Wandering Out of Bounds in the Middle East
Neil MacFarquhar served as New York Times Cairo bureau chief from 2001 through 2005 and is now its UN bureau chief. His Mideast expertise predates his Cairo assignment: he grew up in Libya and covered the region for the AP, including stints in Israel and Kuwait. An Arabic speaker, his expertise in the region has led to appearances ranging from national television news to the Tribeca Film Festival. He is the author of a novel, The Sand Cafe (PublicAffairs), about Gulf war correspondents marooned in a Saudi hotel.
"Kirkus," 4/1
A sly, knowledgeable look at the changes in Arab mores and politics
since the 1970s, from a "New York Times" journalist with extensive
experience in the region . Having to navigate among oil wealth,
repression and the simmering resentment of a struggling populace
continues to plague the Arab states, stifling what MacFarquhar
believes and convincingly argues they urgently need: new ideas,
technology and innovation. A humane, well-reasoned investigation of
the Arab countries of the Middle East and the tremendous vitality
of their inhabitants. "Booklist," review 4/15
The openness and immediacy of his on-site reporting reveals the
diversity in country and culture as he explores current Arab
attitudes toward the U.S., the oppression of women, the power of
the Internet and satellite TV, the stifling control of the secret
police, and much more. The professor forbidden to pluck her
eyebrows sums it up: They focus on the trivial . . . so we don t
worry about the big things. Those big things will grab American
readers, from religion s blocking of science to U.S. expediency in
backing the powerful and, always, to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. "Publishers Weekly," STARRED review
While a glut of recent books on the Middle East have addressed
Western perspectives on the region, this excellent book emphasizes
questions Arabs ask themselves. "Time"
This survey of the modern Middle East is concerned with more than
just the typical tales of conflict, death and revenge so often
peddled by foreign correspondents. With both an insider s affection
and an outsider s perspective, [MacFarquhar] paints a richer, more
subtle portrait of the region through miniprofiles of the people,
groups and agencies (big and small) that influence daily Arab life
Hizbollah, al-Jazeera, Saudi clerics and an influential Lebanese
cleric, among others. As a result, stories of the hateful
misogynist policies of the Saudi religious establishment and the
dark deeds of the Jordanian secret police are more than balanced
out by those of brave, modern reformers. By the book s end,
MacFarquhar s hope for the region s future has become contagious.
"Dallas Morning News"
His book s title reflects Mr. MacFarquhar s appreciation of the
quirks of Middle Eastern life, but he provides insightful reporting
and commentary about countries and people who consistently confound
American policymakers . MacFarquhar keeps his touch light as he
examines serious issues, but he is a knowledgeable and wise
observer. For anyone wanting a thoughtful and penetrating appraisal
of the Arab world today, this is an exceptionally valuable book.
"Time Out New York"
Reformers would do well to seek help from the individuals profiled
in this book.""Newsweek"
Filled with first-rate analysis, leavened by plenty of local color.
Wendell Steavenson, "Washington Post"
Neil MacFarquhar is that rare and wonderful thing, a Middle East
correspondent who not only speaks Arabic but also grew up in the
region. This experience infuses his book -- the product of 20 years
of reporting -- with the wit, insight and eye-rolling exasperation
of a near-native . The result is an intelligent and fascinating
romp full of anecdotes, acid asides and conversations with everyone
from dissidents to diplomats and liberal religious sheikhs, and
even a Kuwaiti woman with a sex-advice column . It's a testament to
MacFarquhar's deep background knowledge and the lightness of his
touch that complex issues are distilled into clear exposition
without ever being oversimplified or dumbed down. But MacFarquhar
has written much more than just a very good primer to the region.
His real achievement is to give the reader a window into the
private debates among the intelligentsia and political classes of
the Middle East . MacFarquhar, now the United Nations bureau chief
at the New York Times, is a fun guide."San Jose Mercury News"
A revealing and at times moving account of a region alternately
deified and demonized in the United States . In his deft
storytelling, it's the humanity and generosity of the author's
subjects that shine through . MacFarquhar makes an excellent guide
to the eclectic mix of peoples often lumped together as Arab.
