstay of their land. It also cannot but make any minimally knowledgeable reader seethe with righteous indignation for the hundreds of thousands of olive trees in groves across the OPT (and surely in Israel from 1947 onward as the Zionists erased 500-plus Palestinian villages, desecrating and thieving land wholesale) which have been methodically and vindictively removed from the land. (Of course, among the myriad numbers of olive trees uprooted, probably by U.S.-manufactured Caterpillar D-9 armored bulldozers, are those which have been brazenly stolen and sold for profit to Jews illegally settled on Palestinian land and now arrogant "owners" and harvesters of that which would be bitter fruit to any sensitive human being....)

(Prepared August 4, 2008; revised August 5th)

Does the Land Remember Me?: A Memoir of Palestine (Arab American Writing)
This book is a heart-filled memoir of Mr. Aziz's trip to his homeland to visit his elderly mother after 4 decades of absense. His interaction with all of his relatives who were not able to leave Palestine provides a very personal glimpse of their lives and frustrations today. Unfortunately we lost this spokesman to cancer in October 2007.

Palestinian/American Aziz Shihab goes back to his occupied homeland to visit his aging mother and to connect with some land he still owns. While there, he offers us a painful look at this renowned political occurrence. Shihab's passages are full of distressingly endearing encounters with Arabs and Jews (friends, enemies, and in-betweens). Many of these encounters are like dreams where things don't add up, but are pursued for some vestige of logic. Nevertheless, Shihab manages to incorporate a sense of humor into the tidings. One is compelled to turn the page and go on to the next scenario. Who among us has not felt powerless as the political winds shift directions? Aziz Shihab's book produces a lasting impression of this global consternation.

Doing Business with Kuwait is almost an encyclopedia about Kuwait. I wonder if Mr. Kennedy has missed anything about Kuwait. It is a remarkable work as the book talks about the history, politics, economy, and society of Kuwait. It also provides detailed information about religion, weather, demography, and many more topics.

The book contains magnificent data represented in many charts. In addition, the "Visitor Tips" sections are most useful and helpful for foreign visitors to Kuwait, whether the purpose of the visit is business, leisure, or work.

Therefore, if that part of the world, particularly Kuwait, is of an interest to you, this book is of a great great value.

Doing Business with Kuwait is a wide-ranging comprehensive look at how businesspersons from the West and East need to modifify their approach to business in order to be successful in the Kuwaiti environment. A brief skim through this book shows that business rules and practices in Kuwait are in fact very different than they are in the USA and the rest of the world. Indeed, as a successful businessperson operating in Kuwait, I can agree wholeheartedly with the general thrust of Mr Kennedy's book, which accords with my own business experience in Kuwait. I only wish that I had it to hand when I was starting business in Kuwait myself several years ago. Doing Business with Kuwait is logically divided into seven neat sections. These cover the country, the economy, business laws, taxation, finance&industry,the market place, and behavioural aspects. Whether it is background infomation on country, a detailed look at rules and regulations, or tips and hints on how to be successful in the Kuwait market place, it is all to be found in Doing Business with Kuwait. The book puts into words things about Kuwait that I had learned intuitively over the years. One of the striking things about Doing Business with Kuwait is how its wealth of information is presented. The individual chapters are written in a simple flowing style that is a joy to read and in which the exposition opens out gradully and very understandably. But best of all, the text is intrespersed here and there with boxes cintaining advice on how to do certain things and warnings of potential pitfalls. A really great way to present the essentials. In conclusion, I can only heartily recopmmend Doing Business with Kuwait to anyone, whether an executive of an international corporation or a small time entrepreneur like myself, cosidering taking a chance in the Kuwaiti market which, belive me, is not for the faint-hearted. I only hope that this book will be recognised for what it is, the bible on doing business in Kuwait.

A wonderful wonderful book.Although the book was written some 150 year ago, Mary Eliza Rogers takes you into the intimacies of daily life in Palestine in the 1850's as if it was occurring today. She writes from her heart with honesty,integrity and a clear mind. And although written at a time of Victorian prejudicies and colonialism she writes without bias or judgement. From her beautiful and colourful descriptions one can envisage the Holy Land as it was before undergoing the process of modernisation and change. For anyone who has any attachment to this land it is a truly wonderful and personal experience to read this book.

A wonderful wonderful book.Although the book was written some 150 year ago, Mary Eliza Rogers takes you into the intimacies of daily life in Palestine in the 1850's as if it was occurring today. She writes from her heart with honesty,integrity and a clear mind. And although written at a time of Victorian prejudicies and colonialism she writes without bias or judgement. From her beautiful and colourful descriptions one can envisage the Holy Land as it was before undergoing the process of modernisation and change. For anyone who has any attachment to this land it is a truly wonderful and personal experience to read this book.