Book Description
Knowledge of pre-Islam Arabia is essential for anyone seeking to understand how Islam arose and the shape it took. Further, knowledge of the cultures, commerce, and conflicts of the Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Muhammed is fatally incomplete without the inclusion of the Arabs and the vital role they played. Arabia and the Arabs provides the only up-to-date, one volume survey of the region and its peoples during this period.
Using a wide range of sources--inscriptions, poetry, histories, and archaeological evidence--Robert Hoyland explores the main cultural areas of Arabia, from ancient Sheba in the south, to the desert oases of the north. He meticulously traces the major themes in the:
*economy
*society
*religion
*art and architecture
*language and literature
*Arabhood and Arabisation.
The text is supplemented by over 50 photographs, drawings, and maps.
Customer Reviews:
Shallow.......2007-04-01
I keep looking for books about the history of Arabs giving a pure academic point of view, unfortunately without success. This book certainely doesnot go deep intothe history of Arabia, nor of the origins of its people or the origins of people who migrated out of Arabia.
It is a big dissapointment.
elagabal ?.......2005-01-10
Why the author does not speak about the emperor Elagabal
and his black stone ?
Book Description
"Edges" takes the reader to an Israel in 1963, before high walls formed a border, when, instead, metal wires hung "like hosiery lines" across the land. Liana Barish is fourteen years old when the suicide of her American father forces her mother, mourning, in despair back to her family--to Jerusalem where she grew up. For Liana it is the place where the powerful interdependence of mother and daughter--physical and spiritual--ends. It is the place of her sexual awakening.
Customer Reviews:
I really enjoyed it...lyrical descriptions of the land.......2007-08-28
I really enjoyed the book. It's got a lot of tension and I felt I kept wanting to read, wanting to find out what was going to happen. The characters are totally alive and your descriptions of the land are so lyrical! It makes me want to ask--did this really happen to the author herself? So real! And at the same time surreal, suffused with the limited perceptions of a young girl. It made me think a bit of Ghost Dance, by Carole Maso. It is also about an odd relationship between a mother and daughter, told from a perspective skewed by the oddness.
"...the place of her sexual awakening....".......2007-08-28
"Edges" takes the reader to an Israel before high walls formed a border, when, instead, metal wires hung "like hosiery lines" across the land. Liana Barish is fourteen years old when the suicide of her American father forces her mother, mourning, in despair back to her family--to Jerusalem where she grew up. For Liana it is the place where the powerful interdependence of mother and daughter--physical and spiritual--ends. It is the place of her sexual awakening.
This can happen when Liana escapes across the border with the missing son of an American diplomat. They are made closer by the death of a young Palestinian boy. They move deeper into the world of Palestinian fields, olive orchards, villages.
The novel is set in the Israel of the early '60's. Liana's mother and aunt tell lively stories about the 1940's, their young guerilla-like struggles against the British particularly, the mother's memories of growing up in a shared land in the old city before it was divided."
from GRACE PALEY, writer and editor of novel
Intimiate and Compelling portrait.......2007-08-28
"This is an intimate and compelling portrait of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary time and place. This first publication from Glad Day Books, Grace Paley's new imprint, is a promising debut."
Quoted from Robert Gray (REAL NAME), author of Publisher's Marketplace and Fresh Eyes
This slim novel has wonderful images and evocative writing. It.......2007-08-28
"This is an intimate and compelling portrait of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary time and place. This first publication from Glad Day Books, Grace Paley's new imprint, is a promising debut." Robert Gray, author of Publisher's Marketplace and Fresh Eyes
Review:
"Ms. Skolkin-Smith's first novel is a captivating story giving the reader a view into a land and culture of another time...This slim novel has wonderful images and evocative writing. It is a novel about coming-of-age and about family and love. I imagine it is one that will stay with me for a long time."
