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| Live From Jordan: Letters Home From My Journey Through the Middle East | 
 enlarge | Author: Benjamin Orbach
Publisher: AMACOM
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $0.91
You Save: $21.09 (96%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (38 reviews)
Sales Rank: 340735
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0814474276
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.054092
EAN: 9780814474273
ASIN: 0814474276
Publication Date: April 30, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
One man's irreverent and insightful chronicle of his journey into the Arab World. The deejay put on a James Brown remix, and the club went nuts again. Everyone started singing in English, and people climbed up on all the club's tables and chairs to shake their hipsOeOn my way home at 4:00 a.m. (the club was still hopping when I left), I couldn't help thinking about all these wealthy Jordanians and Palestinians, dressed in American and European labels, dancing and singing to American music with such sheer joy. . . . As far as I know, there isn't a word in Arabic for "longing for America," but that is what this night, this scene, and this club seemed to be about.--from Live from Jordan On the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, 27-year old Pittsburgh native and grad student Benjamin Orbach traveled to Amman, Jordan, in search of answers. Young, confident, and optimistic, Orbach anointed himself America's secret diplomatic weapon. He was finishing a degree in Middle Eastern studies, had a working knowledge of Arabic, and possessed the determination to "negotiate a peace treaty." He also had no place to live, little money, and no friends to speak of in Jordan. As Ben Orbach spent his first few days in the Middle East in search of a hot shower, the address of his new flat, and a decent haircut, he began to discover something much more important. In the cafes and salons, and on the buses and streets of Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Turkey, he found conflicted, curious, and multilayered people who had more to teach him than he ever imagined. From bustling bazaars to an underground brothel, Live from Jordan is the incredible story, told via his eloquent, compassionate, and irreverent letters home, of Orbach's 13-month journey through the Middle East. Through Orbach's eyes, we begin to see a world where nothing is quite what it seems, a world that is more intricate than what is portrayed in 30-second sounds bites on American television. We meet people like Sundos, a Jordan University freshman who digs surfing the Internet, and Fadi, his sensitive, passionate Palestinian flatmate, who belts out the lyrics of Mariah Carey songs and decries the policies of George Bush. From the privileged young clubbers of Amman to the beleaguered workers who cram themselves into buses every day in search of a meager salary, we begin to see the Middle East as it really is. As he travels from the throbbing streets of Cairo to the friendly living rooms of ordinary people in Jordan, Ben Orbach offers an honest, balanced portrait of a region in turmoil. Engaging, witty, and evocative, Live from Jordan is a myth-breaking book that transports us to a world that is more multifaceted, more beautiful, and more seductive than many of us have ever imagined.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
Live From Jordan October 20, 2008
Live From Jordan gives its readers a fresh perspective on the "Arab East" untainted by political subtexts. Benjamin Orbach's honest, open, and often humorous description of the people and places he encountered during his travels and studies is both engaging and thought provoking.
Exceptionally well written August 21, 2008
Exceptionally well written book. It would make a great travel companion for anyone embarking on a trip around the region, but could also serve to provide some great insight and information about the "Arab East".
Highly recommended.
Street Cred August 20, 2008
Benjamin Orbach takes a total immersion approach to living in and understanding Jordan. He learns the language, befriends neighbors, and in a quest to understand, becomes a relentless listener/communicator to those he encounters along the way.
This excellent book deconstructs myths and sterotypes about the Arab East in a way that is both analytical and personal. The author's insights evolve from real life experiences far removed from academia and the often sterile think tanks upon which many Westerners depend for information about the Arab world.
Live From Jordan August 10, 2008
I highly recommend Live from Jordan. This book has really opened my eyes and has helped me realized how important it is to look at issues from all perspectives. Reading this book has also been a good way to learn about the Arab East. I realize now how complicated and long term the problems in the middle east are. Thank you for writing such a thoughtful and intelligent book.
Not a False Note to Be Found June 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Benjamin Orbach did something just a few months after the events of 9-11 that few Americans dared to do. Just when most Americans were purposely avoiding travel to the Middle East (or had left the area for good), Orbach decided to move to Jordan on his own so that he could study Arabic as it is spoken on the street. He wanted to learn everyday Arabic slang and ways of expressing himself in the language that would allow him to communicate with Arabic speakers at the deepest level. Immersing himself into the culture of Amman, and living there without the usual security surrounding most Americans in that part of the world, he learned much more about himself and the people he met than he could have reasonably expected to come away with going into the experience.
Orbach's language skills and obvious respect for the culture and people he lived among made it possible for him to fit into his Amman neighborhood so well that he formed lasting friendships with the people he saw there everyday, his barber, his grocer, students at his university, his language teachers, restaurant owners and his landlady, among them. Unlike most Americans, and probably most Westerners, he came to see them as individuals with the same hopes and desires that we all have, rather than as interchangeable parts in a single Arab culture dominated by a religion bent on destroying the West and claiming the world for Islam. Anyone who reads Live from Jordan will be able to rid themselves of that stereotypical viewpoint forever and that makes it an important book.
When I started reading Live from Jordan I wondered whether or not Benjamin Orbach's personal experiences would be similar the ones I had while working in Algeria from late 1992 until early 2002. As it turns out, they definitely were. I am not an Arabic speaker but in Algeria French is the business language of choice and most Algerians are at least somewhat fluent in the language. That allowed me to have rather detailed and intimate discussions with my Algerian co-workers and friends about our differences and, more importantly, about our similarities. Much as I suspect that Orbach will always treasure his days in Jordan and Egypt, I will be forever grateful for the friendship and trust that was offered to me by those Algerians who welcomed me into their world as an individual rather than exclude me as an "American."
I mention my years in that part of the world only to emphasize how "true" this book read to me. I did not find a false note in it anywhere and would love to see its message spread as widely as possible.
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