The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East
Product Details | Similar Products | Customer Reviews | Author: Neil Macfarquhar List Price: $26.95 Our Price: $3.73 You Save: $23.22 (86%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours  |
|
 | Product Details: Hardcover 359 pages Release Date: 28 April 2009 Publisher: PublicAffairs ISBN: 1586486357 Rating:  Sales Rank: 112266 | | Look for similar books by subject: | | Customers who bought this item also bought:
| | Customer Reviews: A Wise and Refreshing Portrait of the Contemporary Middle East--A MUST Read (03 July 2010)When reading about the contemporary Middle East, it is rare to find an author with the courage to share an unapologetic opinion. Mr. MacFarquhar is an individual with such courage. The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah is a refreshing account of the sociopolitical environment of the Middle East from someone whose prerogative is clearly to use his extensive experience to effect positive change: tangibly, during his travels, and ideologically, by helping to elucidate this misunderstood region to foreign readers. The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday informed my understanding of the Middle East more than any research I have done, independent or otherwise. MacFarquhar characterizes the startling diversity within the Arab world in a way that is neither judgemental nor indoctrinating. This book is valuable not only as a knowledgeable overview of the modern Middle East, but also as a testament to how we should all act as agents of positive change in an increasingly global society. hugely insightful read (11 June 2010)As someone who has had the good fortune of travelling around the Middle East, I found this book really sensitively and sincerely written, intelligent and insightful. Additionally, knowing these cultures first hand, it also gave me more than the occasional belly laugh. I highly recommend it as a book that challenges many of the stereotypical thoughts about Middle Eastern culture, but also as one that recognises many of the cultural practices we as Wsterners find odd, are found just as strange by the locals who are bound by history, religion or a combination of both, to practice them. This book was cover to cover both entertaining and informative and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Insightful, Educational, and Entertaining (06 June 2010)This book changed the way I read the news. Many books provide background on the politics and theory behind events reported in the news. MacFarquhar's last effort far exceeds the standard. His stories, even with their historical accuracy and detail, add a personal dimension to the people and parties so flatly and coldly described by the media and government. After reading this book, I find myself thinking about exactly who is doing what the papers claim and the circumstances behind the reporting. Each chapter and region is fascinating in unexpected ways and I greatly look forward to MacFarquhar's next project. Better than any class about the middle east (10 May 2010)I learned more about the Middle East from this book than any class I have taken on the topic. I am an Arabic student at Georgetown and I have taken my fair share of Middle East classes here. I also spent a semester studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt. I read this book before going overseas last semester and it educated me about so much more in the Middle East than I could ever hope to learn in the classroom. After being in the Middle East, I realized how incredibly accurate this book is. On top of that, I didn't even immediately understand how much I learned from this book as it is not written in an educational format. However, after engaging in discussions about the Middle East-both in Egypt, Jordan, and Syria AND in the United States-I realized just how much I learned from this book. I have had more fun reading this book than any other I have ever read. I read much of it on a train ride throughout Europe and often disrupted the trains I was riding from laughing so loud! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good writing, as MacFarquhar is a master storyteller, but I ESPECIALLY recommend it to anyone interested at all in Middle East politics. Most of all, if you are going to study abroad or you are returning from a study abroad in the Middle East, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK. It taught me more than any intro session ever could and put into words my reflections on my time there better than I ever could have. I don't know if you read these, but keep 'em comin', Neil. I can't stop reading whatever you write (anyone who likes this book should also read The Sand Café and Neil's work for the New York Times). Your style is unmatched by anyone I've read. Thanks for the joy I got reading this book! The Media Relation Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday (26 April 2010)We have a daughter who has been living and working in the Middle East since 2002 so I am especially interested in understanding her world. I thought he did an excellent job presenting his ideas, explaining how each "side" sees things and why we are so far apart and not understanding each other. Further, his style is very readable, not pedantic. I am recommending this to all my friends who want to understand the vocabulary, what Islam really is about, and why our ideas and government style cannot be so blithly applied to those countries he covers. We have much to learn and having grown up in Libya and worked and travelled in so much of the Middle East, Neal MacFarquar is an excellent guide. Finally, our daughter read it and said that it was the best she had seen, that she felt it was an accurate description of those countries and the struggles they face. | |
