A Winter in Arabia: A Journey Through Yemen (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A treasure of rare distinction among travel books. -- The New York Times Book Review

To read such a book...is to be proud and thankful. For here is a lovely charity and calm courage. -- The Times Literary Supplement (London)

Product Description

One of the most unconventional and courageous explorers of her time, Freya Stark chronicled her extraordinary Travels in the Near East, establishing herself as a twentieth century heroine. A Winter in Arabia recounts her 1937-8 expedition in what is now Yemen, a journey which helped secure her reputation not only as a great travel writer, but also as a first-rate geographer, historian, and archaeologist. There, in the land whose "nakedness is clothed in shreds of departed splendor," she and two companions spent a winter in search of an ancient South Arabian city.

Offering rare glimpses of life behind the veil-the subtleties of business and social conduct, the elaborate beauty rituals of the women, and the bitter animosities between rival tribes, Freya Stark conveys the "perpetual charm of Arabia ... that the traveler finds his own level there simply as a human being."

"A treasure of rare distinction among travel books." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Here, for once in a very long while, is a book upon which the miser of superlatives may pour out his hoard of praise . . . To read such a book . . . is to be proud and thankful. For here is a lovely charity and calm courage, vivid gaiety, the strong peace of truth and understanding; and quietness." (The Times Literary Supplement)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: The Overlook Press (June 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585672904
• ISBN-13: 978-1585672905
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,538 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great travel writing, January 12, 2004

By A Customer

This is what travel writing should be. One travels to see places and meet people. Ms. Stark's descriptions of places and travel thereto are always informed and interesting. The encounters with people are the little jewels studding her books, though. She brings a worldly but sympathetic attitude to her encounters with everyone she meets, from potentates to brigands. Read it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful read, June 6, 2008

By	Daboomer "A reader" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

A travel memoir written in the late 1930s - and 1000 years ago. It's a beautifully written, gentle book of a harsh land and its tribal peoples. Stark, is both poet and pragmatist. More musings and personal interactions than places and things, the book is a pleasure to read and savor. I wonder if the history of the Middle East wouldn't be improved had the colonial powers been guided by her sympathetic but unblinking understanding of Arab village and bedouin cultures.