Download or read book An Arabian Dream written by Nikhil Ramteke and published by Jaico Publishing House. This book was released on 2018-02-03 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Arabian Dream is a story that falls through the crevices of pitiless anonymity, yet miraculously waits to be told... Shijukutty, a Malayali fisherman, leaves his tiny hamlet of abject poverty in a coastal village in search of his destiny in Dubai, that gleaming hub of fortune, like millions of his brethren. What unfolds is a stirring saga of hardship, exploitation, identity, and friendship, and the heartbreaking choices Shiju is often forced to make. What he sees is not what he experiences when he lands in a world of glimmering towers, fast-paced life, and unabashed opulence. Shiju’s life takes dramatic turns in the Dream City’s dark underbelly. But he holds his ground, drawing on the ancient instincts of his seafaring ancestry. To make matters worse, he is inexorably pulled into the canyon of global recession… Will Shiju be able to hold on to his dreams? Will he survive against all odds? Will he redeem himself? Nikhil Ramteke weaves a captivating tale of migrant labourers, their struggles, their loneliness, and their dreams. Nikhil Ramteke is a Maharashtrian making a living in Sharjah, UAE, as a production manager with an MNC. When he’s not writing, Nikhil likes to paint, indulge in a bit of wildlife photography and travel the world.
Download or read book How the Arabian Nights Inspired the American Dream 1790 1935 written by Susan Nance and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2009-06-01 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Americans have always shown a fascination with the people, customs, and legends of the "East--witness the popularity of the stories of the Arabian Nights, the performances of Arab belly dancers and acrobats, the feats of turban-wearing vaudeville magicians, and even the antics of fez-topped Shriners. In this captivating volume, Susan Nance provides a social and cultural history of this highly popular genre of Easternized performance in America up to the Great Depression. According to Nance, these traditions reveal how a broad spectrum of Americans, including recent immigrants and impersonators, behaved as producers and consumers in a rapidly developing capitalist economy. In admiration of the Arabian Nights, people creatively reenacted Eastern life, but these performances were also demonstrations of Americans' own identities, Nance argues. The story of Aladdin, made suddenly rich by rubbing an old lamp, stood as a particularly apt metaphor for how consumer capitalism might benefit each person. The leisure, abundance, and contentment that many imagined were typical of Eastern life were the same characteristics used to define "the American dream." The recent success of Disney's Aladdin movies suggests that many Americans still welcome an interpretation of the East as a site of incredible riches, romance, and happy endings. This abundantly illustrated account is the first by a historian to explain why and how so many Americans sought out such cultural engagement with the Eastern world long before geopolitical concerns became paramount.
Download or read book The Dream Palace of the Arabs written by Fouad Ajami and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2009-09-23 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Fouad Ajami, an acclaimed author and chronicler of Arab politics, comes a compelling account of how a generation of Arab intellectuals tried to introduce cultural renewals in their homelands through the forces of modernity and secularism. Ultimately, they came to face disappointment, exile, and, on occasion, death. Brilliantly weaving together the strands of a tumultuous century in Arab political thought, history, and poetry, Ajami takes us from the ruins of Beirut's once glittering metropolis to the land of Egypt, where struggle rages between a modernist impulse and an Islamist insurgency, from Nasser's pan-Arab nationalist ambitions to the emergence of an uneasy Pax Americana in Arab lands, from the triumphalism of the Gulf War to the continuing anguished debate over the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords. For anyone who seeks to understand the Middle East, here is an insider's unflinching analysis of the collision between intellectual life and political realities in the Arab world today.
