The History Book Club discussion
MIDDLE EAST
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JORDAN
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by Queen Noor (no photo)Synopsis:
"Leap of Faith is the dramatic and inspiring story of an American woman's remarkable journey into the heart of a man and his nation."
"Born into a distinguished Arab-American family and raised amid privilege, Lisa Halaby joined the first freshman class at Princeton to accept women, graduating in 1974 with a degree in architecture and urban planning.
Two years later, while visiting her father in Jordan, she was casually introduced on the airport runway to King Hussein. Widely admired in the Arab world as a voice of moderation, and for his direct lineage to the prophet Muhammad, Hussein would soon become the world's most eligible bachelor after the tragic death of his wife.
The next time they met, Hussein would fall headlong in love with the athletic, outspoken daughter of his longtime friend. After a whirlwind, secret courtship Lisa Halaby became Noor Al Hussein, Queen of Jordan."
"With eloquence and candor, Queen Noor speaks of the obstacles she faced as a naive young bride in the royal court, of rebelling against the smothering embrace of security guards and palace life, and of her own successful struggle to create a working role as a humanitarian activist in a court that simply expected Noor to keep her husband happy.
As she gradually took on the mantle of a queen, Noor's joys and challenges grew. After a heartbreaking miscarriage, she gave birth to four children.
Meshing the demands of motherhood with the commitments of her position often proved difficult, but she tried to keep her young children by her side, even while flying the world with her husband in his relentless quest for peace.
This mission would reap satisfying rewards, including greater Arab unity and a peace treaty with Israel, and suffer such terrible setbacks as the Gulf War and the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin."
Leap of Faith is a remarkable document. It is the story of a young American woman who became wife and partner to an Arab monarch. It provides a compelling portrait of the late King Hussein.
I remember, back when I lived in Israel, watching the news on Jordanian TV. Whatever happened in the world, they started off with something about the king. We used to joke...."Today, the King got a haircut and World War III began".
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And I guess it does not matter where in the world the media is located.
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by Charles GlassSynopsis:
Charles Glass, an award-winning commentator on the Middle East, resumes a journey through the Levant that was violently interrupted on 1987 when he was kidnapped by Shiite gunmen. The voyage, from Aqaba on the Red Sea to Alexandretta in southern Turkey, begins again in September 2001, haunted by the 9/11 attacks on America and the ensuing invasion of Iraq.
Along the route, Glass visits the Israeli settlements and Arab towns on whose land the settlements were constructed, speaks to Israeli conscripts and Palestinian demonstrators, to priests, rabbis and mullahs, politicians and assassins, the tortured and their torturers. He also revisits the scene of his captivity, confronting the men who kidnapped him over two decades ago.
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by Charles Leonard Irby (no photo)Synopsis:
Travels in Egypt and Nubia, Syria, and the Holy Land is a detailed journal from two commanders in the British Royal Navy, documenting their time in the Middle East during a "tour of the Continent."
Though the two captains, also relatives by marriage, had only intended on a short excursion, they extended their stay and explored the area for more than four years, from 1816 to 1820.
The result is an extensive and intricate study of Middle East culture and land. Included are sections on Egypt and Nubia, Syria, and Petra and the Dead Sea.
Entries are organized by date and include subjects such as, "Our Party and its Objects," "Crocodiles," "Visit to the Pyramids," "Convent on Mount Carmel," "Troubles with our Escort," and "Observations on the Character and Customs of the Arabs."
This entertaining and informative read will be of interest to historians and students of Middle Eastern culture.
The honorable Captain CHARLES LEONARD IRBY (1789-1845) was a captain in the British Royal Navy. He was married to Frances Mangles, daughter of John Mangles. He died at age 56 on December 3, 1845.
JAMES MANGLES (1786-1867) was a naval captain in the British Royal Navy. Throughout his travels, he collected plant specimens and seeds, developing a reputation as a botanist and explorer. He died November 18, 1867 in Fairfield, Exeter, England.
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by Michael Korda (no photo)Synopsis:
T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935) first won fame for his writings and his participation in the British-sponsored Arab Revolt of WWI, but the adventurer known even in his day as "Lawrence of Arabia" is remembered today mostly as the subject of the 1962 film masterpiece based on his life. This splendid page-turner revitalizes this protean, enigmatic adventurer. That this colorful British scholar/Middle East warrior deserves a better fate is demonstrated amply in Michael Kordas' authoritative 784-page biography. Exciting, well-written, and relevant.
Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected LifeNot too satisfied with Leap of Faith.
Only the part of the Gulf War 1991 an Peace Treat with Israel is quite interesting, otherwise it is full of banalities
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by Queen Noor (no photo)
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Here is the link to the Mechanics of the Board thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...
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Is Jordan itself worried that the insurgence forces will spill over into Jordan - it would seem that Jordan would need more assistance with feeding the refugees.
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Another stunning book? I henceforth renounce all books that are stunning...come to think of it, let's throw astonishing tomes on the pile before lighting the match.
Libby - Thanks, it does sound compelling. But maybe folks - especially in publishing and their customers - can start stretching their vocabularies a little and find words other than stunning and astonishing to describe them.
Easy, Martin, Libby is just giving us some information.We run a civil group, I really appreciate it.
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by Clea Bunch (no photo)Synopsis:
US foreign policy in the Middle East has faced a challenge in the years since World War II: balancing an idealistic desire to promote democracy against the practical need to create stability. Here, Cleo Bunch puts a focus on US policy in Jordan from the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 to 1970 and the run up to 'Black September'. These years saw a phase where the Middle East became a stage on which Cold War rivalries were played out, as the US was keen to encourage and maintain alliances in order to counteract Soviet influence in Egypt and Syria. Therefore, Bunch's analysis of US foreign policy and diplomacy vis-à-vis Jordan will appeal to those researching both the history and the contemporary implications of the West's foreign policy in the Middle East and the effects of international relations on the region.
The Bride and the Dowry: Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians in the Aftermath of the June 1967 War
by Avi Raz (no photo)Synopsis:
Israel’s victory in the June 1967 Six Day War provided a unique opportunity for resolving the decades-old Arab-Zionist conflict. Having seized the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights, Israel for the first time in its history had something concrete to offer its Arab neighbors: it could trade land for peace. Yet the political deadlock persisted after the guns fell silent. This book asks why.
Avi Raz places Israel’s conduct under an uncompromising lens. His penetrating book examines the critical two years following the June war and substantially revises our understanding of how and why Israeli-Arab secret contacts came to naught. Mining newly declassified records in Israeli, American, British, and United Nations archives, as well as private papers of individual participants, Raz dispels the myth of overall Arab intransigence and arrives at new and unexpected conclusions. In short, he concludes that Israel’s postwar diplomacy was deliberately ineffective because its leaders preferred land over peace with its neighbors. The book throws a great deal of light not only on the post-1967 period but also on the problems and pitfalls of peacemaking in the Middle East today.
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Upcoming release:Competitive Archaeology in Jordan: Narrating Identity from the Ottomans to the Hashemites
by Elena Corbett (no photo)Synopsis:
An examination of archaeology in Jordan and Palestine, Competitive Archaeology in Jordan explores how antiquities have been used to build narratives and national identities. Tracing Jordanian history, and the importance of Jerusalem within that history, Corbett analyzes how both foreign and indigenous powers have engaged in a competition over ownership of antiquities and the power to craft history and geography based on archaeological artifacts. She begins with the Ottoman and British Empires--under whose rule the institutions and borders of modern Jordan began to take shape--asking how they used antiquities in varying ways to advance their imperial projects. Corbett continues through the Mandate era and the era of independence of an expanded Hashemite Kingdom, examining how the Hashemites and other factions, both within and beyond Jordan, have tried to define national identity by drawing upon antiquities.
Competitive Archaeology in Jordan traces a complex history through the lens of archaeology's power as a modern science to create and give value to spaces, artifacts, peoples, narratives, and academic disciplines. It thus considers the role of archaeology in realizing Jordan's modernity--drawing its map; delineating sacred and secular spaces; validating taxonomies of citizens; justifying legal frameworks and institutions of state; determining logos of the nation for display on stamps, currency, and in museums; and writing history. Framing Jordan's history in this way, Corbett illustrates the manipulation of archaeology by governments, institutions, and individuals to craft narratives, draw borders, and create national identities.
The Jordan Whisperer: Six Months in Amman
by Riyaad Moosa (no photo)Synopsis:
Discover the country of Jordan through the eyes of a South African. Inclined to a Western standard of life, Riyaad navigates through the intricacies of Arab culture versus Islamic culture while embarking on his quest to learn the ancient language of Arabic at the most renowned institute in Amman. Gain insight to the exhilaration emotions experienced on his first trip to the holy land, Jerusalem.
