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Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs & Israelis 1956-78

Kai Bird (Goodreads Author)

4.08 · Rating details · 284 ratings · 54 reviews

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER KAI BIRD’S fascinating memoir of his early years spent in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon provides an original and illuminating perspective into the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Weeks before the Suez War of 1956, four-year-old Kai Bird, son of a garrulous, charming American Foreign Service officer, moved to Jerusalem with his family. They s PULITZER PRIZE WINNER KAI BIRD’S fascinating memoir of his early years spent in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon provides an original and illuminating perspective into the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Weeks before the Suez War of 1956, four-year-old Kai Bird, son of a garrulous, charming American Foreign Service officer, moved to Jerusalem with his family. They settled in a small house, where young Kai could hear church bells and the Muslim call to prayer and watch as donkeys and camels competed with cars for space on the narrow streets. Each day on his way to school, Kai was driven through Mandelbaum Gate, where armed soldiers guarded the line separating Israeli-controlled West Jerusalem from Arab-controlled East. He had a front-seat view to both sides of a divided city—and the roots of the widening conflict between Arabs and Israelis.

Bird would spend much of his life crossing such lines—as a child in Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, and later, as a young man in Lebanon. Crossing Mandelbaum Gate is his compelling personal history of growing up an American in the midst of three major wars and three turbulent decades in the Middle East. The Zelig-like Bird brings readers into such conflicts as the Suez War, the Six Day War of 1967, and the Black September hijackings in 1970 that triggered the Jordanian civil war. Bird vividly portrays such emblematic figures as the erudite George Antonius, author of The Arab Awakening; Jordan’s King Hussein; the Palestinian hijacker Leila Khaled; Salem bin Laden, Osama’s older brother and a family friend; Saudi King Faisal; President Nasser of Egypt; and Hillel Kook, the forgotten rescuer of more than 100,000 Jews during World War II.

Bird, his parents sympathetic to Palestinian self-determination and his wife the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, has written a masterful and highly accessible book—at once a vivid chronicle of a life spent between cultures as well as a consummate history of a region in turmoil. It is an indispensable addition to the literature on the modern Middle East. ...more

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Published April 20th 2010 by Scribner

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Feb 28, 2011 Jennifer Abdo rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Jennifer by: Found on New Books shelf at library.

Shelves: palestinian-israeli-conflict-non-f, memoir, saudi-arabia

This is a pretty interesting memoir. His parents were "arabists" with the Foreign Service for his entire life. He talks about he and his family knowing Salem, the brother of Osama bin Laden (apparently polar opposite), living for a time in the same neighborhood as Zarkawi, knowing both the old and the divided Jerusalems. What he has to say about all of these subjects and people is intriguing. He grew up with a knowledge of the suffering and injustice of the Palestinians that most Americans then This is a pretty interesting memoir. His parents were "arabists" with the Foreign Service for his entire life. He talks about he and his family knowing Salem, the brother of Osama bin Laden (apparently polar opposite), living for a time in the same neighborhood as Zarkawi, knowing both the old and the divided Jerusalems. What he has to say about all of these subjects and people is intriguing. He grew up with a knowledge of the suffering and injustice of the Palestinians that most Americans then and now don't have. Not long before meeting his Jewish American future wife, though, he notes his "...passion for the plight of the Palestinians was already tiring." That's the other interesting fact, that his wife is Jewish American daughter of Holocaust survivors. An interesting mix, as no story of either the Nakba or the Nazi Holocaust can avoid discussion of Palestine and Israel and vice versa.

He has an interesting insight as a Foreign Service child before meeting his wife and entering journalism. He seems a bit embarrassed about his early sympathy for Palestinians and acknowledges Palestininan propaganda and referred to that period as a time when he was a partisan. He rightly condemns Palestinian violence and Nazi violence and again, rightly is disgusted by it. He also makes clear his opposition to comparing the Holocaust with the Palestinian experience, which Finklestein would take issue with, but that's another book. In the careful retelling of his wife's parents' and grandparents' ordeals in the Holocaust, he is very detailed. The telling of the arrival of Jews to Palestine and Jewish terrorist groups' murder of Palestinians and immediate takeover of their homes is not really given as much detail, care or disgust. I realize the Holocaust was on a bigger scale and he has more connection to this narrative by marriage, but the crimes were savage and Palestinians didn't deserve to be kicked out. I guess there are only certain times when a journalist may break with the code and condemn criminals- the Holocaust and 9/11 being two biggies; the Nakba clearly not being one.

