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shannonw19's review against another edition
5.0
When I was in college, I had to write a paper in my comparative governments class about a country I knew nothing about. We drew them from a hat. I drew Yemen. From that day, I have followed Yemen in the news. So when I won a copy of Fox Hunt, I was excited to read it. Now I sit, crying a river of tears after finishing it and hoping that I can get as many people as possible to read this book.
Mohammed Al Samawi was born and raised in Yemen. He was raised Muslim and raised to hate Americans and Jews and Israel. When he was in college an English instructor gave him a copy of the Bible and he gave his English instructor a copy of the Quran. That Bible changed Mr. Samawi's life. He decided to learn more about Christians and Jews and joined interfaith groups on Facebook. He attended conferences and worked for NGOs in Yemen. His parents were less than thrilled about it. But he loved his work. Then he started receiving death threats. He moved from northern Yemen to Southern Yemen to work for Oxfam. And then the civil war broke out. He was sure he was going to be killed. He reached out to his friends on social media.
Men and women from Israel and America - men and women who were Jews and Christians - worked tirelessly to get Mohammed out of Yemen. Eventually, they did and Mohammed is in the U.S. today, waiting for the civil war to end so he can go home and see his family.
I do not want to give away the entire book, but even if I did you would still want to read Mohammed's story. With all of the talk in this country, in particular, about immigrants being evil and raping and pillaging, this story shows that is so far from the truth. It is a story of all the good things in life - peace, love, tolerance, and helping others with no visible benefit to you. I was utterly floored by this book and I would highly recommend it.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no other compensation in exchange for this review. The views expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
Mohammed Al Samawi was born and raised in Yemen. He was raised Muslim and raised to hate Americans and Jews and Israel. When he was in college an English instructor gave him a copy of the Bible and he gave his English instructor a copy of the Quran. That Bible changed Mr. Samawi's life. He decided to learn more about Christians and Jews and joined interfaith groups on Facebook. He attended conferences and worked for NGOs in Yemen. His parents were less than thrilled about it. But he loved his work. Then he started receiving death threats. He moved from northern Yemen to Southern Yemen to work for Oxfam. And then the civil war broke out. He was sure he was going to be killed. He reached out to his friends on social media.
Men and women from Israel and America - men and women who were Jews and Christians - worked tirelessly to get Mohammed out of Yemen. Eventually, they did and Mohammed is in the U.S. today, waiting for the civil war to end so he can go home and see his family.
I do not want to give away the entire book, but even if I did you would still want to read Mohammed's story. With all of the talk in this country, in particular, about immigrants being evil and raping and pillaging, this story shows that is so far from the truth. It is a story of all the good things in life - peace, love, tolerance, and helping others with no visible benefit to you. I was utterly floored by this book and I would highly recommend it.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no other compensation in exchange for this review. The views expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
carole888's review
3.0
I knew very little about Yemen before picking up this book. The authors innocence, honesty and sincerity come through in the retelling of his journey. In all the turmoil of war and destruction, there were good people out there who were prepared to go out of their way to help a person they hardly knew; They never lost hope. An unforgettable read!
13iscute's review against another edition
4.0
2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge:
#7 A book set in a country that fascinates you (Yemen)
#14 A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you (Yemeni)
#26 A book with an animal in the title
#34 A book that's published in 2018
#49 A book about a problem facing society today
#7 A book set in a country that fascinates you (Yemen)
#14 A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you (Yemeni)
#26 A book with an animal in the title
#34 A book that's published in 2018
#49 A book about a problem facing society today
loomofdreams74's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
maart_je's review against another edition
3.0
Het thema is beter dan de uitvoering, maar een interessant en belangrijk boek over de oorlog in Jemen. Deze verschrikkelijke oorlog wordt vaka vergeten in de media maar is vreselijk en kost veel mensen het leven.
In het boek vertelt de auteur over zijn leven in de oorlog en zijn pogingen om het land te verlaten.
In het boek vertelt de auteur over zijn leven in de oorlog en zijn pogingen om het land te verlaten.
octavia_cade's review
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
5.0
This was such a riveting read! I have to admit that I knew absolutely nothing about Yemen before starting this book, and I don't know much more now. No blame to the author there; he cannot be expected to fill in so much ignorance with a single book. The religious war that is devastating the country has a very personal consequence for Al Samawi - as a peace activist with a particular interest in building bridges between people of different faiths, he's pretty much directly in the firing line of all the parties currently at war in his country. His family, though loving, is less than sympathetic and he can't really confide in them anyway, as doing so would only put them at more risk as the conflict escalates. Disabled, cut off from everyone he knows and sheltering in the port city of Aden, pretty much the only resource he has is the internet. He uses it to ask for help... and then something amazing happens, something that helps to consolidate a belief in the human potential for goodness. A handful of strangers come together and, in a desperate last-minute bit of networking and politicking, involving two countries and numerous officials, they manage to smuggle Al Samawi out of Yemen.
It's all horribly exciting. I say "horribly" because, even though I knew going in that he'd get out safely (the fact that he survived to write the book being something of a spoiler in that regard) the sequence of events is so fragile, and so terrifying, so dangerous and apparently hopeless, that it's genuinely nail-biting to read.
It's all horribly exciting. I say "horribly" because, even though I knew going in that he'd get out safely (the fact that he survived to write the book being something of a spoiler in that regard) the sequence of events is so fragile, and so terrifying, so dangerous and apparently hopeless, that it's genuinely nail-biting to read.