In an April 1995 essay entitled "Yes, Prime Minister", included in this collection David Grossman wrote that the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians was "reversible", meaning it could be destroyed. He then went on to lay out the 3 the things that could destroy it:

1.Arafat becomes inactive or irrelevant.
2.The Likud party comes to power.
3.The peace process is constantly interrupted by violence.

As we know now, all these things have come to pass. How prophetic this collection of essays becomes. They have been collected from publications all over the world dating from the September 1993 hopes of the Oslo Summit to the most recent, an article from September 2002 and the almost hopelessness of the 10 year old Intifada.

Grossman's essays cover different topics but they all come down to the ongoing conflict in Israel between the paranoid Israelis and the downtrodden and vengeful Palestinians. Well, he doesn't exactly stereotype them this way but he comes close. He paints Israel as a country of Jews that has suffered hostility and persecution over so many centuries that has bred in them a fear of being exterminated or of being caught up in a new diaspora where they are cast off their land. So any time they feel threatened they respond with overwhelming brutality. A sort of post-trauma of a whole nation. Ironically, the Palestinians find themselves in the same situation as the Jews once did. They are persecuted for their race, for their beliefs, for their wanting of a homeland.

One of the big points in the book that I wondered about also was that where are the MODERATE representatives of both sides? Why do we always see these gun toting [people] and fat cat politicians raving up violence and venegence? Are the sane people in this conflict simply cowards? I know they exist! Where is a great leader on either side who could step up and unite their people??? It's like Hitler vs. Stalin all over again. Why doesn't the Likud and Hamas just join forces and declare war against the rest of the Jews and Palestinians?It just seems the people in power are simply there to draw more blood.

Another point that Grossman makes in his essays is that both peoples need to realize that their survival depends on the peace they make between each other. Decades more war will only lead to their children becoming bloodthirsty savages who know how to make war and kill but know nothing of living together...

I think everyone should read this book because even though it is written by an Israeli it tries to keep a balance and look at both sides of the conflict. He understands that there can be no peace without the absence of oppression. Grossman shows his fear of a future of war but never loses sight of a possible peace.

The only negative aspect of his culture that he shows is in an essay called "Point of No Return" in which he argues against the right of return of the Palestians who were thrown off their land when Israel was first constituted back in the 40s. He beleives that there cannot be a single state for both peoples. He believes that they can only be proper states if they are culturally pure. Meaning only Jews can rule Jews and Palestinians can rule Palestinians. We must not pollute the fatherland with the impure. There are certain racists who would agree with him who think that way. In the end, Grossman's enlightened viewpoint can only go so far. We are all a prisoner in the end to our culture.

After reading this book, and hearing about the continued idiocy of the conflict on the news every single day, I wish the state of Israel had never been formed, I mean at least after World War II. They never fought for their independence. It was given to them by the United States in what would seem to be the Last Crusade. Freeing the holy land and all that. It was formed in an act of pity and we have been paying for it as Americans ever since by acts of terrorism and ill will from Arab countries and will continue to suffer for our wrongheaded alliance with them. I really don't think we would have a terrorism problem or be hated with such vehemence if Israel didn't exist. If you look back over time, most muslim rulers were very tolerant of the Jews and Christians who came to the holy land. Because really, in the end we worship the same God. It's only the details we kill each other for. Perhaps, that is the saddest thing about the whole deal. That they all kill each other in the name of the same God.

Full of empathy, insight and a necessary dose of incredulousness, Grossman is one of the most important writers on this tragic subject. Death as a Way of Life is also particularly relevant for Americans who want to know what life under terror feels like.

The author puts forth a carefully detailed study into a region greatly misunderstood. Deftly weilding a vast knowledge of the Middle East, Kamrava has crafted his viewpoint to be accessible to today's students of Middle Eastern politics. Unlike many other writers, Kamrava refuses to fall into blind speculation about the region's near future. Instead, the author has brought to the reader a well grounded synthesis of theory and practice that can be used to filter the Middle East's morass of misunderstanding.

Kamrava's analysis of the Middle East makes this book a must have for every student and scholar of the Middle East. His insights about the culture and society in the Middle East, is explained very clearly, making it easy to understand about such a controversial and volatile region.

Edited and with an informative introduction by Jason Thompson, Description Of Egypt: Notes And Views In Egypt And Nubia Made During The Years 1825-28 is the absorbing nineteenth century account by Edward William Lane (1801-1876) of his travels along the length and breadth of Egypt. It was offered for publication in 1831 but never saw print. The manuscript was sold to the British Library by Lane's widow in 1891 and only now has been published, some 170 years after its completion. With Lane's detailed descriptions of all the ancient monuments and contemporary life that he saw during his journey, Description Of Egypt will proof an invaluable reference for students of Egyptology, Egyptian history, and nineteenth century Egyptian culture.

The re-edition of E.W. Lane's book is one of the most welcomed additions for the bookshelves of anyone interested in ancient and late last-century Egypt. This book, in reality, was originally published after the notes, drawings and photographs made by Lane during his journey to the Nile country between 1825-27, so that it is a mine of information about the pharaonic monuments in general and about Egypt during those years. A clear and finely written preface by the Editor, Dr. J. Thompson introduces the reader to the beautifully printed text and images; it should be noted that many of the latter were made with a camera lucida and count among the first taken with such a system. One should not be afraid by its bulky aspect: you will read from start to end without boring. The shcolarly-minded ones will regret the lack of indexes to such a huge volume: it implies that you must do the work by yourself... Simply fabulous both for the Egyptologists and the Egyptomaniacs.