He does observe many many times where peace could have been achieved between Israelis and Palestinians, but Israelis were the ones who missed the opportunity. In the usual American or Israeli telling, Barak offered the Palestinians a generous offer to which they refused and so this is why Palestinians are in such a mess now; Bird at least doesn't abandon support for Palestinians for the far right narrative of "making the desert bloom" and "there is no such thing as Palestinians." Also revealed are many times we could have stepped in to help, but failed. In fact, we stepped in to help royal families (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and in Egypt we supported anti-Nasser influences supposedly to combat Communism that led to the Muslim Brotherhood's strengthening, not to mention Iran...) more often - which also led to negative developments in that country and the Israel/Palestine issue.

Today, the notion of Israel as a secular, democratic and possibly binational state is still controversial, but strangely even more taboo. You can be called an anti-Semite, Holocaust denier, or condemned for calling for the destruction of Israel if you dare talk about the possibility of Israel and Palestine that way. Bird describes how the Jewish voices who wanted a multicultural, secular state lost to the messianic Zionists who by their own admission consigned themselves to constant state of war. This was rather interesting as I had assumed Jews were fairly united in wanting a Jewish state in particular.

a quote:

As Avishai observes in his deeply incisive book The Hebrew Republic: "You cannot live in Hebrew and expect no repercussions from its archaic power. You cannot live in a state with an official Judaism, in addition to this Hebrew, and expect no erosion of citizenship. You can, as most Israelis do, speak the language, ignore the archaism, and tolerate the Judaism. But then you should not expect your children to understand what democracy is." (p369-370)

A very truthful take on the matter.

One state was considered at the beginning and I still see this as the best way for all to have rights and live in peace.

http://www.thenation.com/article/hebr...

http://www.kaibird.com/index.php?page...
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Jun 18, 2010 Salsadancer rated it liked it

Recommends it for: those interested in Israeli-Palestinian situation

The last chapter makes the book.

I chose to read this book because I am on a quest to learn about Arab history and the Arab mind, and those intersecting with Israel would be a bonus, or so I thought. I was disappointed. I didn't learn much about either the Arab mind or it's history. The book is Kai Bird's memories and experiences, mostly childhood, of growing up in Arab-controlled West Jerusalem where his father was an American Foreign Service officer. He also lived in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabi The last chapter makes the book.

I chose to read this book because I am on a quest to learn about Arab history and the Arab mind, and those intersecting with Israel would be a bonus, or so I thought. I was disappointed. I didn't learn much about either the Arab mind or it's history. The book is Kai Bird's memories and experiences, mostly childhood, of growing up in Arab-controlled West Jerusalem where his father was an American Foreign Service officer. He also lived in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and attended some college in Lebanon. Because he grew up with the Palestinians his bias is very definitely with them, and he makes no apologies about this.

I don't think he even used the word "Muslim" until the last 5 pages of the book. How do you understand anything about the Arabs and leave out their Islamicism? He mentioned the events that concerned Israel in a very detached and cardboard kind of way. When he said the Israelis invaded Lebanon, for example, he glossed over the fact that the Palestinians were camped along the border and attacking Israel from there. Leaving out the Israeli side of events was a serious lack.

One interesting idea I gained from the book is this: In the 1970 Jordan "civil" war, as he calls it, when actually the Palestinian refugees caused so much ruckus in Jordan that the Jordanians had to run them out, he writes about the road not taken. If Israel had let the Palestinians over-throw King Hussein’s monarchy and take over Jordan, as they were about to do, then the Palestinians would have a country and the whole Palestinian-Israeli question may have been solved. It would have been the "Jordanian solution" as the answer for Palestinian self-determination. Right-wing Israelis (Moshe Dayan, Shimon Peres, Ariel Sharon) wanted to actively support the PLO in it’s drive to transform the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan into the Republic of Palestine. As it was, Golda Meir, Abba Eban, and Yitzhak Rabin saw King Hussein as the most moderate of the Arab leaders and thought he might someday conduct a separate peace deal with Israel, and their views prevailed.

