This book does not simply report, it enlightens. Seabrook is a skillful author who masterfully relates the culture of the Arabian people he befriends. He tells dozens of fascinating stories, which he learns from his honorable hosts (I particularly enjoyed the tale of Gutne's eyes). The condition and station of women is written about, and the reasons for different cultural practices, such as honor killings in the Druse culture, are examined. Rather than judging these people and presenting women's oppression as an element of a less advanced culture, Seabrook objectively writes the views that his new comrades present. Certain practices begin to make sense as the reasons different cultures adopted them are made clear. While I could not possibly condone killing someone for marrying outside of one's own race, I could begin to understand the historical context that fostered the idea. Seabrook also writes about modesty, methods of cleanliness, medicinal practices, and what is eaten. Fermented goat's milk and rice are standard fare. The description of feminine beauty and dress in this story are simply unparalleled. "A two-year-old baby daughter was like a little doll or a princess from some fairy-tale. Her eyelids were blackened with kohl; her face was painted, delicately and with art; her hair was twined with bright coins and jewels; her finger-tips were stained pink with henna like the rosy dawn." Another attribute of this book is its approach to religion. Seabrook seeks out as many truths as the religious sects are willing to release. He writes about the rumors he hears, the holy men he meets, the interpretations his traveling partners offer, and the ceremonies he witnesses. In the end, I was left with the impression that we all share the same God, and Seabrook makes this argument without forcing it down the reader's throat. This was a splendid, engaging read, and I highly recommend it.

The first time I read this book I was stunned by its beauty and power. I held off re-reading it for a decade to preserve the impact of reading it anew. It is a marvellous travelogue of one man's journey into the hospitality and culture of the desert, and a revelation of religious discovery which mocks all intolerance. Well worth reading and cherishing.

Hi yes I'm back, the 46 year old Rocky and Bullwinkle fan.

I have read this book and found it great fun. I went to see the movie no fewer than 5 TIMES!!!! Yes I love Moose and Squirrel that much!!!

I was 10 when the cartoon was on television here in England, and still have fond memories of it.

I loved the plot, Fearless Leader, Boris and Natasha breaking out of Cartoon Land and wreaking havoc through a hypnotic television to take over the planet.

HELP, WHO CAN STOP THEM!!!? Why Rocky and Bullwinkle of course, with the help of a beautiful FBI agent, Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo). The stars: Rocket J Squirrel and Bullwinkle J Moose, together with Robert de Niro as Fearless Leader (very meanly played) Jason Alexander (a wicked Boris Badenov) and Rene Rousso (a mean Natasha Fatale).

All three played their cartoon counterparts really good and Rocky was his usual heroic self along with the world's coolest moose, Bullwinkle who proved to us never to underestimate his antlers.

Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

If You loved the cartoon, you WILL love the book! The Plot is: Fearless leader, Boris and Natasha Beak into the real world, and the only way to get Rocky and Bullwinkle into the real world, is to green light the movie. So as the evil treo would say: " Moose And Squerl" are off to get the evil treo, before Fearless leader hipnotyzes everybody through his Television Station, RBTV(Really bad telivison) so he can be elected. It's Better than it sounds! Will Rocky and Bullwinkle make it in time? READ THIS AND GO SEE THE MOVIE...! And Go to the movie's web site!...

Like all other Kanafani works, this book was a tremendous pleasure to read and at the same time intensely thought-provoking. "All that's left to you" contains, in addition to the title novella, a selection of Kanafani's short stories. All the stories in this anthology share the feature for which Kanafani has no contestant: the seamless changes of voice within a story, often from paragraph to paragraph, sometimes from sentence to sentence. Thus we explore the trials and tribulations of the five main characters in "All that's left to you", not as outsiders or even as one of the characters, but as each one of the characters in turn. The reader is made to travel invisibly from the mind of one of the characters to that of another, miles away, to learn what they are both thinking at the same instant. This is as close to a drama or a movie as one can get in a short story, or perhaps even better. It is also interesting to see how certain threads unify the narrative. Time, for instance, whom Kanafani even declared at the start to be actually a character, is one such thread. The layers of symbolism in the story destine it to be very deep reading for decades to come. Yet the novella is so fascinating, it is very difficult to put the book down. The short stories in the anthology are equally fascinating, each in its own right. They don't lack from the changes in voice that is present in "All that's left to you", and they also have their share of critical plot twists right at the end of the story. Thus be prepared to completely change your perspective after reading the last sentence of each story.

