If Olaya Street Could Talk -- Saudi Arabia: The Heartland of Oil and Islam [Hardcover]

John Paul Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2007

If Olaya Street Could Talk is a portrait of Saudi Arabia and its people, encompassing a 25-year period during the era of its dynamic transformation from being one of the poorer countries in the world to becoming a state with a modern physical and economic infrastructure. It is also a story about the western expatriates who worked and lived in the country--from the "free and easy 70's"--to the period when they became specific targets for execution by certain religious fundamentalists. The book addresses western perceptions of the country and how those perceptions were formed, from TE Lawrence and Wilfred Thesiger to NY Times columnists Thomas Friedman, Maureen Dowd and David Brooks. The book's fundamental purpose is to examine the issue which dominates today's headlines: the "Islamic-Western cultural divide" and places this concept within the context of American issues, such as the experience with the black-white cultural divide as well as America's last significant conflict, the Vietnam War. It is in parts a travelogue, a sociological examination, a historical documentary, a love story, health care development and political commentary. The author is one of few Americans to have lived in the country during this period of time who had access to Saudis at all levels of society and freely traveled throughout a large portion of the country. No other book, in English or Arabic, covers this period of Saudi Arabia's transformation to a modern nation, the period from 1978 to 2003. The motivation for writing the book was to render a realistic image of the people of Saudi Arabia, as well as to examine some of the basis for the American misperceptions of this country and region, in the hope that it will inspire others to take steps towards ending the current policy of war without end.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... is a recommended read for those interested in gaining a realistic perception of the country, its people and its history. This is a book that can help to make Americans more insightful instead of ignorant, and more aware instead of afraid." --"Because People Matter" - Sacramento's Progressive Newspaper

If Olaya Street Could Talk is not only an interesting personal narrative of the author's life as an expat in Saudi Arabia, punctuated by fascinating travel tales, it is also an important book for our times, with many positive things to say about the Kingdom. At times saddening and enraging, but much of the time fascinating and engaging, this book is highly recommended. --Blogcritic Magazine - Abram Bergen

I think that Jones' book proves that not all Americans work and conspire against us or write against what we do. Rather, it offers room for a human image and to assure that neither is the west a monster nor are we. --Al Hayat Newspaper - Jameel Al Theyabi

From the Inside Flap

Olaya Street is the principal commercial road in Riyadh, roughly equivalent to 5th Ave. in New York City. In 1978, when the author first arrived in the Kingdom, he lived in a fourth floor apartment on this street. Goats would frequently graze on the other side of this narrow, asphalt lane. In 2003, there were two sixty story buildings along this road, the Kingdom tower, in the foreground on the cover picture, and the Faisaliyah, in the distance. The cover pictures, as well as the back cover picture, were taken by the author. The book's title is derived from James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk.

The Taza Press was established to provide a forum for fresh ideas on how to address one of the central issues of our times: "the Islamic - Western divide.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 235 pages
• Publisher: The Taza Press (February 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979043603
• ISBN-13: 978-0979043604
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,529,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Paul Jones lived over a 25 year period (1978-2003) in Saudi Arabia, with a four year "sabbatical" in the middle. He married his wife in Bahrain in 1982, and they raised their two children, born in 1985 and 1986, in the Kingdom until they reached college age. During their life in Saudi Arabia they traveled into virtually every part of the country, and developed friendships and relationships with Saudis of every social strata. Aware that virtually all Americans have a very negative image of Saudi Arabia, "If Olaya Street Could Talk," whose title is derived from James Baldwin's "If Beale Street Could Talk," was written to present a realistic image of the country to these readers, as well as to examine how American perceptions of the country are formed. The author was also a Medical Corpsman in a tank unit, with the 4th Infantry Division, in Vietnam, for a one year period, over 1968-69. He returned to Vietnam three times during peacetime, in 1994, '95 and '96. One of the book's themes is to address the parallels in American actions in Southeast Asia a generation ago with American actions in Southwest Asia today.

