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caseyblue75's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Anyone who has ever been interested in the Middle East or felt the desire to explore a foreign place can find something to revel in here.
The book’s chapters are organized by country (23 of them). Certainly there’s things to learn, but this isn’t a travel guide full of facts and places to see. Levinson recounts his adventures anecdotally, making this feel more like a novel or memoir. Beautiful writing with a flair for finding humor and descriptions that resonate. An absolute pleasure to read.
The book’s chapters are organized by country (23 of them). Certainly there’s things to learn, but this isn’t a travel guide full of facts and places to see. Levinson recounts his adventures anecdotally, making this feel more like a novel or memoir. Beautiful writing with a flair for finding humor and descriptions that resonate. An absolute pleasure to read.
kszr's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book. I just couldn't bring myself to care about this selfish, self-destructive person that was trying to justify doing stupid things. While his ability to structure sentences is good, I was constantly confused about where he was and why he was doing it. The bar mitzvah this was titled for was so non-consequential at page 50. If that was meant as a metaphor for his becoming a grownup in Abu Dhabi it fell far short of the mark.
agarje1's review against another edition
3.0
A decent and engaging look into one man's travels around the Middle East as he seeks to "understand" their perceptions of Americans (and Jews) in the post-9/11-era. Each visit was fascinating, but due to the sheer number of countries the author includes in this book, some descriptions felt too surface-level. I think that this book gives some insight into first impressions of these countries and their attitudes towards the West and their ways of life in general. However, I think I would have preferred a much more focused text on a few countries rather than one that was so spread out. Still, I would say it was a worthwhile read.
atharvg's review
3.0
A decent and engaging look into one man's travels around the Middle East as he seeks to "understand" their perceptions of Americans (and Jews) in the post-9/11-era. Each visit was fascinating, but due to the sheer number of countries the author includes in this book, some descriptions felt too surface-level. I think that this book gives some insight into first impressions of these countries and their attitudes towards the West and their ways of life in general. However, I think I would have preferred a much more focused text on a few countries rather than one that was so spread out. Still, I would say it was a worthwhile read.
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