That insight offered in the "Black September 1970" chapter and the last chapter, "The Hebrew Republic" are all that make the book worthwhile, in my opinion. The last chapter described the Holocaust and was very moving and meaningful. It also described the making of Israel and some important Jewish writers and thinkers such as Victor Navasky and Hillel Kook, a. k. a. Peter Bergson.
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Mar 08, 2020 Alan Jay rated it really liked it

Shelves: not-owned, alan-selection

Yossi Klein Halevi wrote a book, "Letters To My Palestinian Neighbors" to share his history and perspective of the conflict with the Palestinians. I am a firm believer that we need to deal with the facts on the ground today to address and resolve the conflict; however, understanding the history and perspective of the other side is important to understand those on the other side and their motivations. And "Crossing Mandelbaum Gate" is an excellent book for those who support Jews and Israelis to u Yossi Klein Halevi wrote a book, "Letters To My Palestinian Neighbors" to share his history and perspective of the conflict with the Palestinians. I am a firm believer that we need to deal with the facts on the ground today to address and resolve the conflict; however, understanding the history and perspective of the other side is important to understand those on the other side and their motivations. And "Crossing Mandelbaum Gate" is an excellent book for those who support Jews and Israelis to understand the Palestinians.

Kai Bird is a person who grew up the son of parents who worked in the Foreign Service who were assigned to many different assignments throughout the Middle East and India. In the 50's he spent many formative years in Jordanian East Jerusalem; however, as a privileged child, he was allowed to cross over to Israeli West Jerusalem every day to attend school. Curiously, he never commented on why he did not go to school in East Jerusalem.

Obviously he formed many strong connections to Palestinians. He also has a unique perspective on Arabs in general. After East Jerusalem, his parents were assigned to Saudi Arabia and then Egypt. He also spent a year at University in Beirut. So he probably in a better position to understand Arabs and present their perspective to an English speaking audience than most.

And that perspective is most enlightening. It is not done in a confrontational position, it is just sharing his view of the events in the Middle East and Israel through a different lens. His sympathy for the Palestinians and Arabs is quite apparent; however, not judgemental. For example, his view of The Six Day War is that Israel was the aggressor and that Nassar and Egypt really did not really want to go to war. He downplays the closing of the Straits of Tiran by Nassar, what the world recognized as a causus beli, stating that shipping from Eilat through the straits was inconsequential. I do not think he was making excuses, I think he was simply stating the Egyptian perspective.

And it is not as if he were not impacted by the terror in the Middle East. His girlfriend at the time was one of the passengers who was hijacked by PFLP, the event that initiated Black September. Her life was threatened when her plane was hijacked and rerouted to an abandoned airbase in Jordan. She spent three days as a victim. And later, Kai meets the spokesman for the hijackers. So Kai had a real sense of the best and worst of what was occurring in the Arab Middle East.

In fact, he does in the third part of the book attempt to connect with Jews and a Jewish/Israeli perspective. He ends up marrying the daughter of Holocaust survivors. He then explores his wife's parents' journey of survival through the Holocaust to America. In what I think is the most powerful part of the book he connects his wife's mothers' trip back to the house she grew up in that was stolen from her by the Nazis to a Palestinian who decided to abandon his home in Rechavia, a neighborhood in West Jerusalem. After the reunification of Jerusalem, Dr. Kalbian also went and visited his former home.

He attempts to present history through the lens of growing up in the Middle East. Some of it was very informative. Although I did know some of the background of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, he definitely filled in much for me. He also filled out much of my knowledge of Black September when the PLO was purged from Jordan. All these raise questions on what would have happened if the United States did not intervene? Would the Saudi's still be in control of Saudi Arabia? Would they have continued to fund the Wahabi's who exported their virulent form of Islam throughout the Middle East and the world? Would there have been an Osama Bin Laden? If King Hussein fell in September 1970 would Jordan have become the Palestinian State? We will never know the truth, but we do see the consequences of what happens when decisions are made to stick with what you know instead of seeing how events will play out.