Download or read book Skeeter s Dreams written by Heidrun Metzler and published by Dog Ear Publishing. This book was released on 2014-02 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skeeter, the most charming and amazing Arabian horse, a trick horse in real life, dreams big. With her engaging personality she takes children on an imaginative quest, exploring her many other talents. Her message to children resonates in this book. "Never give up on your dreams!" Skeeter, an Arabian trick horse, gallops toward dreams and adventures. She envisions success in more exciting and certainly less-traditional career possibilities than her current role. "I am a trick horse and could do so much more," Skeeter laments. "As long as I have dreams, who knows how high I can soar?" And soar she does. Readers travel with the stunning white horse as she transforms into a theatrical actress with a bouquet of roses between her teeth, a painter who stands beside a canvas showcasing the beautiful vista that surrounds her, a funky-hat-wearing musician bedecked with a guitar around her neck, and more. Young readers will smile as they explore her antics. If a horse can be a mountain guide who spots and belays rock climbers, why can't they? Excerpt from Kirkus Reviews
Download or read book The Hashemites written by Robert McNamara and published by Haus Publishing. This book was released on 2010-09-07 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the Arab Revolt and the Hashemite princes who led it during the First World War is inextricably linked in modern eyes to the legend of Lawrence of Arabia as portrayed in David Lean's 1962 film. But behind this romantic image lies a harsher reality of wartime expediency, double-dealing and dynastic ambition, which shaped the modern Middle East and laid the foundations of many of the conflicts that rack the region to this day. Arab nationalists claim that British instigation for the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire was a commitment to independence for the Arab people, but in this book Robert McNamara shows how the British cultivated the Hashemite Sherifs of Mecca more as an alternative focus during the First World War for Muslim loyalty from the Ottoman Sultan, who as Caliph had declared a jihad against the Allies when the Turks joined the Central Powers, than a leader of an independent and united Arabia. At the same time, the Sykes-Picot Agreement divided up the Middle East between British and French spheres of influence. The sense of betrayal that this caused has coloured Arab nationalists' views of the West ever since. The main countries of the Middle East —Jordan, Syria and Iraq—are all the creations of the post-First World War settlement worked out at the Paris Peace Conference. The story of the Hashemite dynasty at the Paris Peace Conference is the story of the birth of the modern history of a region that is now more than ever at the centre of world affairs.
Download or read book The Italian Dream written by Gelasio Gaetani d’Aragona Lovatelli and published by Assouline Publishing. This book was released on 2016-10-01 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than three years, Aline Coquelle, the well-known globe-trotting photographer, and Count Gelasio Gaetani d’Aragona Lovatelli, a member of one of the oldest aristocratic Italian families, have followed the map of Italy’s best wines. Guided by Gelasio, readers are introduced to a tribe of artistic and wine-loving amici who share their passion for their country’s heritage and bounty. The Italian Dream: Wine, Heritage, Soul is an escape into the effortlessly elegant Italian lifestyle, savoring wine behind the private gates of family castles and vineyards, from the foothills of the Alps to the hill towns of Tuscany to the relaxed southern seasides.
Download or read book Arab Spring Dreams written by Sohrab Ahmari and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2012-05-08 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a gay man secretly mourning his lover's suicide in Morocco to a young woman denied schooling because of religious discrimination in Iran, Arab Spring Dreams spotlights some of the Middle East's most outspoken young dissidents. The essayists cover a wide range of experiences, including premarital sex, the lack of educational opportunities, teenage marriage, and the fight for political freedom. They also highlight how repressive laws and cultural mores snuff out liberty and stifle growth and consider how previous movements - particularly the American civil rights struggle - might be channeled to effect change in their own countries. Beautifully written and profoundly moving, these stories present a decisive call for change at a crucial point in the evolution of the Middle East.
Download or read book Hadriana in All My Dreams written by René Depestre and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2017-05-02 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Legendary Haitian author Depestre combines magic, fantasy, eroticism, and delirious humor to explore universal questions of race and sexuality. “One-of-a-kind . . . [A] ribald, free-wheeling magical-realist novel, first published in 1988 and newly, engagingly translated by Glover . . . An icon of Haitian literature serves up a hotblooded, rib-ticking, warmhearted mélange of ghost story, cultural inquiry, folk art, and véritable l’amour.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review “An exceptional novel . . . Depestre’s masterpiece and one of the greatest examples of Haitian literature.” —New York Journal of Books Hadriana in All My Dreams, winner of the prestigious Prix Renaudot, takes place primarily during Carnival in 1938 in the Haitian village of Jacmel. A beautiful young French woman, Hadriana, is about to marry a Haitian boy from a prominent family. But on the morning of the wedding, Hadriana drinks a mysterious potion and collapses at the altar. Transformed into a zombie, her wedding becomes her funeral. She is buried by the town, revived by an evil sorcerer, then disappears into popular legend. Set against a backdrop of magic and eroticism, and recounted with delirious humor, the novel raises universal questions about race and sexuality. The reader comes away enchanted by the marvelous reality of Haiti’s Vodou culture and convinced of Depestre’s lusty claim that all beings—even the undead ones—have a right to happiness and true love.