All That's Left to You is a sad reminder of all that was lost by the Palestinian people in 1948. Families were separated, yet a nation was born from their sorrow. This novella is the second in what became a trilogy of the evolution of Palestinian consciousness. It is here that their anger erupts. It is here that a nation begins to hear the plea of the author himself - salvation comes through actions, not through memories. A most interesting and important aspect of the novella is Kanafani's accurate portrayal of a woman's heart. This story must be recognized as a contribution to feminist literature. The main female character struggles within the parameters of a deeply paternalistic society under military occupation to come to terms with her sexuality and her shattered dreams. It is through her that the nation will be reborn. Kanafani utilizes excellent literary devices and the translation by Kirkpatrick is superb. The reader is advised to read Men in the Sun first if possible.

All You Need is Love is simply an experience that we are lucky enough to have Nancy de Herrera share with us. You can't make this stuff up!! Nancy talks about her spiritual path, a journey she shared in India with the Beatles, Donovan Leitch and Mike Love. It is so amazing to read about my favorite Beatles songs like "Dear Prudence" and "Bungalow Bill" and know their inspiration. I recommend this to everyone who transitioned with the 60's and for those who love the music.

Nancy isn't a household name yet, but she will be! Her work with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made her pivotal in bringing Transcendental Meditation to the States, South America, and Europe. This is an amazing personal and cultural history that anyone interested in the 1960s, meditation, and world travel will not be able to put down.

This remarkable book takes you behind-the-scenes in the extraordinary life of Nancy deHerrera. The loss of her soulmate was the impetus for a lifelong spiritual journey. Nancy served as the right hand person to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the sixties and became one of the first U.S. meditation teachers. She shares stories from her days in Rishikesh at the Ashram where she was liasion to John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and other stars. Her meditation students included Greta Garbo, heiress Doris Duke, Madonna, Sheryl Crow and thousands of others. Nancy has probably met more yogi's, guru's, sadhu's and holy men than any other woman on the planet. Her engaging writing style captivates. A real page turner that I beleive anyone interested in spirituality will totally enjoy.

Unlike most travel guides on Chicago, Bill Franz's Alternative Chicago is designed for readers interested in what Chicago has to offer the visitor regarding counter-culture and neighborhood eccentric attractions. Franz offers a neighborhood-by-neighborhood exploration of hundreds of distinctively Chicago places like "Smuggler's Row", "Medusa's Circle", "The Ennui Cafe", and "Dr. Wax". This superbly original compendium of addresses, maps, store hours, and telephone numbers will enable the reader to create a truly unique, memorable, off-the-beaten-path trip whether they are an out-of-town newcomer or a long-time denizen and resident.

In Alternative Chicago, the author looks beyond the Sears tower or sightseeing in museums, because everyone probably already owns a travel book that lists those places as hot spots. He takes us into dingy bars where they sell the best beer, the record stores that sell rare vinyl, the book stores that sell nothing but leftist books, and of course the thrift stores where you can find the coolest clothes. This is written in succint, fresh language that other travel books wish they could emulate. You forget that this is a travel book and not your friend jotting down his favorite hangouts. It's much more than that, though. The author has icons to represent the different types of places these are - bars, clubs, record stores, sellers of knicknacks, clothing stores, sex shops, etc, as well as providing maps, hours of operation and telephone numbers to these places. He relates the good and the bad and tells us why. One thrift store is stinky; another sells slightly soiled mattresses. This is the detail that every traveler needs when planning a trip to Chicago. After all, you can't see it all.