I find the book fails when he puts on his journalist's hat. Today, many journalists feel they have to provide not only facts but provide judgment on them. I am not naive to think that facts are not presented through a perspective lens; that is why I read the book. However, it is when he brings in his judgment to the book, he demonstrates his ignorance and bias.

Since I am not as familiar with the histories of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, I noticed the judgments; however, I was unable to evaluate their veracity. I was able to have a better read on the establishment of the State of Israel. He is obviously well-read on many international subjects including Zionism and Israeli history. He seems to have only selected books that support his perspective of the world. He chose to read the Israeli historian Tom Segev, who presents a different picture of the history of the Jewish state than most. And yet, when Tom Segev came to the conclusion that there is viable partner for peace today, Kai seems to dismiss Segev. He also, through his employment meets Hillel Kook whose perspective of Israel is one of a secular state and in turn judges and dismisses many of the activities that went on in the early days of Zionism. He associates Chaim Weizmann solely with "messianic Zionism," not a religious belief, but the belief that all Jews should return to Israel; however, one of Chaim Weizmann's advisors was Ahad Ha'am, the detractor of "messianic Zionism." He never even mentions Ahad Ha'am who came before Hillel Kook who had similar beliefs that Jews in America would not make Aliyah. As a matter of fact, he never mentions Ahad Ha'am who predated Hillel Kook by half a century.

He presents pivotal events such as the Altalena and Deir Yassin out of context and extremely one dimensional. For all the history and research he put into the other parts of his book, this was extremely disappointing. Although he attempted to balance out the book in the end, it is clear that his understanding of Zionism and Israeli history is extremely one-sided. He made a connection to Judaism and Israel through marriage, has been involved with the Reform movement and now has a Jewish son. Understanding his perspective on Zionism and Israel is actually a mirror of how those around him in the media and in his life view them.

I did not mind his views on Zionism and Israel because I have read much in these areas. I did not pick up the book to learn about these issues. I read it to learn of the perspective of Arabs, Palestinians and the world that supports them. And in this area, the book was an incredible read. I would caution those who don't have a strong understanding of Zionism and or Israeli history that they supplement this book by reading others. I believe the best book on this subject to start with is "Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn" by Daniel Gordis.

Lastly, I will say that Kai Bird is an amazing author and the book is incredibly well written. He has won the Pulitzer Prize with Martin Sherwin for "American Prometheus" about Robert Oppenheimer. I now want to read that; however, I have to believe this book was a labor of love for Kai Bird since he was involved in the events in a very personal way. And from that point of view, I believe he put even more into this book.

I would highly recommend this book to any person especially Jews and Israelis who do want to understand a different perspective of how they look at events in the Middle East. ...more

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Mar 10, 2019 Karen rated it really liked it

The author, the son of a U.S. foreign service officer, grew up as an ex-pat in the Middle East and eventually married an American Jew, the daughter of Holocaust survivors. In this way, he has had the opportunity to view the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from both sides. The Mandelbaum Gate, which separated the Israelis and the Palestinians was a metaphor for this.

This book contained a lot of interesting information not just about Israel and the Palestine but also about Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan ...more

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Mar 19, 2017 Hermien rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, israel, middle-east, biography

I was hoping for more personal experiences but nonetheless a very informative book about the Middle Eastern conflict.

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Apr 18, 2017 Gillian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: world-literature

Very interesting introduction to the Arab-Israeli situation. Some parts of it were over my head, but I was definitely motivated to keep reading.

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Jan 31, 2014 Tuck rated it really liked it

Shelves: pre-wwi, wwii

i read this simul with nina simone stopped singing The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing and is about author growing up in jerusalem (he moved there as a tot in 1956, you know, suez war blah balh ) his dad was an oregonian (eugene, same as me) and if you ever wondered how the "middle east", palastine, jordan, egypt, syria, levant etc for ever get and be so fucked up, you can just read this book and wonder, how any of that could even be anymore. they been trying to kill each other, put each other i ...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Ray rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Unlike some books of a historical nature, which may be little more than listings of dates and events to be memorized, this book blends historical facts with the author's personal perspectives. Kai Bird manages to give life to the modern history of the Middle East by incorporating his memoirs as someone who was raised in the region. Bird is not only a historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author, but is the son of an American Foreign Service officer, and spent his formative years living in Israel, ...more

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Jul 31, 2010 !Tæmbuŝu marked it as to-read

Shelves: middle-east, memoir

KOBOBOOKS

Reviewed by The Independent
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Oct 09, 2014 Cindie Harp rated it really liked it

Shelves: first-reads

While I do not always agree with the political conclusions Bird draws from his life experiences, I do enjoy the journey with him.