The Jordan Whisperer steers the reader from hysterical laughter to deep sympathy as his experiences of everyday living in Amman is fabulously captured in play by play format, as it occurred on a particular day.
The Development of Trans-Jordan 1929-1939, The: A History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
by Maan Abu Nuwar (no photo)Synopsis:
Very little has been written about the history of Trans-Jordan between 1929-39, a decade of importance in the history of its struggle for independence and sovereignty, its progress and development, its relations with Palestine and the neighbouring Arab countries and the new awakening of Arab nationalism. During the 1930s, although still under the mandate of the League of Nations (which was entrusted to Great Britain) Trans-Jordan began to develop an international presence. The people of Trans-Jordan remained very poor however, and the government was supported by a grant-in-aid from the British Government. The British Resident in Amman Col. Henry Cox used that grant-in-aid as a justification for his financial and political control over the new mandated state, which limited its sovereignty. At the time, Great Britain had the largest empire on earth. Her wealth and power, as well as the survival of her Empire, depended mainly on her ability to defend her trade routes with her overseas colonies, protectorates and mandated territories. The Amir Abdullah Ibn al Husain wanted to take Trans-Jordan back from that Great Britain of the 1930s and develop it into an independent state.
Hussein and Abdullah: Inside the Jordanian Royal Family
by Randa Habib (no photo)Synopsis:
"In a part of the world in which journalism is a dangerous business, Randa Habib is courageous, considered, and influential. By being there to write the stories of Jordan and the region, she has shaped history as much as she has revealed it. In her profession, Randa Habib is a star."Paul McGeough, author of Kill Khalid
In January 1999, a newswire shocked Jordan. King Hussein announced that it was not his brother Hassan that would succeed him, but his son Abdullah. Less than a week later, King Hussein was dead.
During his forty-six-year reign, the Hashemite king preserved his kingdom against rising Islamism and maintained its neutrality in the face of the conflicting interests of neighboring countries. Hussein left his son a stable kingdom, allied to the West. Today, King Abdullah is following in his father’s footsteps, positioning himself as a peace broker alongside the United States in the hopes of ending the sixty-year Middle East conflict.
Award-winning journalist Randa Habib draws on twenty-five years of unparalleled access to the former king to share unique insights into Hussein’s relations with Saddam Hussein, Hafez al-Assad, and Itzhak Rabin. A lively chronicle of the end of an era, this is also a fascinating account of twenty-first-century Jordan, the Jordan of King Abdullah and Queen Rania.
Randa Habib has been director of the Amman bureau of Agence France Presse since 1987, and she has reported extensively from Iraq and other areas of conflict. Habib was the first journalist to interview King Abdullah when he ascended the throne.
The Jordanian-Israeli War 1948-1951: A History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
by Ma'n Abu Nuwar (no photo)Synopsis:
This book explores the history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the years 1948-1951. The only book on the complete history of Jordan during this period to be written by an Arab author, it analyzes the many important events that took place in the Middle East during that time. Special reference is made to the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 and its consequences. The military details of that war, with regard to Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Liberation Army, are described here for the first time. The book also explores the first attempt at Arab unity by Jordan and Palestine, and the assassination of King Abdullah, which led to the accession of King Talal to the throne.
Nationalism and the Genealogical Imagination: Oral History and Textual Authority in Tribal Jordan
by Andrew Shryock (no photo)Synopsis:
This book explores the transition from oral to written history now taking place in tribal Jordan, a transition that reveals the many ways in which modernity, literate historicity, and national identity are developing in the contemporary Middle East. As traditional Bedouin storytellers and literate historians lead him through a world of hidden documents, contested photographs, and meticulously reconstructed pedigrees, Andrew Shryock describes how he becomes enmeshed in historical debates, ranging from the local to the national level.
The world the Bedouin inhabit is rich in oral tradition and historical argument, in subtle reflections on the nature of truth and its relationship to poetics, textuality, and power. Skillfully blending anthropology and history, Shryock discusses the substance of tribal history through the eyes of its creators—those who sustain an older tradition of authoritative oral history and those who have experimented with the first written accounts. His focus throughout is on the development of a "genealogical nationalism" as well as on the tensions that arise between tribe and state.
Rich in both personal revelation and cultural implications, this book poses a provocative challenge to traditional assumptions about the way history is written.