Download or read book The Arabian Nightmare written by Robert Irwin and published by ABRAMS. This book was released on 2002-04-30 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cult classic that “combines the genres of travelogue, fable, dream narrative, novel and confessional into one beguiling whole” (Publishers Weekly). The hero and guiding force of this epic fantasy is an insomniac young man who, unable to sleep, guides the reader through the narrow streets of Cairo—a mysterious city full of deceit and trickery. He narrates a complex tangle of dreams and imaginings that describe an atmosphere constantly shifting between sumptuously learned experiences, erotic adventure, and dry humor. The result is a thought-provoking puzzle box of sex, philosophy, and theology, reminiscent of Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco. “Deft and lovely . . . The smooth steely grip of Irwin’s story-telling genius is a joy to read.” —The Washington Post “The Arabian Nightmare is a conceit worthy of Borges.” —The New York Times “[Irwin’s] fascination for inner perception, helped along with a delight in Scheherazadian frames and exotic lore, makes for quite a rich experience: a strangely playful construct that, like an intricate Chinese box, delights with each unexpected combination and hidden drawer.” —Kirkus Reviews
Download or read book Maktub written by Paulo Coelho and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2024-03-05 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NATIONAL BESTSELLER An essential companion to the inspirational classic The Alchemist, filled with timeless stories of reflection and rediscovery. From one of the greatest writers of our age comes a collection of stories and parables unlocking the mysteries of the human condition. Gathered from Paulo Coelho’s daily column of the same name, Maktub, meaning “it is written,” invites seekers on a journey of faith, self-reflection, and transformation. As Paulo Coelho explains, “Maktub is not a book of advice—but an exchange of experiences.” Each story offers an illuminated path to see life and the lives of our fellow people around the world in new ways, allowing us to tap into universal truths about our collective and individual humanity. As Coelho writes, “a man who seeks only the light, while shirking his responsibilities, will never find illumination. And one who keep his eyes fixed upon the sun . . . ends up blind.” These wise tales offer the perspective of talking snakes, old women climbing mountains, disciples querying their masters, Buddha in dialogue, mysterious hermits, and many saints addressing the mysteries of the universe. Following the path of his previous internationally bestselling works, this thoughtful collection of short, inspirational pieces, introduced in a foreword by the author and illustrated with black-and-white line art throughout, will engage seekers of all ages and backgrounds.
Download or read book Tales from the Arabian Nights written by Donna Jo Napoli and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2016 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of tales told by Scheherazade to amuse the cruel sultan and stop him from executing her as he had his other daily wives.
Download or read book America s Dream Palace written by Osamah F. Khalil and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-17 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In T. E. Lawrence’s classic memoir Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Lawrence of Arabia claimed that he inspired a “dream palace” of Arab nationalism. What he really inspired, however, was an American idea of the area now called the Middle East that has shaped U.S. interventions over the course of a century, with sometimes tragic consequences. America’s Dream Palace brings into sharp focus the ways U.S. foreign policy has shaped the emergence of expertise concerning this crucial, often turbulent, and misunderstood part of the world. America’s growing stature as a global power created a need for expert knowledge about different regions. When it came to the Middle East, the U.S. government was initially content to rely on Christian missionaries and Orientalist scholars. After World War II, however, as Washington’s national security establishment required professional expertise in Middle Eastern affairs, it began to cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship with academic institutions. Newly created programs at Harvard, Princeton, and other universities became integral to Washington’s policymaking in the region. The National Defense Education Act of 1958, which aligned America’s educational goals with Cold War security concerns, proved a boon for Middle Eastern studies. But charges of anti-Americanism within the academy soon strained this cozy relationship. Federal funding for area studies declined, while independent think tanks with ties to the government flourished. By the time the Bush administration declared its Global War on Terror, Osamah Khalil writes, think tanks that actively pursued agendas aligned with neoconservative goals were the drivers of America’s foreign policy.