Quoted from www.Bookgirl Nightstand
A feverish, sensual, remarkable book.......2007-08-28
from the tinyl Glad Day Press founded by Grace Paley and Robert Nichols is EDGES: O ISRAEL O PALESTINE by Leofra Skolkin-Smith, and it's not a book that you lie back and sink into: it takes some concentration for its rapid and realistic changes. The situation is that an American girl Liana's Israeli mother takes her back to Israel in the early nineteen sixties, and yes, there was a shooting war going on then too, albeit generally with smaller arms. There are deaths: the girl's father is a suicide, as is her mother's beloved brother. A small naked Arab boy is shot to death in a skirmish between Israeli soldiers and snipers from the Jordanian side. Liana's mother is a full figured ripe woman with whom she is passionately connected, rich with smells and embraces. Liana wants to run away to Paris which she associates with her father, but instead she finds an American diplomat's son who has gone missing. There are illicit forays into Jordan; Liana runs away. There is sex, there are smells, always smells and fabrics. There is a rejoining with the family..
--Meredith Sue Willis (REAL NAME) REVIEWER FOR BOOKS FOR READER
Book Description
This revealing story of a father-son relationship, the first memoir of its kind by a Palestinian living in the Occupied Territories, is set against the backdrop of Middle East hostilities and more than thirty years under military occupation. Marked by a sense of loss and impermanence and embroiled in political conflict, it is the family drama of a difficult relationship between an idealistic son and his politically active father-Aziz Shehadeh, who, in 1967, was the first Palestinian to advocate a peaceful, two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian dispute-a situation further complicated by the arbitrary humiliations of living under the occupier's law. Above all, it is a moving description of the daily lives of those who have chosen to remain on their land.
Customer Reviews:
Eye-opening.......2006-07-28
As an American, I have grown up to believe that Israel is a close friend to us. I would imagine that an ally of the United States would be a country that follows human rights guidelines. However, I was mistaken. "Strangers in the House" is a brilliantly written piece which provides personal experiences in an occupied Palestine. With all of the conflict in the Middle East currently, it is a must-read, to understand the viewpoint from all angles. Raja Shehadeh thinks way past his time, as his father had. He has written this book for the world to know what daily life is like under occupation and that it is a constant struggle. Mr. Shehadeh is admirable in his open-mindedness. If you would like to see the viewpoint from the other side, this book is perfect. It will help you open your mind and see the truth.
It is a privilege and an honour to read this.......2005-09-06
I was at first taken aback by the way Palestinian lawyer and writer Raja Shehadeh chose to begin this book, his memoir. Knowing that he is a very important figure in Palestine, I expected (even half-dreaded) a right-on plunge in the middle of Israeli/Middle-Eastern politics. I was wrong.
Although he begins by mentioning the 1948 war as a fact that explains his having been born in Ramallah and not Jaffa, where his family was very important, that's just about it.....in the beginning. We are treated then to a delicately rendered description of the writer's childhood: to a vision of the almost sad figure of a fragile child whose life seems always measured against the looming and powerful figure of his father (a very important Palestinian lawyer), and the impossible to reach lights and colours of neverland-Jaffa, the way of life that the family had lost forever.
It is the relationship with the father, however, what soon becomes the focus of this memoir. And here we must admire one of the most important aspects of the book: an honest-to-God account of how this boy, then young man, then adult, managed his growing, changing relationship with a strong and powerful father. I was swept from my feet at having such a first hand description of a never-easy son/father relationship. I must confess I was astounded that this incredibly sincere testimony was rendered by an Arab man since, as the same author acknowledges, his is a culture where the son/father bond tends to be quite distant, formal and formidable.
We, readers, see how having such an important father proves to be a load, but also a challenge for the author. And as he begins to be more sure about what his place in the world is, and what his mission is, the world of politics (which had never quite disappeared from the background) returns with force, but in such a way that provokes a fatal crisis in this already difficult son/father relationship. And just as the situation appears to be unbearable, just as the breach seems impossible to mend......Raja's father is murdered.
Here the book takes an abrupt turn. Raja decides to help as much as he can to find the murderer, whom he believes to be someone involved in a land dispute his father was working on. He is good. The pace and tempo of the narrative change so that we begin to feel the urge to know who this murderer is, for we are much pretty sure of why the murder took place......and I won't spoil the ending for you. I'll just say that it is important. Very important. For Raja and for all of us.
