Customer Reviews

Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land

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4 star:		(2)
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Tim writes well, describing himself in gently self-deprecating tones whilst always managing to support the Yemeni perspective. Yemen is inexplicable as it is ungovernable in any other terms than Yemeni, so Tim makes a great job of explaining how Arabic works and how oral traditions keep a living history alive in place where history is now, and possibly will forever be. It's fun to read, there are the weird bits, funny bits, and if you want a lighter introduction to the sometimes enigmatic Tim as a person you can read the bit in Eric Hansen's book where Eric goes walking with Tim and looses his footing on a cliff and falls in love with a bedouin girl. Not so Tim, who is impervious to flirty bedouin ladies (wise man) and skips over mountains powered by a cheekful of qat. My problem is that I love the place, so anything readable is great. This is more than readable, it's a gentle glide through Yemeni history which is complex as anything (and still is) since there is no single entity - it's basically a mass of sub-plots... Lovely. As Tim says in the beginning of his book, a load of digressions. To be dipped into. Holiday stuff. Read it after Yemen and realise what you missed!

This is a wonderful book. Well produced, real artwork (not just photos), beautifully written, and truly inspired. It is rare that a travel writer has such a wealth of experience and knowledge to draw on. This book is set apart though, by the author's deep and enduring love for the country and its people. This is no dry historical chronology, and marks a revival of the storytellers art. Where are his other books???

Mr. MacIntosh-Smith has written, not just a guide book, but a real introduction to this beautiful country. His deep knowledge, understanding and love for the country, its history, topography, culture and language are clear. Moreover, he has the gift of conveying this understanding in prose which is succinct and uncloying - an unusual quality in travel writers. This is a beautifully written book which can be enjoyed even by those who have never visited the country, and perhaps have no intention of doing so.

The illustrations are excellent.

I recommend 'Travels in Dictionary Land' both to actual and armchair travellers