I was born in Quebec, have lived in eleven countries, and speak four languages. In my 20+ years as an author and journalist, my goal has always been to create bridges between cultures and to tell stories that enable individuals to better understand each other. For me, a trip to a new country, no matter how short or long, is incomplete unless Iâve had the chance to meet locals.
This book is a âgold standardâ piece of investigative journalism, a travelogue about a people I will probably never meet, rolled into the intriguing history of a unique city.
The book interweaves the tale of the efforts local people made to save priceless manuscripts from al-Qaida in 2012 with the Westâs fascination of fabled Timbuktu since the 18th century.
It is an un-put-downable example of creative non-fiction at its most interesting and easily readable.
Two tales of a city: The historical race to reach one of the world's most mythologized places, and the story of how a contemporary band of archivists and librarians, fighting to save its ancient manuscripts from destruction at the hands of al Qaeda, added another layer to the legend.
The fabled city of Timbuktu has captured the Western imagination for centuries. The search for this 'African El Dorado' cost the lives of many explorers but Timbuktu is rich beyond its legends. Home to many thousands of ancient manuscripts on poetry, history, religion, law, pharmacology and astronomy, the city hasâŠ
I wish Iâd read this book before visiting Lebanese friends there.
The story of a man who returns to his native Lebanon years after the civil war, it portrays the complexity of their society through the impact the war had on a group of university friends.
It gives a wonderfully accurate feel of the sights, sounds, and tastes of the country, and an astute description of the psyche of the Lebanese people from the point of view of a returnee.
âA thoughtful, philosophically rich story that probes a still-open wound.â âKirkus Reviews
âMaalouf is a thoughtful, humane and passionate interlocutor.â âThe New York Times Book Review One night, a phone rings in Paris. Adam learns that Mourad, once his closest friend, is dying. He quickly throws some clothes in a suitcase and takes the first flight out, to the homeland he fled twenty-five years ago. Exiled in France, Adam has been leading a peaceful life as a respected historian, but back among the milk-white mountains of the East his past soon catches up with him. His childhood friends have allâŠ
Separating the true stories from the myths, The Duty of Memory provides a deeper understanding of the diverse motivations that drove ordinary people to join an underground network of French Resistants despite terrible odds and horrifying consequences.
This book takes the reader inside the true story of men and womenâŠ
This book has everything that makes travelogues great windows to new worlds.
The author is the daughter of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa who was hanged by the military dictator in 1995.
This book describes her first visit back to her native country after many decades abroad during which she (re-)discovers the beauty, chaos, and hard edge of a country few people will ever have the chance to visit.
"The
first person you meet when you travel abroad is yourself.â
I was very happy to
discover this self-help book (way back in 2004) on how to deal with âthe otherâ
when traveling or living in a foreign culture. Itâs a classic in its approach
to understanding the people you meet abroad.
Our impressions of other people
always start with our own expectations and beliefs of what is right and proper.
This book helps us understand our own biases in the process of trying to
understand the locals.
This is the first book to take a unique psychological approach to intercultural interactions. The author helps the sojourner to examine his or her own personality traits, both strengths and weaknesses, and how these characteristics may improve one's ability to communicate effectively in a different culture. Most expatriate placements are made on the basis of technical ability to do the job and the candidates circumstances and willingness to relocate. Apart from overseas development organisations, candidate selection that has any specific focus on intercultural aptitude is the exception rather than the rule. In either case, both the development worker and theâŠ
What were America's first prisons like? How did penal reformers, prison administrators, and politicians deal with the challenges of confining human beings in long-term captivity as punishment--what they saw as a humane intervention?
The Deviant Prison centers on one early prison: Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in Philadelphia, one of theâŠ
Gregory Shapiro â the American Netherlander â brings you a must-have alternative to the Dutch assimilation course. What is the true Dutch identity? Shapiro shares his hilariously clumsy assimilation into Dutch culture and blasts some well-known stereotypes along the way. The book includes questions from the real Dutch Assimilation Exam, whose logic Shapiro delightfully dissects to reveal the Dutch identity theyâd rather you didnât know. How to Be Orange includes a photo essay of the most awkward Dutch product names and is illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Floor de Goede.
How to Be Orange makes you redefine the Holland you thoughtâŠ
Culture Smart! Canada is a travel guide about Canadians rather than about the things to do and see in the country. Itâs a handy pocketbook that illustrates the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of the people youâll meet. Reading about local ways of doing things, how they view the world and themselves, the things they talk about, and what they do in their free time makes the experience of visiting or living in Canada deeper, richer, and much more fun. Â
History has always celebrated the "Founding Fathers, â yet we almost never hear of the courageous, resourceful women whose actions shaped the nation.
In Obstinate Daughters, New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan asserts that, âIf storytellers now, in the present day, continue to exclude these lives, experiences, andâŠ
Chasing Light is a lyrical meditation on grief, memory, and the fragile beauty of everyday life. At its core, it is a story of resilience, forgiveness, and the transformational power of human connection. It sheds light on the overlooked realities of homelessness and addiction, while emphasizing the importance of compassionâŠ
