Expats: Travels in Arabia from Tripoli to Tehran

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Expats: Travels in Arabia from Tripoli to Tehran

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 24 ratings · 1 review

Award-winning Newsweek reporter Christopher Dickey offers an interesting look at the Arab world as seen through the eyes of some the western expatriates--lost colonels and aging explorers, oilmen, sea captains, even retired spies--lingering in the Middle East.

Paperback, 240 pages

Published February 9th 1994 by Atlantic Monthly Press (first published 1990)

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Sep 09, 2012 Cynthia Davidson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Since I was one myself for 20+ years, i bought this book years ago, but it sat on the shelf, till now. It is 50 years already, since I moved to Saudi Arabia, so nostalgia makes me pick up books like this today. Of course when your own expat experiences are foremost in your mind, you seek their reflections in the work of other authors, and Dickey whet my appetite. I saw enough here to convince me the subject deserves more documentation and he's inspired me to get on with it, if I'm ever going to...more
Since I was one myself for 20+ years, i bought this book years ago, but it sat on the shelf, till now. It is 50 years already, since I moved to Saudi Arabia, so nostalgia makes me pick up books like this today. Of course when your own expat experiences are foremost in your mind, you seek their reflections in the work of other authors, and Dickey whet my appetite. I saw enough here to convince me the subject deserves more documentation and he's inspired me to get on with it, if I'm ever going to write about my own expat life in what we called, affectionately, the Muddle East.

His poignant portrayal of the 91 year old Dame Violet Dickson, widowed and still living, in the mud house built in present day Kuwait around 1929, was one of the treats. Her deceased husband, Captain H.R.P. Dickson, had written one of the classic British tomes, "The Arab of the Desert", when he was one of the last of the British Empire's 'political agents,' before the remaining colonies gained independence.

Dame Dickson knew Thesiger, who was of her generation, and he wrote another one of the classics, "The Arabian Sands." Dickey not only questioned her about Thesiger, he'd also taken the time to ask Thesiger for his opinions on T.E. Lawrence, the WWI Brit whose "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is the book all expats in Arabia anyway, have heard of, if not read. Most content themselves with the movie version, Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O'Toole, since "Seven Pillars" demands real reading, and I must admit to not having finished it yet. (Goodreads is the silent witness that keeps me honest, and reading.)

I won't tell you what each of these old time expats had to say about each other. For that, and much more, you'll have to read the book, but I give this example to show how thoroughly Dickey plumbs this subject. A curious displacement occurs, between those who travel briefly to the Mid East, and those who live and work there for decades. The former have an easier time summing up the place(s), whereas the longer one stays, the more you realize how little you know.

If you're thinking of moving overseas, to make a living during these tough economic times like my parents did back in the early 1960's, or know someone else who is considering such a move, you might want to read Dickey's book to bone up on the kind of 'tribe' you'll be joining, inadvertently by becoming a modern version of these expats. (less)

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May 12, 2013 Jaime rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

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Feb 29, 2012 Brent rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Sep 27, 2011 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Aug 22, 2011 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Aug 15, 2010 Lulu7 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jun 16, 2009 Randy rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Expats and those traveling to the MidEast

Mar 11, 2009 Krissy marked it as to-read

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