The title might be a bit misleading, since many people might think Asia/Far East when they read "Oriental." This book includes Egypt, Greece, Iran, Turkey, India, Lebanon and more, presenting a rich cultural feast for beauty and body care rituals.

Some of the ideas presented may not appeal to the average reader, but for the woman who is interested in making her own potions and lotions, this is a fascinating book! Written by Wendy Buonaventura (who also brought us "The Serpent of the Nile") in a very readable and engaging style. If her photo on the back is any indication, this book has terrific information. : )

This book takes some of the *work* out of a beauty routine, and makes it a more sensual experience that many Western women should appreciate. Slow down: take the time you crave to primp, languish in a scented bath instead of rushing through a 10 minute shower. Curl up with this book, and rejoice in being a woman, with our mysteries and our power, and dance through life.

Although read only in German Language I consider the book as one of the best I have ever read about the Arab culture. The comprehensive approach and the definition of beauty in arab culture is fascinating.

Library Journal April 15, 2002
Award-winning Korean photographer...has contributed both photography and text to this beautiful book featuring the people, architecture, and sites of South Korea's capital. Suh is wide published photographer whose previous books with the Hollym the Beauty of Korea and Hanoak: Traditional Korean Homes follow a similar format. ...For public and academic libraries.

This is a great resource book written through actual experiences of the authors. Great pictures and references. The book shares information that is not readily available through tourist information. It makes you want to get out your bike and ride along with nature. One does not have to be biking to enjoy the Bed &Breakfast establishments visited in the book.

Born in 1900 in a small Syrian town, the author "grew up fearing these bedouins, loathing the desert, and hating its people." He later became a distinguished scholar of Semitic languages at the American University of Beirut and, over a sixty-year period, meticulously collected materials on the selfsame Bedouin he once despised. His magnum opus on the subject appeared in Arabic in 1988 and now (four years after the author's death) in English, in an excellent translation.

The Bedouins and the Desert has the look and feel of an instant classic, due in part to the author's mix of personal experience and erudition, in part to the State University of New York Press's publishing a beautiful (and commendably inexpensive) volume. The book follows in the grand tradition of Doughty and Musil, documenting and explaining the desert, but it may be the last of its genre, for the Bedouin way of life has so deeply changed and diminished during the past half-century that a successor volume is highly unlikely. Jabbur organizes his book around four "pillars" of Bedouin life: the desert, the camel, the tent, and the Bedouin; naturally, the first and last receive predominant attention. While many of the sections read like a reference work (such as the listing of animals or tribes), the author's deep familiarity with desert poetry and his own observations frequently enliven the text with asides and insights-on everything from the role of falcons hunting gazelles to love marriages among the Bedouin.

Middle East Quarterly, March 1996

I have never thought of myself as a thriller fan, but the timely Middle East setting of Behind the Green Water and its fast pace captured my interest from the beginning. The protagonist Nash Devon, an American military officer, is complex, believable, and unlike many inflexible and unfeeling male characters, has heart. The back story comes forth gradually, supplying his motivation and creating his sympathetic personality. The novel satisfies our curiosity in particular about Iraq and reveals why this nation is potentially so dangerous. Yet we also meet some admirable Iraqi people and kind, if often discouraged, United Nations refugee workers. The author clearly has experience with the culture, towns, and countryside of Iraq, as well as Syria and Saudi Arabia, and convincingly describes the military environment and hardware. The intrique Devon confronts rings true, as well. Surprisingly, the novel develops an undercurrent of spirituality that relates to the title. Devon is on a cruelly difficult mission. Few will be able to set the book aside without knowing if he is successful, and few will be able to stop reading until they know whether Devon and the woman and boy he befriends can all escape their enemies.

How can it be that so many American Jews give unconditional support to the government of Israel? How can it be that the USA continues to support Saudi Arabia, the source of money and hate. How can it be that the United Nations the would be site of international law & fairaness has been so inept for fifty years?

I was l7, our great FDR had been dead since l945, before the war ended. The cold war added to world chaos. And at home President truman faced a hostil red-baiting Congress. Menwhile thouands of Jews freed from concentration camps lanquised in camps run by the Allies. There was no place for them. The new Labor leadership of UK were cold to them, worried about oil from Arabia.

Crum with a few Americans and a group of British went to Palestine, Europe and the Arab countrise. Their report was ignored. The British abandoned "ship" and the rest is history. A sad history.

After scouring library shelves for the perfect book to take along on my recent trip to Beijing, I stumbled upon this treasure. I carried it with me every day, all day during my trip. It provided me with maps, suggested itineraries, even a great vegetarian restaurant. It's information is clear, concise and up-to-date. And it's small enough to carry along with you when you've only got room for one book.

I like it when an author takes a broad, difficult subject and 1.) gives a good generalization, with some proof 2.)penetrates very deep into a very few specific examples. Adelkhah does that quite well.

First, he touches on the broad view of an emerging civil culture in Iran, without which Iran cannot become a "modern" republic and certainly not a democratic one. He tells of the amazing changes to the city of Teheran as mayor Kharabashi challenged everyone to bring their (formerly private and exclusive) gardens out to the front of the street. If you have toured the traditional Middle East, you will have doubtless noticed that houses are built much like fortresses in the city-- emblematic of a culture that displays a seemingly congenital xenophobia.

He also traces the origins of the sports craze in Iran, and the explosion of public parks and spaces. One cannot walk away from the book without a genuine sense that the Islamic Republic of Iran is actually undergoing tectonic changes from within that threaten to cast aside the clerical domination of the country in favor of something entirely new to the world: a Muslim democracy, whatever that turns out to be.

This book is loaded with wounderful black and white and some color photographs of Beirut at the turn of the last century. The commentaries are very educational and provide an interesting popular insight into the history of the city. The brief account on the history of postcards in lebanon is interesting and adds significantly to the book. This book is a great addition to the library of anyone interested in the history of Lebanon in general and Beirut in particular. I only wish there were more color photographs.