Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood on Amazon™

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Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

Regular Price: $16.99 |

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Customer Review

Picking up the pieces
There aren't many books on the Palestinian situation available for children, and fewer still that are memoirs. I actually managed to pick up and read Ibtisam Barakat's, "Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood," without ever realized that it was more than mere historical fiction. As a bilingual author and poet, Ms. Barakat could have written a straight up autobiography, but somehow the memoir is just as moving and intense a portrait as anyone could ask for. It gives her struggles a weight, balance, and arc that wouldn't necessarily belong in a standard series of personal facts. Tracing her life from just before the Six-Day War when she was three to her state as a teenager, Ibtisam remembers her struggles in an occupied Palestine and draws strength from her past.Facts guide Ms. Barakat's pen, and the horrors of the Six-Day War speak louder than anything else. If dehumanizing occupation is inherently political, then yes, there are politics in this book. More than...
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November 28, 2007 (Manhattan, NY) | Helpful Votes: 17 | Rating: 5

Poignant Memoir
Ibtisam Barakat's "Tasting the Sky," is written with both a backward glance toward lost innocence, and an eye toward the future, as she offers her hope, extended without reservation, for a just and lasting peace for all people in Palestine/Israel. Her words describe what she saw with her eyes and felt with her skin as her childhood erupted in the violence of war. Despite the shattering of any remaining innocence by being hauled into a detention center during her high school years, Ibtisam responds without malice or hatred. She became determined to succeed in obtaining her education, and she has triumphed with her bittersweet memoir. She has somehow recaptured the elusive innocence of her youth , nurturing her memories, fond and stark alike, into letters, (like alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet) and then forming the letters into words that are coaxed onto the page. Barakat's yearning to tell her story was formed at a very young age and has become a reality in "Tasting...
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April 17, 2007 (Decatur, GA United States) | Helpful Votes: 9 | Rating: 5

Through this tale of a Palestinian childhood we come to know the world, and ourselves
"Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood" is splendid. Like Annie Dillard's "An American Childhood," the writer travels back to that vantage point of childhood that we all are hungry to remember. The young girl in "Tasting the Sky" has a quiet eye that takes in the world with poetic intensity. And although she starts her story with a wrenching episode of abandonment, this girlchild of war does not react with despair or hate. Instead, like children everywhere, she finds fountains of strength in the tiniest of corners, in the friendship with a goat, even by making an imaginary friend of a piece of chalk. Like this piece of chalk, this little girl is so short and easy to overlook. And, like the piece of chalk, she can be huge as she seeks to create and save a world through her writing, so beautifully employed in the service of memory, healing and peace.
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March 12, 2007 (Houston, TX United States) | Helpful Votes: 8 | Rating: 5

Product Description

Winner, Arab American National Museum Book Award for Children's/YA Literature, among other awards and honors.

“When a war ends it does not go away,” my mother says.“It hides inside us . . . Just forget!”
But I do not want to do what Mother says . . . I want to remember.

In this groundbreaking memoir set in Ramallah during the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Ibtisam Barakat captures what it is like to be a child whose world is shattered by war. With candor and courage, she stitches together memories of her childhood: fear and confusion as bombs explode near her home and she is separated from her family; the harshness of
life as a Palestinian refugee; her unexpected joy when she discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. This is the beginning of her passionate connection to words, and as language becomes her refuge, allowing her to piece together the fragments of her world, it becomes her true home.

Transcending the particulars of politics, this illuminating and timely book provides a telling glimpse into a little-known culture that has become an increasingly important part of the puzzle of world peace.

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Classic Palestinian Cuisine

Regular Price: $21.95 |

Customer Review

Brings you home, yet so far away
This book is terrifically written in every way. Being so far away from home now for many years since I ventured for college, I would always struggle to find places to eat Arabic food and more so some of the Palestinian ones too. Now I can actually stay at home, make them and invite friends over for the food ... I finally bring home to them.
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May 23, 2009 (Fort Wayne, IN USA) | Helpful Votes: 4 | Rating: 5

Simply wonderful!
Beautifully written, this book shares both flavorful healthy foods as well as lovely centuries old traditions.I'm vegetarian and have found plenty to make in Classic Palestinian Cuisine, although there are lots and lots of meat dishes as well.You'll find easy to make recipes, packed with flavor along side wonderful cultural tidbits. I applaud Christiane Dabdoub Nasser for her research as well as her dedication to trying to preserve this rich aspect of Palestinian heritage.
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November 1, 2009 (New York) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

