Book Review: Jerusalem: The Biography

I've always been a keen admirer of Jerusalem and after reading the book's blurb (see below), I knew this was one of the best books around. It did not disappoint.

"Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today’s clash of civilizations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence.
 
How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the “center of the world” and now the key to peace in the Middle East? In a gripping narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city in its many incarnations, bringing every epoch and character blazingly to life. Jerusalem’s biography is told through the wars, love affairs and revelations of the men and women—kings, empresses, prophets, poets, saints, conquerors and whores—who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem. As well as the many ordinary Jerusalemites who have left their mark on the city, its cast varies from Solomon, Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent to Cleopatra, Caligula and Churchill; from Abraham to Jesus and Muhammad; from the ancient world of Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and Nero to the modern times of the Kaiser, Disraeli, Mark Twain, Lincoln, Rasputin, Lawrence of Arabia and Moshe Dayan."

This book was written by Simon Sebag Montefiore, his last name already being a significant part in Jerusalem's history, a Cambridge University alumni who studied history and is already well known throughout much of the literary world for his previous award-winning books, Catherine the Great & Potemkin which were shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson, Duff Cooper, and Marsh Biography prizes. 

His book "Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar" won the History Book of the Year Prize at the British Book Awards. "Young Stalin" won the Costa Biography Award (UK), the LA Times Book Prize for Biography (US), Le Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique (France) and the Kreisky Prize for Political Literature (Austria). Montefiore’s books are published in over 35 languages. He is also the author of the  novel, Sashenka. (For a more in-depth biography)
 
 The book starts brilliantly with a prologue of the siege of Jerusalem of 70AD, by the Roman legions of (future-emperor) Titus against the Jewish rebels who occupied the city. The book officially begins with the Canaanite era of Palestine, going through the biblical eras of King David and Solomon. From the times of the Persians , Macedonians and Romans, to the time of the Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamluk, Ottomans and British.

Simon Sebag Montefiore ©Hugo Burnand

The most stunning thing about this book is that it is remarkably neutral (that's a feat when considering a controversial topic like Jerusalem's history). "Jerusalem, the Biography" is a fitting title since the book is written as a biography, through the people who made Jerusalem, starting with King David and ending with Barrack Obama, over a span of 3000 years. Each section is about a person who, made, destroyed, believed in, or fought for Jerusalem, some are ordinary people, some are monsters and dictators. There is massacre, siege, blood, violence, but also brilliant, so very much brilliant poetry.

The story of Jerusalem, is truly (as the author expressed) the story of the world, as well, of the Middle East, of religion, of holiness, of empire! The goosebumps I had when I read about some of of the greatest philosophers, the Arab historiographer "Ibn Khaldoon" in the book, about Suleiman the Magnificent, Caliph Muawiya, Saladin Dynasty, the entire Outremer era with a brilliant inclusion of William of Tyre, the Druze princess and angelic voiced Singer "Asmahan", the Hashemite (Sherifian) Dynasty, and most exciting to read was some poignant poetry by Nizar Qabbani.

This book should be the "must-read" guide for journalists and public figures in the Levant region, the book isn't just a simple retelling of facts, it is much more. With stories, anecdotes, and pages and pages of researched history you really feel as if you are stepping back through time and experiencing Jerusalem's history first hand.

And if the 650 pages of 3,000 years of Jerusalemite history are not enough, the book even has multiple photos, and multiple maps of Jerusalem's Old City, of all the quarters, throughout much of its history, right up to 1948. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Jerusalem, or the Middle East in general. This has been one of the best books I've read

Book Review: Tears on an Island - A History of Disasters in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Available in local Bahrain bookstores

Another local book that caught my eye; this 219 page book deals with Bahrain's history with regards to disasters. In this book, disasters are classified as :

1. Natural and Physical Disasters
2. Biological Disasters
3. Man-made Technological Disasters
4. Man-made Non-Technological Disasters
5. Environmental Disasters
6. Disasters due to Gathering

The book is written by a man who is not new to disasters, having been at the helm of the Medical Response Team to the recent ill-fated Gulf Air  in August 2000, he is Dr. Abdul Aziz Yousif Hamza ; Undersecretary of Health in the Ministry of Health, a former Chief of Medical Staff at the local Salmaniya hospital and is now a Professor at the College of Medicine at the Arabian Gulf University.


Here is my feedback:

Criticism:

• The book only deals with disasters in the 20th Century and onwards, with very little pertaining to previous centuries,
• The book lists several facts after the other, with very little link between them (akin to just jumping from one point to another),
• Bias is evident in the book, especially when pertaining to politics,
• Grammatical mistakes (a pet peeve of mine) are rampant throughout the book,
• Since the book is arranged by type of accidents, it is not arranged in chronological order of all the disasters,
• Some paragraphs are too brief and vague, they do not portray the message effectively.

