Living Between Iraq and a Hard Place

by Martin Franklin Feess

Living Between Iraq and a Hard Place uses the writing and photography of an American couple that journeyed to Jordan as Peace Corps volunteers and served in a small village for two years in the mid 2000s. Martin and Karen Feess, the author and photographer, through their recollections, bring to life the people among whom they served. The reader will join them in celebrating villagers' weddings and other feasts. The narrative recounts their visits to the wonders of this oftenmisunderstood place-the Roman ruins, medieval castles, and holy place. By coming to appreciate the rich lives of the Jordanian people, the reader may cultivate the beginnings of an approach both to fathoming the intricacies of the Middle East's obstacles to peace and to appreciating how the seeds of solutions to the region's problems with conflict lie among the people who live there. If you watch or read the news and find your thoughts filled with questions about the realities of the lives of the people existing quietly beneath the headlines, then Living Between Iraq and a Hard Place will help you to find answers to those questions . . . and the hints about how peace might take root and flourish.

168 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2008

Reviews

[David Crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice read, a gentle stroll through Peace Corp training and placement. It's odd, on starting this book I felt it had the potential to be a dull ride, but it stayed on track and interesting throughout. The final commentaries on solving the Middle East's issues were a little out of place for the main tale but didn't hurt.

I received a copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good introduction to the Peace Corps experience and the Middle East. Opens the door to reading more complex and nuanced portraits of Arab or Muslim culture.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently won this book in the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.

Loved the cover! This was an interesting book and one in which I learned a thing or two. Plenty of photographs. As much as I enjoyed this book, I did start to lose interest in parts.