Jordan: Past and Present: Petra, Jerash, Amman
by E. Borgia (no photo)Synopsis:
Jordan: Past and Present will be of particular interest to Western readers, who rarely have the opportunity to visit the ancient monuments of Petra, Jerash, and Amman. The archaeological history of the Kingdom of Jordan and of each of the three principal Jordanian sites are carefully and clearly explained, and then each of the monuments-among them the Theater, Nymphaeum, Temenos Gate, and funerary monuments in Petra; the Arch of Hadrian, Sanctuary of Artemis, South Theater in Jerash; and the Temple of Hercules in Amman-are pictured as they exist today with overlays showing how they likely looked when still intact.
Jordan: A Timeless Land
by David M. Saunders (no photo)Synopsis:
Jordan is a land of extraordinary contrasts and striking beauty; of rainbow-colored rocks, black basalt deserts and fantastical landscapes hewn out of time by geological rifts. Modern Jordan mirrors this confluence of cultures and peoples with Circassians, Caucasians, Arabians and Palestinians all melding in a rich multicultural brew. This is a lavishly illustrated book which provides an introduction to this Middle Eastern kingdom and its people, places and extraordinary landscape.
Nomads and Settlers in Syria and Jordan, 1800-1980
by Norman N. Lewis (no photo)Synopsis:
This book is about the land and people of parts of the interior of Syria and Jordan. At the beginning of the nineteenth century most of the people were nomads and only a small proportion of the land was cultivated. Today nomads are few, peasants are numerous and nearly all the land that will bear a crop is under cultivation. This study shows how the present situation came about as the state extended and strengthened its hold on the countryside, the economy of the country developed, landlords and peasants took up hitherto uncultivated land and nomads settled down to become farmers. The concluding chapters discuss the effects of population growth, mechanised farming and overgrazing on the semi-arid environment and its inhabitants. Norman Lewis combines geographical, historical and ethnographical material derived from an immense variety of sources, including unpublished manuscripts and fieldwork undertaken over a period of forty years.
Out of Jordan: A Sabra in the Peace Corps Tells Her Story
by Dalya Cohen-Mor (no photo)Synopsis:
A riveting memoir of the first Israeli-born Jewish American to be sent as a Peace Corps volunteer to a closed Arab society.
A good memoir is a survivor’s tale—the story of a person who has faced obstacles and made it through well enough to tell it. Dalya Cohen-Mor, a Sabra-born American woman, volunteered to serve in the Peace Corps, went through a lengthy and highly competitive application process, was accepted, and was sent to serve in the predominantly Palestinian country Jordan, of all countries. Upon arrival in Jordan, Cohen-Mor was instructed by Peace Corps supervisors to conceal her Jewish identity, use an alias instead of her real last name, and pretend that she was Christian so as not to compromise her safety and efficacy as a Peace Corps volunteer.
As a single woman, a Sabra, and an American Peace Corps volunteer in a conservative Arab society, Cohen-Mor was forced to navigate unchartered territory, redefine her values and attitudes, and discover what it means to be perceived as the Other. She lived in the household of a Bedouin host family in a remote village in the eastern desert of Jordan, teaching English at the village girls’ elementary school. As she traveled around the Kingdom, she often found herself in delicate, complicated, and dangerous situations. After three months of hard work in the Peace Corps, she was accused of being involved in intelligence activities and unceremoniously sent back home. Although she lost her dream to serve in the Peace Corps, she found something more precious in the process: her core identity and sense of self.
Out of Jordan paints a penetrating portrait of contemporary life in Jordan, with insight into the complexities of a closed Arab society—family life, women’s roles, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the perception of America in the minds of ordinary people. With relentless honesty and unflinching courage, Cohen-Mor recounts her personal journey across borders and cultures into the living realities of two peoples—Arabs and Jews—with conflicting national identities but a common humanity.
The Jordanian-Palestinian Relationship: The Bankruptcy of the Confederal Idea
by Musa S. Braizat (no photo)Synopsis:
Jordanian-Palestinian interaction is at the heart of the Middle East peace process. The future of any independent Palestinian state--together with the stability of the region--to a great extent depends on this relationship. Musa Braizat's book presents an astute assessment of the relations between Jordan and Palestine, their significance and possible future developments. It examines the influence of other inter-Arab relations this century and shows how the sometimes uneasy Jordanian-Palestinian partnership has been influenced by past experience of several modern Arab states. Braizat explores the origin of the confederal formula and questions its role as an appropriate framework for future co-operation between Jordan and an independent Palestine.