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Jul 15, 2017 Studebhawk rated it it was amazing

The View Without the Gate
The perspective offered here by Kai Bird represents his unique personal experience having lived in Jerusalem at the very beginning of the Israeli - Palestinian dilemma. This unique perspective raises difficult questions for us in the western world.Christians, Jews and Muslims stand to benefit from the settlement of the Palestinian rights question.
His argument is only fairly balanced in that he gives disproportionate weight to the question of “Palestinian suffering.” Ha ...more

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Aug 24, 2018 Janet rated it it was amazing

What an amazing life story and insight into the history of the region from a keen prospective.
I grew up during this era but living in the US the news and information about the events that shaped the current middle east were not readily available and probably very slanted. Also, the main focus for me and my contemporaries was the Viet Nam war. So as horrible as the news was about Black September and the Olympics I don’t think I understood the ramifications of what these events meant.
I’m grateful ...more

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Jul 14, 2020 Christy Stevens rated it really liked it

One must concentrate while reading this to keep places, names, times, sentiments straight but perspectives I don't normally encounter about the Middle East. Some chapters (particularly his in-law's history) are more approachable and faster read. Some, partially for me because of unfamiliar names, demand a slower pace. Kai Bird, takes on many challenges at a young age - most have had a great education. ...more

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Jun 05, 2019 Ted Mccormack rated it really liked it

A must-read for an understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis that has been going on since before World War II. Too many missed chances for peace and wrong-headed American policies.

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Apr 16, 2020 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Amazing insights into the Middle East conflicts.

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Jul 08, 2020 Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: judaica-and-religion, politics, nonfiction, middle-east

A memoir from a writer who grew up in the Middle East and who has understanding and sympathy for both Israelis and Palestinians. That's what we need. ...more

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Aug 25, 2015 Agnes rated it it was amazing

An excellent memoir combined with historical events as Kai Bird described his life growing up as a diplomat's son living in the Middle East from 1956 to 1978. He was an American in the region as an outsider and witnessed first hand what was happening to the Palestinians living around him. I like the way he broke down the regions’ historical events as it affected his life and the lives of his family. It goes back and forth in his narrative depending on the topic of discussion – Early Palestine, E ...more

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May 19, 2011 Shikha rated it really liked it

Prior to a recent trip to the middle east, I skimmed online reviews and shelves looking for a book that would provide as objective as possible perspective on the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. While Kai Bird's book does lean in certain directions throughout the book, his experience as an American child of Arabists who grew up in various parts of the middle east and eventually married a Jewish American woman whose family had its own experiences with the shoah, bolstered by histor ...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: around-the-world, history, memoir

There were times with this book that I yelled at it, was frustrated, wondered what was going on, "argued" with the author--but I sure learned a lot. The author grew up in the Middle East with his diplomat-father and is a passionate advocate of the Palestinian cause--tempered now with what he's learned by marrying a daughter of Jewish Holocaust victims. I think this is a hugely valuable book to read if one is interested in the seemingly intractable problems in the Middle East--but expect to be ch ...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Elliot Ratzman rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Curious about the Middle East and the Israeli-Arab conflict

Loved it! Kai Bird is a journalist and biographer who grew up in the Middle East—Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia, Egypt— his father part of the American diplomatic corps. This is an excellent history of the modern Middle East told through Bird’s experience, and the most accessible intro that I can recall since Friedman’s From Beirut to Jerusalem. Partisans of the Israeli-Arab conflict will profit from details of his father’s diplomatic encounters with Arab nationalists, intellectuals, Israelis and oil s ...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Timothy rated it it was amazing

I picked up this book sometime after reading Palestinian Walks because I found the topic interesting (and illuminating). It rapidly became one of the best books I've ever read, and I was a Literature major during my undergraduate studies--still reading about 100 books/year on average. Kai Bird is a superb writer. While I thought this account would be VERY specific (1956-1978), it surprised me the way it followed Kai's experiences and likewise weaved a much broader history of the middle east and ...more

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Apr 19, 2010 Allison rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, recommendations, genre-nonfiction, audiobook, memoir, topic-middle-east

I don't know how I originally became aware of this book - but wow. Definitely worth the read.