Just as this seemingly humble book is terribly important: as the personal memoir of a man who has always been politically moderate, a fighter for human rights, one of the few Palestinians who has ever dared to criticise the politics of the Palestinian leaders and of the Arab leaders; one of the few who was always convinced that Arabs had to negotiate with Israeli, that Israel was there to stay; as a honest, moving homage to a father who was a powerful force in the author's life (and who taught him to see politics and the Middle-East the way he saw it);..... as a way to know more about that rarely-found-in-the-news-and-media specimen: the Arab, Palestinian moderate, and the way he fares.
A Courageous Man.......2003-07-29
Shehadeh's book is perhaps the only one to lay out the multi-faceted nature of the Israeli-Palestinian-Arab conflict. Or, as Shehadeh, puts it so eloquently a conflict between Palestinians, Israelis, the "inside" and the "outside".
For me, the most touching moment of the book came when the young Shehadeh heard the PLO radio denounce his father for daring to work for a two-state solution. "A.S.," it declared, "you are a traitor, a despicable collaborator. You want to surrender and sell your birthright. We know how to deal with the likes of you. A. S. you shall pay for your treason. We shall eliminate you. Silence you forever. Traitor. Collaborator. Quisling."
The PLO quite simply could not afford to lose the funding it received from the surrounding Arab states to create a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians and also to ensure that Israel would no longer "be the subject of fiery speeches in which the people's rage could be articulated and released-they would be distracted from dealing with all that was wrong at home."
The PLO simply could not afford peace because it wasn't being paid to bring about either peace or an independent Palestinian State; it was being paid to keep the Palestinians miserable and angry. To ensure that the Palestinian plight remained a distraction for the Arabs earning for democracy.
Shehadeh's father dared to stand up to the PLO and its backers. He was murdered.
And now, his son is carrying on his father's work.
It is our job to make sure that Raja's life lasts longer than his father's.
Required Reading.......2003-05-03
This book should be considered required reading for anyone seeking to understand the current Palestinian - Israeli conflict. Shehadeh provides a very personal view of the reality of growing up in the occupied West Bank. Best of all, he pulls no punches - against Israel or his fellow Palestinians.
Author misunderstands real reason behind Palestinian rage.......2002-06-18
There is no doubt that Raja Shehaded is a well meaning and peaceful man. The Mid East would be a land of milk and honey if most of its inhabitants shared his noble aims. However, Shehaded mistakenly blames the present Israeli conflict for the central reason behind the rage of the Palestinian Arabs. The author's father was likely assassinated by militant Arabs because he advocated cooperation and coexistence with Israel. And yet, the author ironically still fails to concede that a large number of Palestinians will not be satisfied until the Jewish state is driven into the sea. Shehaded complains about the restrictions placed upon the movement of Palestinian citizens while virtually ignoring Israel's legitimate concerns to curtail violence. His charges of harassment and humiliation ring somewhat hollow when the whole situation is taken into context. Why doesn't Shehaded react more strongly against the murderous militants who force Israel to enact such draconian measures? He also seems to downplay their virulent anti-Semitism.
Raja Shehaded argues that peace mostly depends upon Israeli willingness to compromise. The Palestinians who have opted for death and destruction are portrayed as more than willing to lay down their arms once a just settlement is reached. Many categorically reject such a sanguine prediction. Bernard Lewis, for instance, in his most recent book, What Went Wrong?, is convinced that the whole Arab world is wallowing in rage and bitterness due to its falling behind the West. The Palestinians are merely a microcosm of wider Arab anger over the failure of the Muslim world to achieve anything significant in the last 400-500 years. Eric Hoffer's seminal work, The True Believer, points to the yearning of some people to seek a nihilistic cause to assuage their existential need for meaning. Eventually returning to a life of everyday normal concerns is a near impossibility. Admittedly, though, Shehaded has a valid point when objecting to the added Israeli settlements in the so-called occupied (the term disputed would be more accurate) territories. The author is right on target for blaming Israel for exacerbating an already volatile situation. Shehaded may jump to some erroneous conclusions, but he still is a voice for reasonableness and compromise. Unfortunately, the evidence indicates that few Palestinians care to listen to this decent and life affirming man. One can only hope that Raja Shehaded's influence dramatically increases in the immediate future.