Download or read book Arabian Delights written by Amy Riolo and published by Capital Books. This book was released on 2008 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introducing the rich and exotic traditions of Arabian cuisine with recipes and entertaining ideas from the Arabian Peninsula's romantic past and trendy present
Download or read book Dream Master Nightmare written by Theresa Breslin and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-08-31 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Cy visits a special Viking exhibition in York and looks at a glorious Viking helmet, he is horrified to suddenly find a face in the helmet - his Dream Master! The Dream Master is in terrible trouble, a prisoner of Eric Bloodaxe - a fearsome Viking chief. Only Cy can rescue him. But first he must enter his dreams again . . . This is the second terrific adventure involving Cy and the Dream Master and is just as packed with action and wit as the first title.
Download or read book The Audacity of Hope written by Barack Obama and published by Crown. This book was released on 2006-10-17 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Barack Obama’s lucid vision of America’s place in the world and call for a new kind of politics that builds upon our shared understandings as Americans, based on his years in the Senate “In our lowdown, dispiriting era, Obama’s talent for proposing humane, sensible solutions with uplifting, elegant prose does fill one with hope.”—Michael Kazin, The Washington Post In July 2004, four years before his presidency, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Obama called “the audacity of hope.” The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama’s call for a different brand of politics—a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces—from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media—that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment. At the heart of this book is Barack Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats—from terrorism to pandemic—that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy—where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, Obama says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes—“waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”
Download or read book The Year of Dreaming Dangerously written by Slavoj Zizek and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2012-10-09 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Call it the year of dreaming dangerously: 2011 caught the world off guard with a series of shattering events. While protesters in New York, Cairo, London, and Athens took to the streets in pursuit of emancipation, obscure destructive fantasies inspired the world’s racist populists in places as far apart as Hungary and Arizona, achieving a horrific consummation in the actions of mass murderer Anders Breivik. The subterranean work of dissatisfaction continues. Rage is building, and a new wave of revolts and disturbances will follow. Why? Because the events of 2011 augur a new political reality. These are limited, distorted—sometimes even perverted—fragments of a utopian future lying dormant in the present
Download or read book Iffat Al Thunayan written by Joseph A. Kechichian and published by Liverpool University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iffat Al Thunayan, spouse of the late King Faysal bin 'Abdul 'Aziz Al Sa'ud (r. 1964-1975), was a pillar of the ruling Al Sa'ud family. Born and raised in Istanbul to an uprooted Sa'udi family, she returned to the Kingdom in 1932, a few months before the founder ruler, 'Abdul 'Aziz bin 'Abdul Rahman, reinstituted the monarchy. 'Iffat used her influence to infiltrate many progressive ideas into the Kingdom, including significant strides in education for both boys and girls as well as major advances in health care. An astute observer and a doer par excellence, Queen 'Iffat left her mark on the contemporary history of the Al Sa'ud, as she protected and empowered her kin. She raised a formidable family, listened carefully, guided conversations as necessary, spoke with moderation, recommended policies to her husband and, after the latter was assassinated, to her brothers-in-law who succeeded him. A politically conscious spouse, Queen 'Iffat played the leading role in Sa'udi female society, attended many state functions, and received female state guests. She traveled extensively, especially in Europe and the United States, supported myriad charities, and cajoled many to invest in the Kingdom. Universally respected, many people sought her advice for she shared her ambitions and ideas to benefit the entire country. Based on multiple interviews conducted with members of the al-Faysal family, friends, and acquaintances of the late Queen, Joseph A. Kechichian offers the first political biography of a Sa'udi monarch's spouse. This work is an important resource for social scientists and political analysts, and of interest to all who wish to learn about Arab women in general, and Sa'udi women in particular.