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From life along the Tigris River in the 1970s to the ongoing Arab Spring uprisings, Phil Karber has witnessed decades of change throughout the Middle East. Fear and Faith in Paradise draws on his wealth of experience to sketch a timely and compelling portrait of the region throughout history. Going beyond the endless images of terrorism and war, he challenges pervasive stereotypes of Muslims and delves into the living history and cultures of Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Persians, Jews, Tunisians, Moroccans, Armenians, and others. Seamlessly moving between past and present, Karber skillfully develops two overarching themes: How America's footprint can be shifted from a military to a humanitarian emphasis and how fear is used as a cudgel by today's monotheistic leaders to sacrifice the faithful. Whether Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, they all invoke their own vision of paradise, often as incentive, in hopeless conflicts that seem doomed to be repeated. Karber's down-to-earth writing vividly conveys the region's charm and beauty against a backdrop of power struggles among competing faiths, nationalisms, and outside forces.
From life along the Tigris River in the 1970s to the ongoing Arab Spring uprisings, Phil Karber has witnessed decades of change throughout the Middle East. Fear and Faith in Paradise draws on his wealth of experience to sketch a timely and compelling portrait of the region throughout history. Going beyond the endless images of terrorism and war, he challenges pervasive stereotypes of Muslims and delves into the living history and cultures of Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Persians, Jews, Tunisians, Moroccans, Armenians, and others. Seamlessly moving between past and present, Karber skillfully develops two overarching themes: How America's footprint can be shifted from a military to a humanitarian emphasis and how fear is used as a cudgel by today's monotheistic leaders to sacrifice the faithful. Whether Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, they all invoke their own vision of paradise, often as incentive, in hopeless conflicts that seem doomed to be repeated. Karber's down-to-earth writing vividly conveys the region's charm and beauty against a backdrop of power struggles among competing faiths, nationalisms, and outside forces.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
About the Author-
Phil Karber is an award-winning travel writer. He is the author of The Indochina Chronicles: Travels in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and Yak Pizza to Go: Travels in an Age of Vanishing Cultures and Extinctions.Since the mid-nineties he has called home Nairobi, Kenya; Hanoi, Vietnam; Bangkok, Thailand; and East London, South Africa. He currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Table of Contents-
Prologue: A Moment of Opportunity Introduction: Terror in the Name of God Part I: Wars of Choice Chapter 1: Be Nice to Americans Chapter 2: Refugees from Iraq and Lebanon Flee to Syria Chapter 3: Holy Fools and the Red Crescent Chapter 4: Made in America Chapter 5: Warlords and a Lebanese Prophet Chapter 6: Poppy Fields, McDonalds, Armageddon, and the Loire Valley Chapter 7: Hezbollah and U.S. Cluster Bombs Chapter 8: Istanbul, Ground Zero in the Clash of Civilizations Chapter 9: Bombs Away on the PKK Chapter 10: Peshmerga and Mercy Corps Chapter 11: Refugees, Water, Schools, Clinics, and Wheelchairs Chapter 12: It's the Oil, Habibi, the Oil Chapter 13: The Sunshine Peddler's Parlor Game Chapter 14: Saying Boo! to the Bogeyman Part II: A Theocracy Chapter 15: A Wall of Mistrust Chapter 16: Coca-Cola and KFC in Tehran Chapter 17: Desert Gardens, Imam Hussein, and the Eternal Flame Chapter 18: King of Kings in Wine Country Chapter 19: Fear and Faith in Paradise Part III: Shadow and Light, an Arab Spring Chapter 20: Morocco and the February 20th Movement Chapter 21: The Jasmine Revolution Selected Bibliography
Reviews-
July 9, 2012 Karber (The Indochina Chronicles), a travel writer whose previous books have explored Africa and Indochina, now turns his focus to the Middle East and parts of Muslim North Africa, chronicling for the reader his travels through Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, and Tunisia, where he attempts to understand the history and the culture of the region as a lens through which to view the turbulent political climate of the past decade. Karber is intrepid and inquisitive, with a lyrical prose style and a commendable eye for detail, and he has done copious background research, which makes the book rich with historical context; the density of historical exposition, however, can sometimes weigh down the larger travel narrative. Karber is ambitious in his efforts to both trace the history of religious and political conflicts in the region and explore the role of American intervention there, but with such a broad scope the book often falls short, leaving the reader alternately lost in trivia and subject to sweeping generalizations. Despite its flaws, however, the book is well worth reading, since it offers a fascinating glimpse into some underexplored countries and adds valuable color and context to the headlines.
Publishers Weekly
Karber, a travel writer whose previous books have explored Africa and Indochina, now turns his focus to the Middle East and parts of Muslim North Africa, chronicling for the reader his travels through Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, and Tunisia, where he attempts to understand the history and the culture of the region as a lens through which to view the turbulent political climate of the past decade. Karber is intrepid and inquisitive, with a lyrical prose style and a commendable eye for detail, and he has done copious background research, which makes the book rich with historical context. . . . The book is well worth reading, since it offers a fascinating glimpse into some underexplored countries and adds valuable color and context to the headlines.
John Lancaster, board of directors of the United States Institute of Peace
It will be a huge mistake if Karber's Fear and Faith in Paradise gets labeled merely a travel book. While his vivid and entertaining descriptions of his travels among the people of the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond paint for us a clear understanding of their communities, cultures, politics (or lack thereof), and beliefs, the book's real strength is the insight it provides into the lack of understanding and trust our leaders and we, as Americans, have of the Muslim world—and theirs of the United States. In this turbulent and uncertain Arab Spring and post-9/11 era, it is a must read for our leaders and policy makers and all of us who put them in power.
Mark McDonald, foreign correspondent for the International Herald Tribune and New York Times
Phil Karber is part scholar, part seeker and full-on adventurer, a boots-on-the-ground writer who has regularly been drawn to some of the world's most complex and turbulent places. He began exploring North Africa and the Middle East years ago—sleeping rough, eating local, hitching rides. And now, with Fear and Faith in Paradise, he has delivered a riveting, poignant and up-to-the-minute account of the region, from its history, peoples and cultures to its modern politics and recent upheavals. This book is a guide, a compass, a marvel.
David Holdridge, founder and president, Bridging the Divide
Fear and Faith in Paradise comes to us from Phil Karber as everyman . . . on the road. Not a historian, nor a development worker. Not a sociologue, nor a novelist. But rather, he invites, 'Come with me, America, and sit by my side,' as this incorrigible native son moves among foreign people.
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Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
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