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More copies of this ISBNHouse of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle Eastby Anthony Shadid
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In 2006, Shadid—an Arab-American raised in Oklahoma—was covering Israels attack on Lebanon when he heard that an Israeli rocket had crashed into the house his great-grandfather built—his familys ancestral home. Not long after, Shadid (who had covered three wars in the Middle East) realized that he had lost his passion for a region that had lost its soul. He had seen too much violence and death; his career had destroyed his marriage. Seeking renewal, he set out to rebuild the house that held his familys past in the town they had helped settle long ago. Although the course of the reconstruction is complicated by craftsmen with too much personality, squabbles with his extended family, and Lebanons political strife, Shadid is restored along with the house and finds that his understanding of the Middle East—which he had known chiefly in wartime—has been deepened by his immersion in smalltown life. Coming to terms with his familys emigrant experience and their towns history, the "homeless" Shadid finds home and comes to understand the emotions behind the turbulence of the Middle East. In a moving epilogue, Shadid describes returning to this house after a nearly disastrous week as a prisoner of war in Libya along with the first visit of his daughter. Combining the human interest of The Bookseller of Kabul and Three Cups of Tea with the light touch of an expert determined, first, to tell a story, Shadid tells the story of a reconstruction effort that would have sent Frances Mayes to a psychiatric hospital as he brings to life unforgettable characters who lives help explain not just the modern Middle East but the legacy of those who have survived generations of war. He flashes back to his familys loss of home, their suffering during their countrys dark days, and their experiences as newcomers in Oklahoma. This is a book about what propels the Middle East's rage—loss of home—and what it must examine and re-find—the sense of shared community. Far surpassing the usual reporters "tour of duty," books, House of Stone is more humane and compelling and will please students of the region, those whose families have emigrated from other nations, and all readers engaged by engrossing storytelling.
Review:"Shadid — a New York Times correspondent, Pulitzer Prize winner, and grandson of immigrants — took a leave of absence to renovate his ancestral home in Lebanon. Shadid's 'quixotic mission' was a search for identity. His great-grandfather left the house to his family to 'join us with the past, to sustain us.' Shadid went in search of that past, claiming, 'I understood questions of identity, how being torn in two often leaves something less than one.' He writes sentimentally of Lebanon, but his confession that the house was 'memories of what I had imagined over many years' reveal a constructed emotion. The sentimentality sometimes borders on maudlin, and his identity quest is often lost among mundane construction details. Shadid claims to understand the 'desire of those whose place had been taken away.' He is presumably referring to his divorce, but his home renovation doesn't convince as healing process. History buffs, however, will appreciate the family and Middle Eastern historical asides." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Synopsis:A compelling saga of redemption and renewal from two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Shadid tells the story of rebuilding his family's ancestral home in Lebanon amid political strife, and his eventual understanding of the emotions behind the turbulence in the Middle East.
Synopsis:A crowning achievement in the career of revered journalist Anthony Shadid—who died while on assignment in Syria in February 2012—House of Stone tells the story of rebuilding Shadid's ancestral home in Lebanon amid political strife.
Synopsis:“Wonderful . . . One of the finest memoirs I’ve read.” — Philip Caputo, Washington Post In the summer of 2006, racing through Lebanon to report on the Israeli invasion, Anthony Shadid found himself in his family’s ancestral hometown of Marjayoun. There, he discovered his great-grandfather’s once magnificent estate in near ruins, devastated by war. One year later, Shadid returned to Marjayoun, not to chronicle the violence, but to rebuild in its wake. So begins the story of a battle-scarred home and a journalist’s wounded spirit, and of how reconstructing the one came to fortify the other. In this bittersweet and resonant memoir, Shadid creates a mosaic of past and present, tracing the house’s renewal alongside the history of his family’s flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America around the turn of the twentieth century. In the process, he memorializes a lost world and provides profound insights into a shifting Middle East. This paperback edition includes an afterword by the journalist Nada Bakri, Anthony Shadid’s wife, reflecting on his legacy. “A poignant dedication to family, to home, and to history . . . Breathtaking.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Entertaining, informative, and deeply moving . . . House of Stone will stand a long time, for those fortunate enough to read it.” — Telegraph (London) Synopsis:“Wonderful . . . One of the finest memoirs Ive read.” — Philip Caputo, Washington Post In the summer of 2006, racing through Lebanon to report on the Israeli invasion, Anthony Shadid found himself in his familys ancestral hometown of Marjayoun. There, he discovered his great-grandfathers once magnificent estate in near ruins, devastated by war. One year later, Shadid returned to Marjayoun, not to chronicle the violence, but to rebuild in its wake. So begins the story of a battle-scarred home and a journalists wounded spirit, and of how reconstructing the one came to fortify the other. In this bittersweet and resonant memoir, Shadid creates a mosaic of past and present, tracing the houses renewal alongside the history of his familys flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America around the turn of the twentieth century. In the process, he memorializes a lost world and provides profound insights into a shifting Middle East. This paperback edition includes an afterword by the journalist Nada Bakri, Anthony Shadids wife, reflecting on his legacy. “A poignant dedication to family, to home, and to history . . . Breathtaking.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Entertaining, informative, and deeply moving . . . House of Stone will stand a long time, for those fortunate enough to read it.” — Telegraph (London) About the AuthorAnthony Shadid, an unparalleled chronicler of the human stories behind the news, gained attention and awards, including the Pulitzer, for his front-page reports in the Washington Post from Iraq there. He was the only American reporter in Iraq who spoke Arabic. Currently he is Senior Middle East correspondent for the New York Times. He recently earned his second Pulitzer. He lives in Boston and Beirut but was raised in Oklahoma City.
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Bayt xiii
PART ONE: RETURNING 1. What the Silence Knows, July 30, 2006 3 2. Little Olive, August 10, 2007 14 3. Three Birds 35 4. Our Last Gentleman 49 5. Gold 65 6. Early Harvest 77 7. Dont Tell the Neighbors 88 8. Abu Jean, Does This Please You? 99 9. Mr. Chaya Appears 112 10. Last Whispers 128 11. Khairallas Oud 142 12. Citadels 155 PART TWO: AT HOME 13. Homesick 171 14. A Bush Called Rozana 181 15. Stupid Cat 197 16. Sitara 205 17. Salted Miqta 216 18. Passing Danger 232 19. Home 240 20. Worse Times 249 21. In the Name of the Father 259 22. Coming Home 269 23. Oh Laila 278 24. My Jedeida 286 Epilogue 303 Note to Readers 309 What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
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Other books you might likeRelated SubjectsBiography » General Featured Titles » Biography Featured Titles » New Arrivals History and Social Science » Current Affairs » General History and Social Science » Ethnic Studies » Immigration History and Social Science » Middle East » Lebanon History and Social Science » Politics » General History and Social Science » Sociology » General History and Social Science » World History » Middle East Travel » Middle East
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