9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A lion for the world, November 13, 2008
This review is from: Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace (Hardcover)
A truly extrodinary account of every detail of King Hussien's lifelong quest for a place for his kingdom at the table of respected nations of the world - primarily by pushing for peace in his region at any cost (most often through secret contact with his Israeli nemeses). He was not without errors in this quest, and he benefitted personally ($$) probably more than he should have, but this is the story of an exceptional person on an extrodinary journey who regularly showed more character than either his Isreali or American counterparts. This is the striking aspect of the book -- the lack of good faith (or even honesty) on the part of the leaders of Isreal and USA. It makes an American with an open mind a little uncomfortable with the actions of our leaders - congressional, but also presidents. BUT, the book is as detailed as it could be and focuses on the quest, the policies, and the political experience of this fine man, this amazing king.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A lion on a tightrope, April 14, 2009
This review is from: Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace (Hardcover)
Hussein's life was principled on the premise that " King Hussein was fundamentally and structurally a client king ...for all practical purposes the Hashemite legacy inherited from his grandfather was one of continuing dependence on the West." P.154
His wide recognition, acclaim and complexity were due to " the principle of balancing applied at all levels: the inter -Arab, the regional, (domestic) and the global...this meant balancing between Arab and conservatives and Arab radicals, between the Arab world on the one hand and Israel on the other, and the global level between the West and the Soviet bloc...The survival of the Hashemite dynastic interests were paramount (and) the guiding principle behind his foreign policy, the key to constant shits and maneuvers , to all the alliances and realignments " P.212
With these two elements as the deciding factors in Hussein's life, Avi Shlaim delivers a superb biography that is well written, researched, revealing, passionate and to a great extent objective.
Regardless if one agrees or not with the King's inherited role, he was able to save his dynasty and country.
Although King Hussein's life revolved on the previous mentioned principles, not all of the King's actions can be aligned with those principles if one takes a simplistic view of those actions without serious reflection and reading between the lines. Avi Shlaim does an excellent job on analyzing the King and his actions from the day he reached the thrown until the last moments on his deathbed.
For example, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the King sided with Iraq, which is contradictory to King's " balancing principle." However, after reading the author's analysis and the foreign/domestic challenges facing the King, the King through careful policies and outstanding foresight was able to save his country and dynasty from Iraq, Israel and from domestic upheavals.
Even though the King had a "special" relationship with Israel for many reasons, which are explored in the book, the King realized the only way to have the support of Washington was through Israel. This is revealed when King Hussein gave Bush I a memo that stated in part, in his (the king's) judgment the Arab-Israeli conflict was not a foreign policy for the US but rather a domestic US issue due to the domestic influences in the US on the issue. P 478 Although not comprehensible to the King, this an obstacle to peace in the region.
Another example is when President Clinton at the request of King Hussein was unable to sway congress to forgive Jordan's debt to the US. Clinton in turn asked for the help of Rabin. " Yes Mr. President," replied Rabin slowly we will do our best. To the Jordanians present at this brief exchange provided a remarkable demonstration of the political clout wielded by Israel and its friends on Capitol Hill" p 545
During the peace negotiations with Israel, King Hussein was very calculating with extreme foresight, Unlike Arafat who in my judgment was incompetent to lead his people's cause and prone to miscalculation and countless poor judgments before and after the peace treaty. To Israel's satisfaction, Arafat committed a huge blunder by going behind the King's back to negotiate with Israel a separate peace treaty with Israel.
King Hussein, in his correct judgment believed the agreement Arafat reached with Israel was vague, imprecise, and that substantive issues (Jerusalem, borders, refugees) were not addressed in the accord but left for future negotiations. " No one with any sense would sign a treaty first and discuss its technical clauses afterwards." P 533 King Hussein told Rabin when he asked the King to follow in the footsteps of the Peace treaty reached with the PLO.
These are some of the examples, perhaps not the most important, but nevertheless revealing on why I thought this an outstanding book on the life of King Hussein.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A master-piece., August 5, 2010
The book is a master-piece and must be read by every Jordanian!!
It is a detailed description of not only the life of the late King Hussein, but also a description of the history and politics of Jordan since its early establishment in 1921. Although the book tends to advocate that the late king was a victim to Israeli, PLO and other states' intransigence ( and thus the book is accused of not being objective) but it nevertheless quotes some incidents which reflect the late king's mis-judgements and flaws during his reign. I was pleasantly surprised at how accurate and real the author describes the tense relationship between the Jordanians and the Palestinians either in the West Bank or in Jordan itself. The mere description of this made reading the book a real and vivid experience for me, as opposed to the numerous litrature that I have read on the subject which give the impression that the author is nothing but a mere observer or a reporter who does not have a real understanding of the true situation on the ground. The book is written as a tribute to the late king Hussein, who was truly a very well respected figure in and outside Jordan, and is expected to highlight his positive achievements. It is up to the reader to search other books on either Israel, the PLO, or other states to reach the desired balance.
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