The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah, Adam Valen Levinson
The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah, Adam Valen Levinson
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The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah
Fear and Love in the Modern Middle East

Author: Adam Valen Levinson

Narrator: Vikas Adam

Unabridged: 11 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/14/2017

Synopsis

Armed only with college Arabic and restless curiosity, Adam Valen Levinson set out to "learn about the world 9/11 made us fear." From a base in globalized and sterilized Abu Dhabi, he sets out to lunch in Taliban territory in Afghanistan, travels under the watchful eye of Aleppo's secret police, risks shipwreck en route to Somalia, investigates Yazidi beliefs in a sacred cave, cliff-dives in Oman, celebrates New Year's Eve in Tahrir Square, and, at every turn, discovers a place that matches not at all with its reputation.

While politicians and media eagerly stoke the flames of Islamophobia, Valen Levinson crosses borders with abundant humor and humanity. Seeking common ground everywhere, he finds that people who pray differently often laugh the same. And as a young man bar mitzvahed at twenty-one (instead of the usual thirteen), he slowly learns how childish it is to live by decisions and distinctions born of fear.

About Adam Valen Levinson

Adam Valen Levinson is a journalist and travel writer whose work focuses on human stories in conflict areas. His work has appeared in numerous outlets, including VICE, the Paris Review, Al Jazeera, and Haaretz. He is an affiliate of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., and a fellow at the Center for Cultural Sociology at Yale University, studying humor as a key to cultural understanding.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stewart

I won a free ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. So Adam Valen Levinson set out to explore the Middle East, as the title promises. He studied Arabic in college, and got a job in Abu Dhabi, from where he set out on periodic expeditions to many of the countries that are reportedly dangerous for......more

Goodreads review by موظف

Well written, funny and introspective. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Yemen and Afghanistan where Levinson meets types of people who most travelers in the region never experience. He is very good at finding the humor and humanity in every day life in places most believe are full of nothing b......more

Goodreads review by Melanie

Brought this book on my recent trip and I have to say it's the absolute perfect book for those with the travel bug! Valen Levinson really has a way with words -- I especially loved the anecdotes from parts of the world I don't know much about, definitely a different take from your standard 'travel'......more

Goodreads review by Finnegan

Oh my god! It's just such beautiful writing. Never would have expected in a "travel" book. Learned a lot, felt a lot more. Really, really got into this. Can't wait to see what else this guy writes.......more

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