This book is all about the struggle given in Turkey towards modernization or Westernization, starts with 1750 and ends with modern Turkey. Very comprehensive, covering political,educational, religious and economical changes and birth of Turkish nationalism. A refresher book for the Turks and an exampler for other nations to learn from experiences. There are too many personages to know who they were, many similar names to follow in two hunder years of struggle towards modernization but author has provided clear cut phases in every part of the revolution. This book clearly shows the obstacle mollahs put on the way of modernization.When Einstein was putting a finishing touches to his theories, finally science was allowed being thought in the schools, all the story in this book.

This book needs to be read especially now by all muslims of the world. Obviously, the muslim world has to change, strip itself from Islamic zealotry which interferes with every aspect of life, from education to justice. The first attempt to do this occured in the Ottoman Empire. The book is the story of the first modernization movement in the moslem world: its challenges, obstructions and results.
The reformists in the empire realize that religion and social institutions have to be separated since this was what Westerners had done. The reformists want to teach contemporary science in schools but here the challenge comes. No! everything is in Kur'an so we don't need to know that so-called science. Reformists attempt to outlaw polygamy but the same challenge comes. No! It accords with Islam. By and large, from the 18th century to the 20th modernization movement in Turkey faced this kind of challenges by clergy. Islam has been a religion that interferes with every aspects of life, every social institution so that it was necessary to separate religion and social institutions (secularism). Defeats of the empire to Russians and the West necessiated these reforms and despite the challenges, inch by inch Turkish instituions were secularized.
Today's Turkey, despite its flaws in democracy and economy, stands out as the most democratic and industrialized muslim country and a serious regional power. There are lessons to be taken from the Turkish experience of secularization and modernization for all muslim countries. And this book is an excellent start off.

This book is great. It's not absolutely comprehensive. However, most things such as names and places that are easy to forget will be contained in this book for quick reference.

Examples: Irgun, Stern Gang, Haganah , ...PLO, PFLP, DFLP, Hamas as well as other Palestinian liberation organizations, ...World Zionist Organization, Revisionism, Zionism, Labor Zionism as well as other racist ideologies and organizations.

If your like me and you like to always have the facts straight in your mind which is impossible, this book will certainly serve as great help in those moments of forgetfulness. Rather than having to go back through all the books you read previously, what your looking for, the basic essentials, will most likely be contained in Dilip Hiro's Dictionary of the Middle East.

Great reference book. It is not biased....

Hiro has successfully managed to create this wonderful dictionary of the Middle East, which students can turn to for reference and important information when needed. It has excellent explanations of important figures, concepts, and countries...excellent, excellent, excellent!!!

I love Walt Disney's The Aristocats starring Phil Harris, I love the book & the video.

Phil Harris in this video plays Thomas O'Malley the cat.

At the first of the video, Edgar drives the horse & 1 passenger Madame Adelaide Bonfamille with her 4 cats.

Madame Bonfamille's attorney was named Mr. Georges Hautecourt.

One night Madame Bonfamille had gone to bed when Edgar slipped out of the house with the cats in the basket. Edgar goes on the motorcycle & takes the cats with him & the two dogs chase him & Edgar hits a bump & the cats fly out.
Then later he sets for the streets of Paris.

I loved this book!!!

How could you not love the Aristocats? Follow them as they try to fin dtheir way home with the help of Thomas the orange alley cat.

I love this book, it give you lots of info about Cleopatra and it's beautifully illustrated.

Cleopatra is one of the most famous women to ever grace the planet. At 14 she watched her father flee for his life and saw people had suffered under the cruelty of her father. She realized her family was at war with the people it ruled.

As Ptolemy XII's oldest surviving child, she would become queen when he died. To protect herself, she made friends with powerful courtiers and prepared herself for government by learning Egyptian and used religion to support her claim to the throne.

Through this book you will learn how Cleopatra used her charm and intelligence to remain queen. You will see how she hoped to make Egypt the successful empire it had been when the first Ptolemies ruled almost 300 years before.

The story gets rather interesting when Antony is disgraced after the Battle of Actium and Cleopatra is afraid of his anger. She locks herself in her mausoleum and sends him a message saying she is dead. In despair, Antony stabs himself and then dies in her arms. Within a few weeks of Antony's suicide Cleopatra also died

There are also beautiful pictures of imaginary fantasy scenes by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, photographs of locations mentioned in the stories and information on plays and movies inspired by Cleopatra's life. This is richly illustrated and contains many fascinating facts about her life and the men she loved.

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.

I thought it was funny when Sabrina was turned into a doll and then leading other people who have been turned into toys by Amanda to escape Amanda's toybox

I loved this book! In my opinion it is the best of the series, any book with Sabrina on the cover has got to be good. The amusing plot of Amanda turning Sabrina into a doll thrilled and excited me. I loved how she solved the problem using quick wits to her advantage,and Amanda's disadvantage!

Helprin truly is, as a friend observed, one of our greatest living writers. These stories are sublime and affecting. Katrina, Katrin' is as moving a story as I have read, and A Dove of the East does extra duty - it's a thought-provoking examination of the human condition on one level, and a look back in time at the Middle East.

These stories do what good stories should: Make their impact during and immediately after reading, and then reappear in your consciousness at a later time, triggered by a tangential event perhaps, or an emotional shard.

If you are wondering if it is worth while to read one of Helprin's mammoth novels (they are all, uhm, Big), you can get an idea from reading either a book in the Swan Lake trilogy (hard-to-find children's books, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg), or one of his short story collections. I cherish his short stories, and this collection is one of my favorites. The variety of time, place, and subject matter, the vividness of the telling, and the kindness and sympathy he gives his subjects - all make the stories worthwhile.

Mark Helprin's novels, and many of his short stories, make me feel as though constellations are coruscating in my mind. Richard Powers's novels, e.g. The Gold Bug Variations, also have this effect on me. I wish the whole world would read their books!