King Abdullah, Britain and the Making of Jordan
by Mary C. Wilson (no photo)Synopsis:
The first in-depth revelation of the historical and personal circumstances of the partition of Palestine that made Abdullah one of the most controversial figures in contemporary Middle Eastern history.
Because of his role in the partition of Palestine, King Abdullah has always been one of the most controversial figures in modern Middle Eastern history. This book is the first in-depth description and analysis of the historical and personal circumstances that made him so significant. Abdullah, a son of the Sharif of Mecca and a member of the Ottoman elite, emerged after the First World War as a contender for power in a Middle East dominated by Britain owing to his alliance with Britain in the Arab revolt. To his disappointment, he ended up in the arid territory of Transjordan. Within the constraints of British interests, he was left to make something of his lot. Since Transjordan had little to draw on to resist total dominance by Britain, Abdullah spent the remainder of his life looking for a role, a clientele, or a stable balance of interests that would allow him a future independent of British fortunes. He found all three after 1948 when, in conjunction with the creation of Israel, he came to rule the portion of Palestine known as the West Bank.
From Negative to Positive Stability: How the Syrian Refugee Crisis Can Improve Jordan's Outlook
by Ben Connable (no photo)Synopsis:
This report s analytic forecasts should help the United States determine how to support Jordan as it faces the Syrian refugee crisis. Jordanians are dissatisfied with many aspects of their government, but the chaos in neighboring states has thus far deterred civil or violent actions. If Jordan wisely invests international refugee support, it can increase popular opinion by improving the lives of Syrian refugees and Jordanian citizens."
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Release date: July 11, 2016
The Shaykh of Shaykhs: Mithqal al-Fayiz and Tribal Leadership in Modern Jordan
by Yoav Alon (no photo)Synopsis:
Shaykh Mithqal al-Fayiz's life spanned a period of dramatic transformation in the Middle East. Born in the 1880s during a time of rapid modernization across the Ottoman Empire, Mithqal led his tribe through World War I, the development and decline of colonial rule and founding of Jordan, the establishment of the state of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict that ensued, and the rise of pan-Arabism. As Mithqal navigated regional politics over the decades, he redefined the modern role of the shaykh.
In following Mithqal's remarkable life, this book explores tribal leadership in the modern Middle East more generally. The support of Mithqal's tribe to the Jordanian Hashemite regime extends back to the creation of Jordan in 1921 and has characterized its political system ever system. The long-standing alliances between tribal elites and the royal family explain, to a large extent, the extraordinary resilience of Hashemite rule in Jordan and the country's relative stability. Mithqal al-Fayiz's life and work as a shaykh offer a notable individual story, as well as a unique window into the history, society, and politics of Jordan.
Gendered Paradoxes: Educating Jordanian Women in Nation, Faith, and Progress
by Fida Adely (no photo)Synopsis:
In 2005 the World Bank released a gender assessment of the nation of Jordan, a country that, like many in the Middle East, has undergone dramatic social and gender transformations, in part by encouraging equal access to education for men and women. The resulting demographic picture there—highly educated women who still largely stay at home as mothers and caregivers— prompted the World Bank to label Jordan a “gender paradox.” In Gendered Paradoxes, Fida J. Adely shows that assessment to be a fallacy, taking readers into the rarely seen halls of a Jordanian public school—the al-Khatwa High School for Girls—and revealing the dynamic lives of its students, for whom such trends are far from paradoxical.
Through the lives of these students, Adely explores the critical issues young people in Jordan grapple with today: nationalism and national identity, faith and the requisites of pious living, appropriate and respectable gender roles, and progress. In the process she shows the important place of education in Jordan, one less tied to the economic ends of labor and employment that are so emphasized by the rest of the developed world. In showcasing alternative values and the highly capable young women who hold them, Adely raises fundamental questions about what constitutes development, progress, and empowerment—not just for Jordanians, but for the whole world.
Politics, the Military and National Security in Jordan, 1955-1967
by Lawrence Tal (no photo)Synopsis:
Using new archival material, Lawrence Tal examines how Jordan remained stable during the volatile period between 1955 and 1967. Tal asserts that Jordan's security was due primarily to the cohesion of its National Security Establishment, a ruling coalition of security and foreign policy professionals that included the monarchy, the political elite and the military.
