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LEAP OF FAITH: MEMOIRS OF AN UNEXPECTED LIFE |
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Reviews |
| | A woman with an admirable and valuable message to share  |
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Here is a glimpse into Middle East history from someone who was there! My own family members have enjoyed reading it as much as I have; I think shall too! |
| | Self serving pack of lies  |
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I must admit; I didn't get very far, but this book is a self serving pack of lies by an apologist for the intransigence of the Arab world. For example, she refers to the "forced migration" of 1948 without ever mentioning that the ones doing the forcing were Arabs who promised their people that if they would get out they would "push the Jews into the sea". Nor does she mention the origin of the name "Palestinian" (hint: it is a Hebrew name).
The saddest thing about the Arab world is that 1000 years ago they had the most advanced civilization on earth, and entirely due to problems of their own making they now preside over one giant hell hole.
But if she came out and admitted this the Hashemite family would be in danger of losing their position of privilege in Transjordan.
I would recommend that anyone who reads this book should also read "Warrior" by Ariel Sharon. At least he knows the history of Israel, Syria, and Egypt. |
| | Not a Book Insight |
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I have YET to receive my book from this bookseller.....its been 3 weeks and counting..... wish I COULD write a review on the book, guess I will have to go to Barnes and Noble to read it.... |
| | Leap of Faith- An important perspective on modern history  |
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Leap of Faith wasn't the Cindarella/Princess Grace story that the media made it out to be. Her family hadn't actually been in America very long, so it wasn't really that drastic of a transition for her to "give up" her life in America to be Queen of Jordan. She had lots of ties to the culture already. Also, her family was pretty well off and had a lot of famous/well to do friends in the Middle East, so she wasn't really making a huge cultural or socio-economic jump. That said, the book gave me a really interesting and important perspective on the recent history and politics of the Middle East from someone who does understand what Americans are thinking as well as what Jordanians are thinking. Like any good biography of a famous person, it made the characters involved seem REAL to me. She starts off going way back, we're talking to Mohammed. It was hard to concentrate on that part, and I like history and non-fiction, but it turns out to be important later, so I found myself wanting to re-read the first chapters and pay more attention. After a text-book like slow start it picks up and is a really fascinating story.
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| | Fascinating, if utterly biased |
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As the Chinese curse goes, Queen Noor has lived in 'interesting times'.
For over 20 years, the former American Lisa Halaby was Queen and consort to Jordan's King Hussein. These decades happen to coincide with some of the most dramatic moments of modern history, to which she was an intelligent witness.
She writes in a crisp, clear manner of her meetings and relationships with other rulers and their spouses, her recollections of pivotal moments in history, and even snippets of her private life (of Presidents having to move baby carriages out of the way to get through the door and of King Hussein's love letters to her).
All together, an easy and compelling read.
I appreciated that her candor was utterly hampered by her situation and her agenda. As the dowager Queen of an Arab country, one that she came to as an American (albeit one who stressed her Arab roots and downplayed her Swedish ones), the Queen is exceedingly careful with her words - and it shows.
'Honor Killings', a reviled tradition still legal AND practiced in Jordan, get about 4 lines from her in comparison to the chapters upon chapters she spends writing about the ways she and the King worked to make things better for all Jordanians and especially the women.
Similarly, she expressed 'shock' at the deep pro-Israeli bias of most Americans, despite having been brought up as an American and one smart enough to have excelled at Princeton.
She even plays down having been a cheerleader in college - an activity that would be utterly at odds with the life of a young Muslim woman (she converted at her wedding) and plays up how natural 'being modest' came to her once she moved to Jordan.
Up front, in the forward of the book, she says that she wrote it to capture her husband's legacy.
As if we couldn't tell.
King Hussein is shown to be unflaggingly pro-Peace and each action he took is painted by his Queen in those terms. Even his hard-line stances - many of which hampered peace between Israel and Jordan for many years - were interpreted in terms of a long-run view and care for his people.
As for those aspects of the King that would have made him 'foreign' or 'unlikable' to an American or English audience - his many rumored affairs, his need to control the press and his own image, his imperious temper, his infamous extravagances (how many homes did he actually own?), his conviction in his own divinity... these Queen Noor sweeps away with a sweep of her pen.
However, the whitewash does not eradicate a deeper truth - King Hussein was an amazing figure of history and his devotion to peace among all Arabs as well as peace among all peoples was as obvious as it was noble. Luckily, he was in a position to do something about it - and he did.
Strip away everything else, and it is this that Queen Noor does an absolutely fantastic job of framing. Giving the King's perspective and motivation a clear, relatable voice that made this unbalanced but intelligently written book more than I thought it would be |
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