Wonderful
The recipes are excellent - the dishes I tried taste just like my grandmother's cooking back home in Jerusalem. I love the little personal stories and clearly written recipes. This is the only book that I found in English that specializes in the Palestinian Cuisine. I hope this is only the beginning of many more books on a cuisine that is as old in history and tradition as is the holy land and its people. There are sample menus for Lent, Easter, Christmas and Ramadan.My only criticism is the lack of photos and pictures - but otherwise I highly recommend this book.
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September 25, 2009 | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

Product Description

“It is thrilling when an old cuisine finds a place on the gastronomic map. This charming book is about good real food with delicious flavours and centuries of tradition behind it.”—Claudia Roden

This new edition of Classic Palestinian Cuisine features a rich variety of over one hundred mouth-watering dishes characteristic of the eastern regions of the Mediterranean and their culinary cultures.

The culinary experience is enriched through the incorporation of anecdotes, excerpts, and illustrations of cultural and celebratory traditions from diverse groups, from the Bethlehem area to the different regions of Palestine.

Christiane Dabdoub Nasser was born in Bethlehem in 1953.

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The Palestinians (Unit 6)

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I Am a Palestinian Christian

Regular Price: $17.00 |

Customer Review

A must read perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Upon reading I Am a Palestinian Christian by Mitri Raheb, I was enlightened to the presence and effective role of Christians in Bethlehem. Dr. Raheb addresses the plight of the Palestinians in light of the Palestinian Christian perspective, to the redress of the nation of Israel. His is not to attack Israel, but to examine the role of ancient Israel in the Bible as it relates to the policies and procedures of present day Israel. Dr. Raheb consistently argues for justice and righteous treatment of all God's people, Jew, Muslim, Christian, or otherwise and especially any who are/have been oppressed and treated unjustly.This is a must read for those interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinian Christian voice is not often recognized outside Israel/Palestine, and therefore easily misunderstood. Read carefully and research other items, like The Forgotten Faithful by Said K. Aburish and The Arab Christian: A History in the Middle East by Kenneth Cragg,...
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January 28, 1999 (La Mirada, California) | Helpful Votes: 69 | Rating: 5

A rare and authentic glimpse into the precarious life of Palestinian Christians
Dr. Mitri Raheb does a masterful job of sharing his life as a Palestinian Christian pastor. With great insight, and compassion for his oppressors, his honest life story should be read by all Christians. It should also be read by all Israelis, many of whom are aware of the realities of life in Bethlehem, but some (looking at some of the other reviews of this book) are still in denial of what the occupation has done, both to the oppressed and the oppressors. I have known Mitri for nearly 20 years, and I know that what he writes is true. Many of the episodes he recounts I have witnessed myself. But no one who has not lived in Bethlehem can fully understand the pressures constantly placed on the people there. His great insight and vision have led an important Christian community through the darkness. This glimpse into what it means to be both Palestinian and Christian is an excellent gift to us all.
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November 16, 2005 | Helpful Votes: 23 | Rating: 5

Product Description

Raheb, a Christian pastor in Bethlehem, explores the recent history of the Palestinian Christians, and the complex meeting of the world's three major monotheistic religions. Top to learn more

a good understanding of the Palestinian Christian
"I Am a Palestinian Christian," written by Mitri Raheb, describes life as a Palestinian Christian under Israeli rule. Raheb is not against the state of Israel (though he is against Israeli persecution of Palestinians) but seeks a Palestinian state as well. He challenges the West (especially Christians) to bring Palestinians aid and to not blindly support Israel's every action. Raheb as well gives biblical theology to why he believes the land of Israel is not promised to the Jewish people alone but to all people. His theology goes further in saying that persecution towards Palestinians is an act of injustice and that the church must prevent, instead of encourage, such acts. Raheb's book "I Am a Palestinian Christian" was written to inform Western Christians about the Palestinian Christian's reality.Raheb begins the book in an in-depth look at the hardships the Palestinian Christian endures daily and how these Christians respond to such hardships. Statistics are given in...
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October 14, 2004 | Helpful Votes: 34 | Rating: 4

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I Love Palestine - Silicone Wristband / Bracelet - Palestinian Flag

