Remembering Childhood in the Middle East: Memoirs from a Century of Change [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Warnock Fernea (Editor), Robert A. Fernea (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0292725469 | ISBN-13: 978-0292725461 | Publication Date: November 1, 2002 | Edition: 1

Growing up is a universal experience, but the particularities of homeland, culture, ethnicity, religion, family, and so on make every childhood unique. To give Western readers insight into what growing up in the Middle East was like in the twentieth century, this book gathers thirty-six original memoirs written by Middle Eastern men and women about their own childhoods. Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, a well-known writer of books and documentary films about women and the family in the Middle East, has collected stories of childhoods spent in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey. The accounts span the entire twentieth century, a full range of ethnicities and religions, and the social spectrum from aristocracy to peasantry. They are grouped by eras, for which Fernea provides a concise historical sketch, and include a brief biography of each contributor. The introduction by anthropologist Robert A. Fernea sets the memoirs in the larger context of Middle Eastern life and culture. As a collection, the memoirs offer an unprecedented opportunity to look at the same period in history in the same region of the world from a variety of very different remembered experiences. At times dramatic, humorous, or tragic, and always deeply felt, the memoirs document the diversity and richness of peopleOs lives in the modern Middle East.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" ... these accounts eloquently portray extended families at work, the needs and responsibilities they represent, and the ways in which modern Middle Easterners never "leave home"... Books of this kind, which reveal the great variety of Middle Eastern Experiences, which bring a human dimension to what otherwise might seem a set of abstractions, and which enable the reader to engage in life events that most of us share, have an important role to play in the university classroom. They are a key weapon in the university's teacher's struggle against prejudice and ignorance."-Times Literary Supplement, 24 October 2003

Product Details

• Hardcover: 365 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292725469
• ISBN-13: 978-0292725461
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,345,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new perspective, July 27, 2003

By 

James J. Halsema (Glenmoore, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Remembering Childhood in the Middle East: Memoirs from a Century of Change (Paperback)

During a five year assignment in Cairo (1961-1966) as head of the U.S. Embassy cultural and information programs I naturall tried to learn as much as I could about our audiences but I never saw an account of growing up in Egypt or nearby nations until this one. Elizabeth Fernea and her husband have lived in intimate contact with their peoples from the swamps of eastern Iraq to the bazaars of Morocco. She has a gift for describing her surroundings. Here she has assembled the memories of a panoply of individuals from every walk of life from royalty to villager during the momentous changes of the 20th Century.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absorbing, February 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Remembering Childhood in the Middle East: Memoirs from a Century of Change (Paperback)

this is an excellent book and has the memoirs of a large range of individuals from the middle east. Easy to read and understand