Readers looking for a nuanced, sophisticated understanding of the
region's complexities and contradictions will find MacFarquhar's
book well worth their time. "Christian Science Monitor"
[MacFarquhar s] anecdotes personal, wry, apt, and insightful are
the special sauce in his part-memoir, part-journalistic account,
part-foreign-policy primer. "The Media Relations Department of
Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday" shows recent history through
the eyes of a 6-foot, 3-inch blond Arabic-speaking American, who
wrote first for the Associated Press and then as the Cairo bureau
chief of "The New York Times." It aims and succeeds to animate the
news with characters and compassion. Elaine Margolin, "The
Forward"
Unusually compelling . Neil MacFarquhar is a gifted writer and a
natural storyteller and has used his unprecedented access to
illustrate for us a vivid rendering of the Middle East in all its
complexity, congestion and paranoia. "New York Times"
Mr. MacFarquhar s sly, vivid memoir, "The Media Relations
Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday, " is full of
anecdotes backed up by perceptive analysis Unlike many
correspondents Mr. MacFarquhar speaks Arabic and shows an
appreciation for the language, its poetry and political rhetoric.
He uses compelling characters effectively to illustrate larger
themes and forces at play in the region Few in the West pay
attention to these arguments within Islam or to the daily
tribulations of homegrown reformers and that is the ultimate
strength of this book. Mr. MacFarquhar has provided a sobering and
heartbreaking record of these quiet struggles.
"New York Times Book Review"
In this engaging and fact-filled reporter s memoir, Neil
MacFarquhar successfully walks a fine line. He offers something
fresh and unexpected for readers steeped in a decade of news
reports about suicide bombers, absolutist imams and tyrannical
despots. Yet he never forgets that most of those readers care about
the subject only because they have already decided, perhaps
simplistically, that they are under threat from the Arab or Muslim
world. He nods to the prejudices about Middle Eastern fanatics and
then sets off merrily to dispel them . "The Media Relations
Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday" is MacFarquhar
s effort to write a funny (yet penetrating) account about real
Arabs and a few Persians struggling against long odds to bring
their societies into the modern ages . For those who care about the
Middle East and want to start listening to weak but growing voices
calling for reform and modernization on local rather than Western
terms, MacFarquhar s account is a fine place to begin. "
"Kirkus," 4/1
"A sly, knowledgeable look at the changes in Arab mores and
politics since the 1970s, from a "New York Times" journalist with
extensive experience in the region.... Having to navigate among oil
wealth, repression and the simmering resentment of a struggling
populace continues to plague the Arab states, stifling what
MacFarquhar believes--and convincingly argues--they urgently need:
new ideas, technology and innovation. A humane, well-reasoned
investigation of the Arab countries of the Middle East and the
tremendous vitality of their inhabitants.""Booklist," review
4/15
"The openness and immediacy of his on-site reporting reveals the
diversity in country and culture as he explores current Arab
attitudes toward the U.S., the oppression of women, the power of
the Internet and satellite TV, the stifling control of the secret
police, and much more. The professor forbidden to pluck her
eyebrows sums it up: 'They focus on the trivial . . . so we don't
worry about the big things.' Those big things will grab American
readers, from religion's blocking of science to U.S. expediency in
backing the powerful and, always, to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.""Publishers Weekly," STARRED review
"While a glut of recent books on the Middle East have addressed
Western perspectives on the region, this excellent book emphasizes
questions Arabs ask themselves.""Time"
"This survey of the modern Middle East is concerned with more than
just the typical tales of conflict, death and revenge so often
peddled by foreign correspondents. With both an insider's affection
and an outsider's perspective, [MacFarquhar] paints a richer, more
subtle portrait of the region through miniprofiles of the people,
groups and agencies (big and small) that influence daily Arab
life--Hizbollah, al-Jazeera, Saudi clerics and an influential
Lebanese cleric, among others. As a result, stories of the hateful
misogynist policies of the Saudi religious establishment and the
dark d
"Kirkus", 4/1
"A sly, knowledgeable look at the changes in Arab mores and
politics since the 1970s, from a "New York Times" journalist with
extensive experience in the region.... Having to navigate among oil
wealth, repression and the simmering resentment of a struggling
populace continues to plague the Arab states, stifling what
MacFarquhar believes--and convincingly argues--they urgently need:
new ideas, technology and innovation. A humane, well-reasoned
investigation of the Arab countries of the Middle East and the
tremendous vitality of their inhabitants.""Booklist", review
4/15
"The openness and immediacy of his on-site reporting reveals the
diversity in country and culture as he explores current Arab
attitudes toward the U.S., the oppression of women, the power of
the Internet and satellite TV, the stifling control of the secret
police, and much more. The professor forbidden to pluck her
eyebrows sums it up: 'They focus on the trivial . . . so we don't
worry about the
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