Price with discount: $2.95 |

Product Details

Palestine - Silicone Wristband / Bracelet
Made of High Quality Silicone
Fits Most Wrists
Features the colors of the Palestinian flag

Product Description

YOU ARE PURCHASING THIS GREAT HIGH QUALITY FLEXIBLE RUBBER/SILICON BRACELET THESE BRACELETS HAVE THE COUNTRIES NAME IN-PRINTED IN THEM! Bracelet color scheme symbolizes each country flag. Bracelets are one size fits all. Top to learn more

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The Palestinian People: A History

Regular Price: $24.50 |

Customer Review

A Balanced History
In a field littered with propaganda, two knowledgeable scholars, Baruch Kimmerling, the George S. Wise Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University, and Joel Migdal, professor at the University of Washington, have written an objective, scholarly treatise on the history of the Palestinian people and the forces that shaped the development of their national consciousness. It is difficult to imagine a better collaboration than the one between Kimmerling and Migdal. Kimmerling is one of the best social scientists in Israel with a list of impressive publications on his vita. I am less familiar with Migal's work, but his prose is often breathtakingly beautiful, especially when he describes the land itself. Rarely will one find a better writer in the social sciences than Migdal. Those without a scholarly knowledge of the field will find the book tough to read at times but the patient reader will be rewarded for his efforts with a deeper understanding of the world's most intractable...
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May 17, 2003 (Pompano Beach, Florida USA) | Helpful Votes: 33 | Rating: 5

A very useful history of the Palestinian people
The Israeli historian Baruch Kimmerling and the American historian Joel Migdal have written an excellent study of the development of Palestinian society, economy and national identity over the last two centuries. Part 1 looks at the development from the 1834 revolt against the Ottoman empire, the start of modern Palestine, to the 1936-39 revolt against the British ruling class, who decimated Palestinian institutions, to Zionism's benefit. It shows how the Europe-dominated world market, Zionism and government intervention framed the Palestinian nation. Part 2 examines the dispersal of 1948. Part 3 looks at how the Palestinian nation was reborn in resistance against occupation, up to the 1987 Intifada.Part 4 studies the Oslo peace agreement of 1993, negotiated away from the Washington talks. Large majorities of both the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples backed Oslo. The left, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the diaspora, conspicuously Edward Said, opposed it - all put the right...
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August 26, 2004 (London United Kingdom) | Helpful Votes: 28 | Rating: 5

A good, balanced view
Rejecting standard Palestinian and Israeli historiographies, this book puts forth an explanation of why we are in the present situation by relying heavily on published material and undisputed facts but viewed from the author's particular perspective and interpretation. Stephen Covey, in his book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' illustrates the fact that we can all see the same world completely differently by the picture of a woman. To some who have been conditioned beforehand she is an old hag while to others, conditioned differently, she is a real cutie. No where does this point have greater validity than when we view the history of the relationship between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. To put it crudely, the Israelis have been conditioned to view the Palestinians as the old hag, while the Palestinians, quite naturally, see themselves as the real cutie. For the neutral outsider who is concerned that the Third World War might arise in this area, it is very difficult to...
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January 31, 2004 (Thessaloniki Greece) | Helpful Votes: 27 | Rating: 5

Product Description

In a timely reminder of how the past informs the present, Baruch Kimmerling and Joel Migdal offer an authoritative account of the history of the Palestinian people from their modern origins to the Oslo peace process and beyond.

Palestinians struggled to create themselves as a people from the first revolt of the Arabs in Palestine in 1834 through the British Mandate to the impact of Zionism and the founding of Israel. Their relationship with the Jewish people and the State of Israel has been fundamental in shaping that identity, and today Palestinians find themselves again at a critical juncture. In the 1990s cornerstones for peace were laid for eventual Palestinian-Israeli coexistence, including mutual acceptance, the renunciation of violence as a permanent strategy, and the establishment for the first time of Palestinian self-government. But the dawn of the twenty-first century saw a reversion to unmitigated hatred and mutual demonization. By mid-2002 the brutal violence of the Intifada had crippled Palestine's fledgling political institutions and threatened the fragile social cohesion painstakingly constructed after 1967. Kimmerling and Migdal unravel what went right--and what went wrong--in the Oslo peace process, and what lessons we can draw about the forces that help to shape a people. The authors present a balanced, insightful, and sobering look at the realities of creating peace in the Middle East. (20030901) Top to learn more

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