Pictures of Saudi Arabia, its people, and visitors that are depicted in the book can be seen at the www.tazapress.com website. Presently, the book is banned in Saudi Arabia.

John Paul Jones remains concerned about the curriculum, or lack of same, in the American school systems in regards to the Islamic world. This is another theme in the book, with specific incidents which occurred to his children mentioned. Other readers who are concerned about this issue are invited to post comments on the author's Amazon blog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Travelbook lover, May 24, 2007

By 

Jude Miller "Jude" (Mobile AL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Olaya Street Could Talk -- Saudi Arabia: The Heartland of Oil and Islam (Hardcover)

IF OLAYA STREET COULD TALK takes us out back of beyond. After a tour through a desert kingdom's modern hospital and its politics and inevitable cultural clashes - there have been contract workers from every part of the world in this multi-cultural hospital - we go into the red and yellow sands, the escarpments, the shaded green oases and date plantations, places most of us can only dream of until the oil runs out and tourism dollars are needed. The author takes us into the deserts, under black night skies around a campfire with friends, into you-are-there situations and experiences that are sometimes exciting and beautiful, sometimes frightening and culture-clash dangerous. If you're longing for adventures into these places where few have gone before, if travel magazines and books are starting to feel like comfortable old Elvis movies - only the names have changed - OLAYA STREET will take you into exotics like Yanbu, Taif, Tabuk, and into the extraordinary beauty and desolation of the Empty Quarter.

Along with the desert adventures, OLAYA STREET points us toward a more in-depth understanding of a place and its people so foreign to most of us and our ways of thinking. We see and feel the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, grow from a sandy spot into a modern city of millions, with all the problems and exhilaration that go with such growth and expansion. We learn of the absorption into the city of many of its nomadic desert dwellers, who bring color to the streets of the Old town, with its many date and spice souks, rug souks, and the ubiquitous camels and goats along the side streets.

The author, John P. Jones, also gives us a peek into adventures outside the Kingdom that he and his family experienced during their years in Arabia, in Bahrain, Spain, France, and other European cities and countrysides, and one can hope that these glimpses will be expanded into further writings. But first, read IF OLAYA STREET COULD TALK. It is the beginning of a lively philosophical exploration and physical adventure.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great read for anyone considering living in Saudi Arabia, July 22, 2007

By 

a fellow traveller (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Olaya Street Could Talk -- Saudi Arabia: The Heartland of Oil and Islam (Hardcover)

Having lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for many years, I can confirm that this excellent book provides the reader a very truthful, honest, and insightful view of expatriate life in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a beautiful country where I raised a family, made multiple lifelong friendships, and enjoyed my job working alongside many wonderful Saudis and other Arabs.

The country is immensely beautiful and this book describes in detail a young family's many journeys into areas in Saudi Arabia that few outsiders rarely see and experience.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has asked the question: "Why did you stay in Saudi Arabia so long?"

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nostalgic, insightful read., August 12, 2007

By 

Moore - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Olaya Street Could Talk -- Saudi Arabia: The Heartland of Oil and Islam (Hardcover)

As another expat who spent many years, built a family & life, and had a wealth of unique experiences in the Kingdom - I read John's book with varying emotional reactions.

His book starts as a light-hearted narrative of a simpler, more naïve (from our perspectives) time in the KSA. Most of us who lived there in the 70s or 80s felt the same combination of adventure, freedom, and security on this peninsula of such antiquity and new-found modern vibrancy. The living, the work, and the travels were wonderful.

After the "Desert 1" war, we (as many) observed the accelerating cultural/social shifts described faithfully by John - not only in Saudi Arabia, but in the Middle East as a whole. As we decided to repatriate in 2000, I read the accounts of the Jones' last years with a two notable reactions: the curing of any latent desire to return, and sadness for all of the rather unbelievable gaffes on both sides that have led us to this dark place in history.

Most of us long-termers have many stories from those heady days, but John's taken the time and energy to publish his, and for that I thank him. If you want excellent insight into this Kingdom that is so enigmatic and crucial, read John's book. If you prefer not knowing: see the movie and watch corporate media.