One of the best studies I have ever read on the nature of power and domination. Wedeen asks the simple question of how Asad is able to keep power in Syria when all of the people know that all of the state propaganda is false. Her elegant answer gets right to the heart of what makes a ruler powerful. Asad rules not through totalitarianism, but through authoritarianism. What's the difference? A ruler who controls everything that the people think (like in North Korea) is not really dominating them, they just don't know any better. But a ruler like Asad rules because the people fear him and become unable to dissent as a result of Foucault-ian discursive practices.

This book will facinate anyone interested in the modern Middle East or the nature of power.

A ground-breaking exploration of the subtle ways power operates to structure everyday life. Rich in ethnographic detail and eloquently written. Definitely worth _much_ more than $17. A worthy read, not just for people interested in contemporary Middle Eastern politics, but for those interested in issues of power, discipline and resistance. Ms. Wedeen is a rising star in the field of Political Science. Bravo!!

If anyone likes a "different" kind of tourism, paying a visit to Turkey with the help of this magnificent manual, will be a surprise. Any place and monument of archaeological interest, no matter of how small it is, has its short (although complete) or very detailed description. The merit of Prof. Akurgal was to write a really academic book, that works like a classical "Baedeker" guide. Each chapter leaves to the reader the desire to know even more, and the monumental bibliography gives the best help.
One year ago, I've visited the region of Caria with some friends-archeologists and this book helped me to appreciate this part of the world even more.
Another surprise is that Prof. Akurgal's book is not too huge: actually it can find place in any traveller's bag.

Is a must have. A very organized encyclopedia of almost all the ruins in Anatolia. Including isolated altars and temples, small cities and of course the big capitals of the ancient anatolia.

If you have it with you and you are driving along the Aegean cost of Turkey with and if you love ancient settlements and constructions you will have a lot to see on the way!

Dunstan's textbook works well as an undergraduate textbook, and, indeed, as an introduction for the layperson or non-specialist as well. His style is clear, his use of evidence appropriate, and his images improve the text without pulling the reader from the words. A little expensive for undergraduates but could easily be the only book in an introductory class on the entire Near East.

I found this book thoroughly delightful and informative. This superbly researched and written work focuses on the ancient cultural and social history of the vast sweep of territory from Egypt to Iraq. The author writes with soaring prose, covering complex material with absolute clarity. You won't be able to put this one down until you reach the final page.

Very, very interesting. Though hard to read if one is not familiar with the local wording/jargon.

This text is an incisive overview of the entire sweep of ancient Near Eastern studies. Particularly valuable is the section on philology and the extent to which various available texts have or have not yet been translated. It is directly useful as a core text for coursework in any aspect of Mesopotamian civilizations.

These volumes, written by a distinguished American Egyptologist, were first published in 1906 and 1907. In his introduction to this re-edition, Egyptologist Peter Piccione provides a short biography of the author as well as a historical account of the 5 tomes. Volume 1 discusses the First through the Seventeenth Dynasties; Volume 2, the Eighteenth Dynasty; Volume 3, the Nineteenth Dynasty; and Volume 4, the Twentieth through Twenty-Sixth Dynasties. Volume 5 contains supplementary bibliographies and indices for the previous volumes; Piccione has added a more recent bibliography that proves to be quite useful. Each book offers a description of texts along with comments on historicity and significance, before continuing onto easy-to-understand translations. Many of the texts included are never-before-seen passages, while others are quite popular: the Palermo Stone, Letter of Pepi II, Tale of Sinuhe, Tomb of Rekhmire, Capture of Kadesh, Papyrus Harris, Adoption Stela of Nitocris, and so on. This is the most complete, easy-to-consult translation of Egyptian historical texts ever available in the field of Egyptology. A highly recommended resource for students and scholars.

James Henry Breasted, has left us a reliable source of the translation of the texts on the monuments of Egypt. This five volume set is a must have for anyone interested in a reliable translation of Egyptian monuments. You will find all books written by; James Henry Breasted to be of great value.