Book Description
The five stories in this collection are told from the perspective of Arab teens living in Syria, Lebanon, a Palestinian refugee camp, Egypt, and Iraq. Each main character embarks on a mission to confront his or her social situation, whether regarding friends, family, teachers, or society at large. In "Santa Claus in Baghdad," Amal struggles with several coming-of-age experiences that teach her the importance of sacrifice and give her the strength to overcome personal insecurities. In another story, "The Plan," Marwan discovers that love is still possible even amid the squalor of life in a refugee camp and the remains of destroyed lives.
Marston beautifully details the rich Middle Eastern culture of these five individuals and their families, dispelling negative stereotypes associated with young adults living in these societies and providing for a better understanding of their culture. Their ideals, goals, and dreams are no different from those of teens living elsewhere in the world. By exploring the challenges they face, Figs and Fate will awaken you to the rhythms of young people's lives in the Middle East—a beat that may sound surprisingly familiar to you.
Customer Reviews:
*PURSUE PEACE FOR THE WORLD'S SAKE*.......2006-01-11
"FIGS & FATE" has a colorful cover with an image from antiquity: a handsome wood panel from the pulpit of a Cairo mosque. Elsa Marston's collection of stories suggest that teens in the Middle East are trying hard to keep their balance on shaky ground, yet are perhaps more reasonable than some of the parents.
She has written extensively of concerns that may raise the blood pressure of citizens of this world - but she also has influenced many to work toward amity. How easily we make judgments from lives of comparative ease & often with a narrower appreciation of culture. If that assessment makes you bristle consider how willingly we undergo *true life make-overs* in time of war when leaders become bereft of humor and compassion. Is it any wonder teens are more confused and unwilling to live within parameters set by adults?
Among the youth of the five countries which provide the background of Marston's stories, universal emotions often fester. Readers can do their part to nurture intelligent understanding despite the forces driving wedges between people. One suggestion would be to build individual *Reading Lists* to include literature (especially poetry & art), archaeology and history; THEN READ WITH A FLEXIBLE SPIRIT. "Try to live in Peace even if you must run after it & hold it" !
Reviewer mcHAIKU hopes these delightful and important stories by Elsa Marston will re-ignite your desire to pursue Peace. "Figs and Fate" is an excellent book to steer us toward that path, and is a challenge for all ages
Average customer rating:
- SENT VIA MY PERSONAL E-MAIL - I HAVE PERMISSION TO SHARE THIS: Exposé of the personal side of what the child experienced
- Amazing Journey Within
- Circles in the Sand- An excellent read
- Impossible to put down!
- What a Gift
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Circles in the Sand
E. J. 'Samadhi' Whitehouse
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1412041902
Release Date: 2006-07-06 |
Product Description
www.samadhiwhitehouse.writerswebpages.com From darkness into light... This frank memoir of incestuous love, coming out, "escape" to the Middle East, and spiritual growth will inspire those struggling toward their own healing truth. Veiled oppression of Arabian women was the crucial mirror needed to see her own reflection. Follow her search for what she thought was lost - her soul.
Download Description
From darkness into light... This frank memoir of incestuous love, coming out, "escape" to the Middle East, and spiritual growth will inspire those struggling toward their own healing truth. Veiled oppression of Arabian women was the crucial mirror needed to see her own reflection. Follow her search for what she thought was lost - her soul.
Customer Reviews:
SENT VIA MY PERSONAL E-MAIL - I HAVE PERMISSION TO SHARE THIS: Exposé of the personal side of what the child experienced.......2007-08-17
Dear Samadhi:
Hope all is well. I am finally at the library, and have the time to share my thoughts with you about your book. I manage to get here only once or twice a week. I am getting ready for a trip to England next week, something that is adding to the busyness of my lifestyle.
We met and chatted at your booth during the Body, Soul, & Spirit Expo in Calgary in April 2006.. It was just after I retired from the Alberta Government as a social worker in the child protection field. I read about half the book, and {personal life issues arose}. Your book remained untouched until recently when I managed to finish it.
I am part of two spiritual groups in Calgary and they are a good stabilizing influence. Both teachers are women who are connected to a current that I resonate with at the present time.