 Positive:

• The book covers almost every single disaster that occurred in Bahrain in the 20th century and beyond (although not the same level of information is given),
• Excellent use of pictures of disasters, from the early 1920s till the 2000s, pictures from the 'Year of the Locusts' to the year when Bahrain went sub-zero !
• Most disasters are well-explained, with many paragraphs (an average of 2-3) explaining the disaster.
• The book reports on medical disasters, such as disease outbreaks like the typhoid fever outbreak of 1969,
• The book touches light on all types of disasters , from rainstorms to building fires (such as the Jashanmal building fire in Manama)
• An interesting insight is provided about Bahrain during wartime, such as the failed (in the sense of missing the target) bombardment by Italian planes in WW2 and the landing of a SCUD missile in Bahrain, fired by Iraq during the first Gulf War,
• The book starts off with an introduction into Bahrain's 20th century history , (surprisingly) featuring the local regional politics,
• A key to how the disasters are classified is also present.

 What I particularly like is the huge amount of photos used (especially old photos, one would think they'd be lost !) to help explain disasters from the 2000s blackout to the Seistan ship disaster of 1958.

Overall, this book is not at all perfect but it is the closest thing to it. To an old Bahraini who lived through it all, this would be a pleasant stroll through memory lane. To others, this would open their eyes to what Bahrain has been through, from the Dana Dhow disaster of 2006 to the BAPCO (Bahrain Petroleum Company) Oil Refinery Fire in 1983.

If you got some money saved and don't know what to spend it on, why not on this ? It costs around 15 dinars, the last time I checked (a few months so go so the price might've gone down!).

This should be mandatory in all Bahrain history classes (I'm not in any place to say this but I can dream!). A must-have for Bahrain history enthusiasts.

Book Review: Martin Luther King - The Peaceful Warrior

I had initially read this book simply because my knowledge on the Civil Rights era has been largely minimal, but with this read, I have been somewhat inspired. What was ironic was that I got this book (unknowingly) on the same day as Black History Month !
So if you're one to celebrate this month, why not pick this book ? (Specially written for newbies!)

Published in 1968, a good book for beginners

Have you ever been curious about who Martin Luther King was but you were too frightened to read the extensive Wikipedia article ? Well, rest assured, this biography has been written for the most novice of novices!

This book is great for teens and young adults; it is around 100 pages (containing a transcript of the famous "I have a Dream" speech !) and the book is generally written for a complete novice (if you're a history buff and you know MLK properly already, then this isn't a book for you. But its a good book to give to kids  ). The book does not expect you to know anything beforehand (other than the discrimination that existed at the time).

The book starts with details of MLK's father's childhood and life and slowly transits to MLK. It is relatively simple to read it (you won't get lost in it) and the illustrations help brighten up the mood. It gives details (though not very deep) of MLK's childhood and education, from his time in "Negro neighborhoods" to being the valedictorian in his graduation class at college, and of his time as a pastor in Alabama during the Bus Boycott. Perhaps the most touching part was the description of his assassination. It shouldn't be a surprise that the book praises MLK countless times.

Overall, a good book for the classic newbie (or anyone wanting to know a basic knowledge of him), not so much for history buffs (but give it to a kid !) I recommend it for 12+

Rating: 3/5

Must-Read Book for Bahrain History enthusiasts

I've spent the past week reading this book about the history of Manama.

Available in local Bahraini bookstores

Written by Abdul Karim al Orrayed , who is a lifelong artist and historian (born in the 1930s!), he also received the Shaikh Isa Medal for his contributions in art in 2007.

The book was originally written in Arabic and was translated by Loona al Orrayed (the author's daughter). The book is 358 pages long , so mind you, it is a good long read.

To make it easier to explain the book, I'll list the positives and negatives of the book.