The Struggle for the State in Jordan: The Social Origins of Alliances in the Middle East
by Jamie Allinson (no photo)Synopsis:
Why do the states of the Arab world seem so unstable? Why do alliances between them and with outside powers change? In The Struggle for the State in Jordan, Jamie Allinson argues that the answer lies in the expansion of global capitalism in the Middle East. Drawing out the unexpected way in which Jordan's Bedouin tribes became allied to the British Empire in the twentieth century, and the legacy of this for the international politics of the Middle East, he challenges the existing views of the region. Using the example of Jordan, this book traces the social bases of the struggles that produced the country's foreign relations in the latter half of the twentieth century to the reforms carried out under the Ottoman Empire and the processes of land settlement and state formation experience under the British Mandate. By examining the attempts of Jordan to create foreign alliances during a time of upheaval and instability in the region, Allinson offers wider conclusions concerning the nature of the interaction between state and society in the wider Middle East.
The Dead Sea and the Jordan River
by Barbara Kreiger (no photo)Synopsis:
For centuries travelers have been drawn to the stunning and mysterious Dead Sea and Jordan River, a region which is unlike any other on earth in its religious and historical significance.
In this exceptionally engaging and readable book, Barbara Kreiger chronicles the natural and human history of these storied bodies of water, drawing on accounts by travelers, pilgrims, and explorers from ancient times to the present. She conveys the blend of spiritual, touristic, and scientific motivations that have driven exploration and describes the modern exploitation of the lake and the surrounding area through mineral extraction and agriculture.
Today, both lake and river are in crisis, and stewardship of these water resources is bound up with political conflicts in the region. The Dead Sea and the Jordan River combines history, literature, travelogue, and natural history in a way that makes it hard to put down.
Jordanian Jerusalem: Holy Places and National Spaces
by Kimberly Katz (no photo)Synopsis:
Kimberly Katz explores the role of Jerusalem’s holy places in the process of creating a distinct national identity in Jordan from 1948 to 1967. The time period marks Jordan's control over Jerusalem, including the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish holy sites in the Old City.
Katz shows that the governing Hashemite leaders co-opted the religious importance of Jerusalem to refashion Jordan’s image following the 1948 War in Palestine around the holy places, located in the newly enlarged kingdom. The Hashemites faced serious questions about their political legitimacy after being installed by the British as rulers in a demarcated region that had no historical precedent as a political entity. To promote their own legitimacy and that of the newly created state, the leaders employed state-issued cultural artifacts to define both the state and the nation. With the support and blessing of the West, they not only exploited the traditional religious appeal of Jerusalem in speeches and public discourse, but also designed modern symbols of the nation such as stamps and currency with markers of holiness.
The monarchy assumed and projected one overriding posture throughout this period: guardianship of the Holy Land. Katz explores the lingering presence of the British in Jordan, while giving life and color to the contributions of Hashemite leaders such as Sharif Husayn, King Abdullah I, and King Hussein. She also traces the ways in which state officials carefully promoted the new political identity to their subjects, to other Arabs, to Muslims elsewhere, and to the world at large.
One of very few books on Jordanian Jerusalem, this is the first that deals with the intersection of religious symbols, legitimacy practices, and nationalism through the framework of cultural history.
The Fires of Spring: A Post-Arab Spring Journey Through the Turbulent New Middle East - Tunisia, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt
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Shelly CulbertsonSynopsis:
The "Arab Spring" all started when a young Tunisian fruit-seller set himself on fire in protest of a government official confiscating his apples without cause and slapping his face. The aftermath of that one personal protest grew to become the Middle East movement known as the Arab Spring – a wave of disparate events that included revolutions, protests, government overthrows, hopeful reform movements, and bloody civil wars.
This book will be the first to bring the post Arab Spring world to light in a holistic context. It is a narrative of the author Shelly Culbertson’s journey through six countries of the Middle East, describing countries, historical perspective, and interviews with revolution and government figures.
Culbertson, RAND Middle East analyst and former U.S. State Department officer who has been involved with the Middle East for two decades, is uniquely equipped to analyze the current social, political, economic, and cultural effects of the movement. With honesty, empathy, and expert historical accuracy, Culbertson strives to answer the questions “what led to the Arab Spring,” "what is it like there now," and "what trends after the Arab Spring are shaping the future of the Middle East?"