When I finished your book, I felt deep appreciation that I had been exposed to your journey, but traumatized over what you experienced, as a child and a woman. Though I encountered a lot of child sexual, physical and mental abuse in my profession, the job itself was highly rigid and bureaucratic, leaving me with little quality time to spend with the children.
I was a case manager and arranged for therapists to work with the children. I knew the big picture about each child, and in general terms the emotional and behavioural consequences, but I never had the chance to get into such a detailed exposé of the personal side of what the child experienced. Hence, your sharing about what you experienced as a youth and adult was highly relevant, and served to round out my understanding of what this kind of suffering is all about, including the deep emotional and mental scars it leaves.
Circumstances took you to lands where male brutality to women, both psychological and physical, not only prevailed but was culturally sanctioned. I cannot help but wonder whether you were guided to what you experienced simply in order to exacerbate your personal issues and bring the whole thing to a head, where psychological release from your attachments and inner turmoil was the only alternative for a harmonious inner life to prevail.
You came out of the other end a whole person with a lot of understanding of the letting go process, something that can help many people you encounter, if they are receptive to hearing you.
I hope your present life is fulfilling and that you encounter ongoing growth and happiness. When I settle down somewhere, which only the universe knows where and when it will be, I will extend an invitation to you and your partner to visit and enjoy our beautiful Rocky Mountains and turquoise lakes.
Best Wishes,
Doug Christou, Calgary
Amazing Journey Within.......2007-07-03
Turning the pages as you unravel each layer of the veil takes you beyond religions, borders or sexual orientation, into the core of the human Spirit. Your heart travels along the edges of your own insecurities and fears as you explore life through someone else's eyes. Samadhi's amazing journey makes you want to do something, anything, to give your higher self a chance to come into the light, release those butterflies, who in turn will give wings to every Soul they touch along the way. As the circles widen and open up, the little flutters of the voice of LOVE are heard.
Circles in the Sand- An excellent read.......2006-05-23
This book touched my heart and gave me hope that women can survive abuse in all areas and find the strength to heal and move forward in ones life. I have worked as a counselor in the area of trauma and abuse, for over twenty years. Themes of healing from trauma and discovering ones sexuality only empower and strengthen ones soul from the inside out. I could relate to the family of origin wounds for all individuals and the ability for Samadhi to discover, heal, and forgive are truly the answers to finding peace and serenity within. I was touched by each page of absolute honesty and willingness to share her story. Samadhi, you have changed my life because of this book and reminded me one more time that love does prevail. Thank you.
Linda Mackenzie
Social Worker
BSW, RSW.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Impossible to put down!.......2006-03-23
Samadhi's Circles in the Sand is a thought provoking read that I couldn't wait to finish. It is well written and the story flows from start to finish. This is not one woman's struggle; it is every woman's struggle for equality, self respect and self love. I recommend it to everybody.
My only suggestion would be to include maps of the Middle East at the beginning to get a better understanding of Samadhi's travels.
Way to go, Samadhi!
What a Gift.......2006-02-13
When Janice gave me your book to read, she did so with such high expectations for the reader. I am delighted to say that I was not disappointed. Janice did say that our stories are parallel in some instances and I really enjoyed how similar our lives were and how aligned with spirit they are for both of us now.
I could not put your book down and it took me less than 2 days to complete it. Upon completion all I could think of was the many people I know personally whom could and would benefit from your story, what obstacles you've overcome and how you went about achieving it.
Thank you. It was heart pounding, shattering and rejuvenating all at once. I will be strongly recommending your book to many in Australia.
Love and light to you.
MF, Queensland Australia
Average customer rating:
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Coming of Age in the Middle East
Trevor Mostyn
Manufacturer: Kegan Paul
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0710302088 |
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2004-04-24
This book is surprising gem of exploration and biography. Johnson makes excellent use of a vast colection of maps, something sorely lacking in many similar books. His grasp of history and the ocean make this a particularly good and informative read.
An excellent biography of Henry Hudson.......1998-04-03
Not much is known about Henry Hudson, and records are few, but Johnson manages to piece together all of the main elements into one easily-readable book. Johnson also brings his own experience as a sailor to the book, giving it a new facet for readers. Based mostly on Hudson's own journals, this is a concise picture of Hudson's known voyages, with a lot of interesting and informative asides. I recommend this book
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