The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.52 (590 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1586488112 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 400 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-11-05 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
MacFarquhar shows the daily lives and attitudes of people frequently obscured behind the curtain of violence: the stories of chefs and sex therapists, bloggers and academics struggling to reform on their own terms.. Since his boyhood in Qadhafi ’s Libya, and later as a reporter for more than thirteen years in cities stretching from Tehran to Marrakesh, Neil MacFarquhar has developed a counterintuitive sense that the Middle East, despite all the bloodshed in its contemporary history, is a place of warmth, humanity, and generous eccentricity. In The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday MacFarquhar shares a lesser known side of the region, the story he always wanted to file
If America is to overcome Arabs' deep distrust, MacFarquhar suggests, it must abandon policies too often based on expediency and listen, not to its own domestic politics but to the concerns of the people in Arabs' own countries. . The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iranian revolution serve as backdrops, but veteran Mideast correspondent MacFarquhar (The Sand Café) focuses primarily on Arab nations and a grab bag of Saudi teachers, Moroccan dissidents broken by their years in prison, individuals searching for political freedom and Muslims struggling to sustain their faith in the face of violence from
Best book on the Middle East I have read C. M. Peterson I am an American and have travelled extensively in the Middle East since 2006. I must say that The Media Relations Department book is the most illuminating treatment of what is happening and not happening in the Middle East that I have ever read. Neil's travels take him from Morocco to Iran. Along the way, he finds the potential change agents in the different countries - those who resist governmental oppression and continue to speak out for needed changes in societies burdened by autocratic regimes. Neil interviews these heroes for human dignity an. An author who really knows the region I would strongly recommend this book to anybody who wants to better understand the region and its politics. With his long and wide ranging experience in the region and fluency in Arabic, MacFarquhar provides an insightful analysis of the complex processes of political and social change across the region. Many of the stories of individuals leading these changes are depressing as they encounter harsh treatment by heavy handed regimes. Yet he finishes with a sense of optimism about the future, provided Western governments also alter their misguided po. Informative, Amusing and sometimes even Beautiful I'm still processing the content and will undoubtedly go back for a re-read, but first I want to express my appreciation of the book on several levels. The information conveyed and the reportage are terrific. I learned much I did not know about the details of Lebanese/Syrian interaction and filled massive gaps in my knowledge of Bahrain. I recognized the extremists seeking religious rulings on the most minute items and easily made the connection to their counterparts outside the Islamic world.I enjoyed the personal stories with which the author sea