The Fires of Spring tells the story by weaving together a sense of place, history, insight about key issues of our time, and personal stories and adventures. It navigates street life and peers into ministries, mosques, and women's worlds. It delves into what Arab Spring optimism was about, and at the same time sheds light on the pain and dysfunction that continues to plague some parts of the region.
Activism in Jordan
by Pénélope Larzillière (no photo)Synopsis:
The uprisings of the Arab Spring drew attention not only to the nations in which they occurred, but also to still-standing authoritarian regimes in surrounding nations. Among those, Jordan is, paradoxically, both one of the most democratically limited and the most stable—yet despite the many obstacles to political activity, it nonetheless is home to a growing opposition movement.
Activism in Jordan charts the history and potential of democratic activism in Jordan, showing how opposition has shifted in recent years from underground movements to the closely controlled public sphere. Talking to activists both new and long-standing, Pénélope Larzillière reveals their motivations, their commitments, and the often terrible consequences of their activism for their lives, livelihood, and families. Their accounts of their political journeys not only shed light on the potential for change in Bahrain, but on the general conditions necessary for activism in a repressive regime and the meaning people attach to their commitment and their chosen ideologies.
Uneasy Lies The Head
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Hussein I of JordanSynopsis:
It was on Friday, July 20, 1951, the second of two days that my grandfather and I were spending in Jerusalem, that tragedy, the cruelest of all teachers, helped to transform me from a boy into a man". Thus begins the author’s account of the assassination of his grandfather King Abdullah, and his explanation of how at his grandfather’s insistence that he, Hussein, wear a uniform, saved the author’s life.
This autobiography by King Hussein comprehensively reproduces the early years of his reign up to 1962, providing a fascinating insight into the growth and development of the kingdom and the beginnings of the Palestinian tragedy.
Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans
by Jane Taylor (no photo)Synopsis:
The Nabataean Arabs, one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world, are today known only for their hauntingly beautiful rock-carved capital--Petra. Here, in the wild and majestic landscapes of southern Jordan, they created some of the most prodigious works of man in the vast monuments that they chiseled from the sandstone mountains. The very scale of their achievement is breathtaking, but beyond mere magnitude is their creative vision, for they transformed the living rock of Petra into an enduring architectural masterpiece.
For nearly two thousand years, their civilization has been lost and all but forgotten. Yet the Nabataeans were famous in their day--Herod the Great and his sons, and a kaleidoscope of Roman emperors, were keenly aware of their power and wealth. Often victims of Greek, Roman, or Herodian duplicity, murder, and power politics, the Nabataeans were major players in the drama of the Middle East in biblical times.
This richly illustrated volume recounts the story of a remarkable but lost civilization and the capacity of its people to diversify their skills as necessity demanded. It describes their nomadic origins, the development of their multifaceted culture, their relations with their now famous neighbors, and the demise of their kingdom. It looks at their continued, if unrecognized, survival as Christians and farmers under the Byzantine Empire and into the early years of Islam.
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Dec 24,2016 - Last updated at Dec 24,2016
Karak Castle
"When a small group of outlaws opened fire indiscriminately at policemen and civilians in the southern city of Karak last week, no doubt they wanted to disrupt national security and cause alarm not only among the people of the Karak region but across the entire Kingdom.
They must have aimed to terrorise the country, judging by the kind of weapons they carried or left behind in their concealed cell.
These terrorists made the historic castle of Karak their base of operation against policemen and civilians.
They carried out their attacks until silenced and defeated by a combined force of police, gendarmerie and army rapid deployment forces.
They had all sorts of weapons, including explosives.
Ten people died in these attacks — six of them policemen who rushed to defend the people from the attackers. One Canadian tourist was among the dead.
The terrorist attack had to be contained and dealt with as swiftly as possible, and it was, due to the rapid and well-coordinated intervention of our security personnel.
Remainder of Article:
http://www.jordantimes.com/opinion/wa...
Source: The Jordan Times
by Marcus Milwright (no photo)
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The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fortress of the Raven: Karak in the Middle Islamic Period (other topics)Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans (other topics)
Uneasy Lies The Head (other topics)
Activism in Jordan (other topics)
The Fires of Spring: A Post-Arab Spring Journey Through the Turbulent New Middle East - Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, and Tunisia (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Marcus Milwright (other topics)Jane Taylor (other topics)
Hussein I of Jordan (other topics)
Pénélope Larzillière (other topics)
Shelly Culbertson (other topics)
More...
Since we are doing the Middle Eastern challenge; setting up one thread per Middle Eastern country is a good idea.