This is a well written book by a brave and clever lady who loves the Middle East. She is a fluent speaker of Arabic and spent most of her life working for UK and USA government organisations in various ME countries..
I hoped that reading her book about her travels to the Middle East as a tourist since the Arab Spring uprisings would help me to understand the politics and religious differences of the various countries and would awaken an interest of the Middle East in me.
Unfortunately, I found her journeys to the different countries rather repetitive and boring. The corrupt despot in each country had been overthrown during the Arab Spring uprising but the lives of most of the people had not improved. She describes the history of each country (lots of confusing names and religious sects) and talks to both a common man (usually a taxi driver) and also a Western acquaintance in each country to provide a balanced view.
Although the book is well written and researched, it is not inspired me to find out more about the Middle East.
I hoped that reading her book about her travels to the Middle East as a tourist since the Arab Spring uprisings would help me to understand the politics and religious differences of the various countries and would awaken an interest of the Middle East in me.
Unfortunately, I found her journeys to the different countries rather repetitive and boring. The corrupt despot in each country had been overthrown during the Arab Spring uprising but the lives of most of the people had not improved. She describes the history of each country (lots of confusing names and religious sects) and talks to both a common man (usually a taxi driver) and also a Western acquaintance in each country to provide a balanced view.
Although the book is well written and researched, it is not inspired me to find out more about the Middle East.