From a Persian Tea House
Posted: 2019/07/16 Filed under: Book Reviews, Lust To Go, NonFiction | Tags: 2019, book lust iii, book review, iran, june, Michael Carroll, middle east, NonFiction, travel Leave a commentCarroll, Michael. From a Persian Tea House. London: Tauris Parke, 2007.
Reason read: Khomeini died in the month of June.
One of the best reasons to read From a Persian Tea House is for the cultural aspects to a society some of us will never see. Carroll humanizes the middle east in such a way we can picture dancing with the happy couple at a wedding, striving to understand how common corporal punishment and corruption can be, and of course taking tea with the locals. Having said that, it is important to keep in mind when reading From a Persian Tea House that is was written from a mid 1950s perspective, when old Iran was romanticized and equally mysterious and evocative. Carroll and his traveling companion represent a British born curiosity. They traveled in relative safety, making friends with bemused locals while making keen observations about the culture and society. My favorite parts are the descriptions of a wedding, bartering for rugs, and retrieving their own stolen items.
Author fact: Carroll (not be confused with the lottery winner who blew his millions on naked women) was born in England but spent a lot of time in India.
Book trivia: From a Persian Tea House has fantastic photographs.
Nancy said: Absolutely nada.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the simple chapter called “Iran” (p 108).
Soldiers of God
Posted: 2019/07/04 Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust I, NonFiction | Tags: 2019, book lust i, book review, june, middle east, political, Robert Kaplan Leave a commentKaplan, Robert D. Soldiers of God: with Islamic Warriors on Afghanistan and Pakistan. New York: Random House, 2001.
Reason read: Khomeini died in the month of June.
Soldiers of God provides the historical context for the emergence of the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden’s terrorist network. Given the devastation of September 11th, 2001 the republishing of this book was timely and smart on Kaplan’s part. Robert Kaplan first traveled to Afghanistan and lived among the mujahidin (soldiers of God) back in the mid 1980s. It was on this journey that Kaplan came to witness the rise of the Taliban. More than that, he acquired the colors to paint a vivid picture of a society few Americans see: refugee camps, harsh drought, pervasive illiteracy, militant indoctrination, fierce piety, and ethnic battle lines. In the unity of prayer was practically the only form of democracy; all whispering the name of God one hundred times.
Kaplan digs deep to uncover the hidden side effects of the Soviet invasion – malaria outbreaks, for example. Thanks to stagnant pools of mosquito infested water caused by pervasive destruction of irrigation systems.
Quotes to quote, “The idea of fighting for political freedom is an easy one to grasp until you see in the flesh what the cost is” (p 143) and “After twenty four hours in Querta, my instinct told me that if a man possessed no furniture, he also possessed no useful information” (p 200).
Author fact: According to the back cover of his book, Kaplan is a “world affairs expert.”
Book trivia: Soldiers of God was first published in 1990. Pearl mentioned a newer edition with a updated introduction and final chapter.
Nancy said: Pearl mentioned Soldiers of God as a good book about militant Islam.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “The Islamic World” (p 126).
December Didn’t Disappoint
Posted: 2019/01/03 Filed under: E-Books, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: africa, Anthony Burgess, astronaut, audio books, Bill Adler Jr, books, Carl Raswan, childrens book, Delia Owens, Diana Athill, Dorothy Dunnett, e-books, editor, fantasy, Fiction, historical, Jeffrey Kluger, Jim Lovell, Mark Owens, memoir, middle east, NonFiction, Philip Pullman, racism, sad, science fiction, Sena Jeter Naslund, series, southern, Tahar Ben Jelloun, time travel, Ursula Le Guin Leave a commentI may not be happy with my personal life in regards to fitness, health, and so on, but I am definitely satisfied with the number of books I was able to check off my Challenge list for the month of December. Special thanks to my kisa who did all the driving up and back and around the great state of Maine.
Fiction:
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (EB/print).
- Any Old Iron by Anthony Burgess.
- Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund.
- This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun.
- Time Machines: the Best Time Travel Stories Ever Written edited by Bill Adler, Jr.
Nonfiction:
- The Black Tents of Arabia: (My Life Among the Bedouins by Carl Raswan.
- Lost Moon: the Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger.
- The Female Eunuch by Germain Greer.
- Stet: a Memoir by Diana Athill (EB and print).
- Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens (EB and print).
Series continuations:
- Unicorn Hunt by Dorothy Dunnett. Confessional: I did not finish this.
- The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman (EB/print/AB).
Black Tents of Arabia
Posted: 2018/12/30 Filed under: Book Reviews, Lust To Go, NonFiction | Tags: 2018, adventure, book lust iii, book review, Carl Raswan, december, middle east, NonFiction Leave a commentRaswan, Carl R. The Black Tents of Arabia: My Life Among the Bedouins. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1935.
Reason read: The movie, Lawrence of Arabia, was released in December of 1962.
Raswan spent more than twenty years with different Bedouin tribes of Arabia. He went along with them hunting, raiding, battling and surviving as they migrated across the unforgiving arid desert. He submersed himself in the Ruala tribe, learning their customs and traditions on an intimate level. This intimacy and his passion for Arabian horses helped him escape enemy clutches when they were ambushed more than once. How he managed to avoid certain death was beyond me.
Raswan’s language has the ability to take the reader on his adventurous journey. In Black Tents of Arabia he had a way of describing sights and sounds that brought his wild experiences to life. Here’s one of my favorites, “In our tumble-down car there were now no less that seven men: Ibrahim, Ali, two Bedouin rafiqs, two soldiers, and myself; also a gazelle, a greyhound, and two hens. We were packed like sardines: we had to hold on to anything that we could and change grips when the hand threatened to go to sleep. But with thirteen arms interlaced (Ibrahim’s free arm controlled the steering-wheel) we prevented the car from falling apart, nor could any passenger fall out without the knowledge of the others” (p 122).
Quote I needed to quote: Here’s an example of romance in the desert. Faris says to his love, “The blade of my dagger reminds me that I shall never be at peace until the slender blossom bends before the storm of my love” (p 61).
Author fact: Raswan took all of the photographs featured in Black Tents of Arabia.
Book trivia: There are a generous number of photographs in Black Tents of Arabia. I counted over 65 photographs and they are remarkable.
Nancy said: Pearl said Black Tents of Arabia is “a hymn of joy and affection for the nomadic life” (p 25).
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called Arabia Deserta” (p 23).
Six Days of War
Posted: 2018/07/03 Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust I, NonFiction | Tags: 2018, book lust i, book review, june, Michael Oren, middle east, NonFiction, war Leave a commentOren, Michael B. Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Reason read: the Six Day War took place in June.
Oren’s challenge was to weave together an accurate account of the Six Day War that covered many different perspectives from a myriad of sources. All sides of the conflict needed to be represented and not just from the perspective of battles and conflict. He needed to produce an account that was not only balanced and unbiased, but thorough in its investigation and analysis. This was accomplished through meticulous and extensive research.
Author fact: Oren is a former ambassador to the United States
Book trivia: Six Days of War includes a fair collection of black and white photographs as well as maps to orientate you.
Nancy said: Six Days of War is “massively thorough and equally readable” (Book Lust, p 154).
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “The Middle East” (p 154).