Positive:

• The book talks about Manama history and it is, according to the author, written via numerous accounts from eye-witnesses and people who lived through those times
• The book is well sourced (although the references are written in Arabic)
• The book generally explains Bahraini customs in a satisfactory method (and often detailed).
• The book has 6 Chapters dealing with Manama history, detailing each and every village that used to exist in the present location of Manama , often with vivid descriptions.
• A whole chapter is dedicated to the oldest known continuously inhabited village of Bahrain, Bilad al Qadeem, with numerous units explaining the society, cultural and education aspect of the community.
• The book provides accounts of foreigners' accounts of Bahrain, from visitors in the 19th century to those of Charles Belgrave in the early 30s and 60s.
• The book takes a particular interest in highlighting the intellectual climate that existed in Manama, both in the 11th century and in the 20th century.
• The book details and outlines carefully how Bahrain had modernized during the 20th century, and provides an excellent case-study about the American Missionary Hospital's role in pioneering healthcare in the country.
• The book contains a chapter devoted to explaining the history of Islam in Bahrain and also highlighting the different religions present in Manama, each having a description of their own.
• Religious buildings, events are clearly marked in the book, and perhaps most interestingly is that the book highlights the lives of minority religious groups such as the Jews in Bahrain.
• And most interestingly, an index of families of Bahrain is provided.
• Colourful pictures and illustrations are present!

Criticism:

• False information is written in the book, with the idea that Phoenicians had lived in Bahrain in 2600 BC, when they had not existed until centuries later.
• The book often becomes too detailed and easy to get lost in.
• The 'table of contents' is on the right side of the book , instead of the traditional left side (not much of a problem but unorthodox).
• Grammatical mistakes are present in some chapters.
• The book does not highlight the Persian community in Bahrain, aside from mere mentions.
• Certain family names are not present in the family index.
• Book does not state when Arabic transliterations occur, therefore making it difficult to understand the word in Arabic (for example, Um Ehmar is written in the book , when it is pronounced Um E7mar)
• Though the book is greatly detailed, not everything is present.

All in all, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Bahraini history, but mind you, I do not guarantee its accuracy (see the Phoenician example). Though, the author deserves praise. The book has obviously taken a very long time to write, to the very detail, and especially deserves to be commended for providing pictures and illustrations into the book (thus preventing it from becoming too boring!). It records Manama's history, from a time of villages, swamps and springs to becoming a cosmopolitan metropolis


The book does something that has never been done before, and that is to contain the history of a country (or capital) that is smaller than the City of London!

Book Review: Occupation, The Ordeal of France, 1940 – 1944

Book Review: Occupation, the Ordeal of France, 1940 – 1944, Ian Ousby

Ian Ousby is a non-professional historian who has grappled, successfully, with a highly charged and complicated topic, the period from the fall of France in 1940 to a military assault by Germany through its internal political upheavals following the lost war and the subsequent change in government known as the Vichy period.  Ousby provides an excellent overview of the major political events that occurred prior to the outbreak of war in 1939, the actual military campaign of 1940, and the immediate fall/usurpation of the Third Republic of France into the Vichy government structure under Petan.  (The legality of such this change is one of the issues debated by historians and people in 1944 in France and Ousby provides a brief summary of aspects of this controversy in the period in his final chapter.)  Overall the book is strong in its initial examination of the events under the Vichy period but the heart of the book is a series of chapters examining the cultural and social impacts of the Vichy regime upon France and its citizens, a useful exercise in historical review but also one that skims on chronically the actual events of the Vichy period in detail.  Generally social histories can be forgiven such shortfalls but Ousby is attempting to write a general history that can allow someone who knows very little of the events in France from 1940 to 1944 to better understand the period, by omitting details of the political actions of the Vichy government Ousby leaves the reader with a feeling about the oppressive nature of the Vichy regime but less information about what that regime did politically to rule France.

As well Ousby does very little work on the impact politically that Germany had upon conquered France, Ousby touches upon some of the economic impacts and the minimal headway the Vichy regime was able to make in lowering the impact of paying the Occupation costs to Germany, but Ousby goes no further.  He provides no information on what those economic impacts were on France in the form of goods moved, lightly touches upon the demand for French goods and arms by Germany, and also only lightly describes the structures of government and political action in both Occupied France and Free/Unoccupied France.  In doing so his work leaves the reader swimming a bit when discussing the years from 1940 to 1944 in a soup of impressions, emotions, and reactions with minimal moorings of what the actions where that people were reacting to during that period.  That said though this is an excellent introductory history on the subject and is highly recommended for any general readers interested in the Occupation of France or French history from 1940 through 1944.