Kai Bird has the unique experience of being the son of a foreign service officer in the Middle East during the mid-century and later marrying into a Jewish family of which his wife's parents both survived the Holocaust in Europe. This book is part memoir, part journalistic piece, and I found the two parts complemented each other. The lack of a chronological narrative was difficult at times, but overall d ...more

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May 17, 2014 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

As the son of an American foreign service officer the author spent his youth in Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon. His memoir recounts his experiences growing up in this war torn area of the world, interspersed with descriptions of the conflict between the Israelis and Arabs. He argues coherently for a secular Israel-Palestine and describes many missed opportunities for establishing this and ending the conflict. His marriage to the daughter of Holocaust survivors allows us to see the ef ...more

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Feb 07, 2016 Noah Kennedy rated it it was amazing

I learned a lot from this book about the conflicts in Jerusalem and in the Middle East generally, but the book stands out for its honest poignancy. Each of the events in Kai Bird's personal journey growing up in the region-- being a child in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, his later years in Saudi Arabia, and his falling in love with the daughter of Holocaust survivors-- sets the stage for a thought-provoking meditation on some of the toughest ethical issues behind the conflict ...more

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Aug 22, 2011 The Book : An Online Review at The New Republic added it

What has happened to historical revisionism about the Zionist-Arab conflict demonstrates the truth of the cliché that there can be too much of a good thing. Clearly, the tidal wave of pro-Zionist and pro-Israeli writing, in Israel and the West, in the wake of the Holocaust and the somehow miraculous (and fitting) birth of the State of Israel was bound to be overtaken by a more critical and balanced appreciation. Read more... ...more

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Sep 16, 2013 Bryony Sykes rated it it was amazing

Besides being an autobiography it was an introduction to the complicated issues surrounding the ongoing upheavals in the lives of innocent civilians, particularly from the point of view from an American young man growing up in the Middle East. The political wheeling and dealing that took place behind the scenes continues to impact on growing numbers of refugees in the region. A most worthwhile read and highly recommended to anyone else who wishes to increase their knowledge of the Middle East.

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May 15, 2010 Florence rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A superlative book: part middle east primer and part personal memoir, this book filled in my knowledge of such events as Saudi history, the Jordanian civil war, the pan-Arab regime of Nasser, and political currents in the newly formed nation of Israel. Although the author spent a large part of his childhood in Arab neighborhoods he presents an evenhanded analysis of the region and a well thought out proposal for peace.

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Feb 02, 2011 Gayla Bassham rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011-reads, nbcc-2011

A very thought-provoking memoir. Bird grew up in various Muslim countries (his father was a diplomat) and was extremely sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. He married the daughter of two Holocaust survivors and then gained a more sympathetic understanding of Israeli history which caused him to moderate his views somewhat. His conclusions are rosier than I believe to be warranted, but I still think this is a must-read if you are interested in the history of this area.

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Apr 08, 2011 Gari Aber rated it it was ok

After reading the other reviews, I think I may be wrong about this book. I didn't think the author was very clear about the history and he spent lots of space honoring his parents writings regardless of the value of the letters. The memoir part was not informative to the book and not interesting. The final chapters carried the book. If it weren't that I had to read it for a book club, it would have gone back to the library after 50 pages. ...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Elaine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

I think this is an honest, open and heartfelt memoir done by the author on his life. I liked the way he presented his thoughts, the history and the story of his life. I found this to be a very good read as it presented new thoughts and insights, for me, about the Middle East. It was also very interesting to read how he's thinking changed over the years, yet never really changed at heart. It shows me how knowledge is power to the individual. ...more

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About Kai Bird

Kai Bird

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Kai Bird is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, best known for his biographies of political figures. He has also won the National Book Critics Circle Award for biography, the Duff Cooper Prize, a Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a Contributing Editor of The Nation magazine.

Bird was born in 1951. His father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer ...more