Much of what we know of the Middle East is fed to us in the West through television and newspapers. These are generalized reports which are not only subject to the biases of their authors, they suffer from a kind of informational farsightedness, competent at viewing events from half a world away but poor at interpreting details on the ground. This is what makes accounts like the one written by Mr. Cohen so valuable. These are well-written travel logs of one American's experiences journeying through some of the most anti-Western countries in the world. And though he finds much to be bemused by, his fear seems far outweighed by his fondness for the brave people he meets and befriends. This is an open-minded, on-the-ground depiction of the extraordinary lives of normal Middle Easterners in Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq and it is compelling from its first page to its last.
I hope this is not the last literary effort we see from Mr. Cohen. It is clear that he has an abundance of courage and intellectual curiosity. Couple these virtues with a gift for translating his experiences into readable and meaningful text and you have the ingredients for a thoughtful and fascinating writer. (4/5 Stars)
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