Book Review: The Man Who Sold The World

Title: The Man Who Sold The World: Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street America
Author: William Kleinknecht
Publisher: Nation Books

I read this book about a month ago and I’ve been meaning to post a brief review of it, I purchased it a year ago because it promised to examine the legacy of Ronald Reagan and the actions of his administration and how Reagan’s actions as President of the United States undermined the culture, economy, and political system of the United States.  The author attempts to prove nothing less then Ronald Reagan, or at least those he put in power, deliberately engaged in a series of policies that were intentionally designed to transfer wealth into a smaller pool of hands within the United States, destroy the environment of the United States, and undermine economic organizations and regulations that protected small businesses, small towns, and individual consumers within the United States.  One of the major central arguments the author puts forward is that culturally Reagan undermined the idea of government competence with any sphere of society in the United States and also undermined the idea of community as a guiding force within the United States culturally.  Specifically Kleinknecht argues that Ronald Reagan, in his campaign for the Presidency as well as his administration, emphasized the ideal of the individual over the community, personal gain over societal gain, “me ahead of you” to put it crudely.

The problem however is that Kleinknecht in his book dabbles more in politics and in crafting an opinion then in actually reporting the history of the domestic policies of the Ronald Reagan administration, more critically he misses the target of his subject and instead drifts over a wide range of accusations against various conservative forces that took a leading role in the federal government while Reagan was in office.  Kleinknecht though does not limit his proof to that period, instead he draws upon events that happened while Reagan was in office, George W. Bush Sr. was in office, and William Clinton was in office, attempting to use all of these to prove a more broad hypothesis that conservative elements in the United States, since 1981, have engaged in a constant series of policies that have undermined what Kleinknecht argues are core values of the United States.  Specifically Kleinknecht argues in favor of federal regulation of markets and business, federal control and limitations on the economy, and returning the United States politically towards a system of federal control closer to that of the 1960s and 1970s then the system the United States currently operates under.

All valid outlooks to hold and argue but not matters of history – they are matters of policy and politics.  The line may seem a fine one to draw but Kleinknecht avoids dealing with the history of the Reagan administration directly and instead grapples with the ideology of the Reagan years, but even that task is not attempted in a neutral tone.  Kleinknecht has a point to argue, that Reagan and those Reagan brought into power undermined Kleinknecht’s ideal vision of the society of the United States.  If you are looking for a book documenting the history of the United States in the 1980s and the massive cultural revolution it underwent, a topic of considerable complexity and breadth, this is not a book I can recommend as a starting point.

Book Review: King Leopold’s Ghost

Recently I finished reading an incredibly well written book titled King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa written by Adam Hochschild, this book is focused upon the acquisition by Belgium of an African colony in the Congo region and the subsequent economic, social, and political exploitation and terror of that region by various different forces within the region.  In summary Hochschild argues that Belgium’s acquisition of a large colony in the Congo was due mainly to the territorial ambitions of its king at the time, King Leopold II, and Leopold gained that territory through a clever campaign of subterfuge, misdirection, diplomacy, intrigue, and lobbying both directly by King Leopold and by a web of his personal agents.  Hochschild then proceeds to examine the actual policies and actions of the various organizations and companies that ran Leopold’s newly acquired Congo colony.  Hochschild spends considerable time skillfully showing how Leopold ruled the Congo directly and treated it as a personal fiefdom, those agents acting within the territory did so at his personal approval and the funds raised from the various raw materials gathering efforts in the Congo went directly into Leopold’s personal fortune.

Probably the cornerstone value of this work is how Hochschild focuses attention upon both the atrocities conducted in the Congo by the agents of Leopold throughout his personal control of the colony, the extreme focus upon extracting the highest return of resources possible from the Congo during this period (specifically ivory and subsequently rubber), and the pioneering efforts by various concerned individual missionaries and reformers to bring about an end to Leopold’s abuses in the Congo.  Abuses is a highly appropriate word as evidence from various sources cited by Hochschild provide convincing evidence that during the roughly thirty years that Leopold personally ruled the Congo colony approximately fifty percent of the total indigenous population, or between 8 to 10 million people, died from both direct violence and indirect suffering at the hands of Leopold’s Congo policies and agents.  In addition to the high death count many survivors of this period lost their right hand to violence, a policy in the Congo was that it was expected for every round of ammunition fired an indigenous individual was to be killed.  Local soldiers who used their weapons to hunt would often take the right hand of a person still alive to even out their count.

As well Hochschild also does an incredible job of detailing the link between the novel Heart of Darkness and its authors real time spent in the Congo region.  Hochschild details how many of the events depicted in Heart of Darkness are directly drawn from Conrad’s own time in the Congo during this period.  The only complaint I would have for this book is, honestly, the title, it seems to imply a focus upon the post-Leopold II time in the Congo and the impact that ruler had on the region after his demise.  However this topic is only lightly covered in the final chapter of the book itself, most of the focus is on Leopold II and those who directly opposed him.  But beyond that minor complaint, this is an excellent book and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in either the colonial era in Africa, Belgian politics in the Congo, or a good very character focused history.