Husain-Dog, yo spack mo speech, 08 Nov 2008
Husain-Dog, yo spack it nice, like tha cream-king yo are. International relations, innit. Yo put it down real fine. Word atter word, it maks good sense what yo linguistify. Know fo' sure, yo message taken to heart Husain-Dog.

Ex Shia, 17 Oct 2008
As an ex Shia I enjoyed many of the arguments that Ed presented in his book and it helped in my journey back towards more orthodox beliefs, namely, those of Ahl Sunnah.

I just regret the years of moving around groups and ideologies and hope that writings like this could have been available sooner.

With Salams

Pertinent exposé written for the culturally aware, 11 Oct 2008
Eye-opening, honest and intense. I read 'The Islamist' back when it was first released, curious yet naive to the true picture of radical Islam in the West. As with any religion, there are followers who have their faith exploited and distorted. 'The Islamist' is a fascinating account of one man's membership to an extreme organisation, as he fell victim to a way of life that terrifies those on the outside.

Although I read this memoir to fuel my interest in current affairs, the main reason I picked it up is because I wanted to grasp the underlying differences between the beliefs of traditional muslims and those of Islamic extremists. It truely opened my eyes to a culture that I had only been exposed to through the media. Reading books on the subject written in third person are great for gaining an overall, more academic understanding, but Ed Hussain here offers a much greater insight into how and why these groups behave.

Terrorism is a subject on everyone's lips, which is why Hussain's story is so important. Personally however, I believe everone should read this book to eliminate the prejudice that is experienced by so many British Muslims. It is a terrible shame that in the 21st century, it is wrongly assumed by many that those who believe in the same God and dress the same follow the same way of life.

A very good book brought to you by someone who was there., 27 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book, which I found easy to read and gripping. A dynamic and organic view of muslim life for a young man growing up in London, written by a muslim whos belief structure changes as his exposure to the radical and fundmentlist elements increases. A balanced book, that I found interesting and informative and leaves the reader with a thirst for more knowledge. Im really pleased I got this book, buy it....

Clear, contempory, chilling and compulsive, 09 Sep 2008
Great book. A timely counterpoint and contribution to the whole Islam vs. everyone else debate that characterises much / all of the media coverage of this. However, I found the book to be a fascinating and compelling account of one man's search for religious definition and meaning - something that many people experience regardless of their faith or lack of it. As a result I found the book informative as I learnt about the issues between Islam vs. Wahabism that I knew little about but it was also useful to compare and contrast his experiences and struggles with faith with my own, even though as a CofE person I am somewhat removed from his direct experiences. Would commend this to everyone as a valuable view into contempory issues as well as spiritual journey's

Husain-Dog, yo spack mo speech, 08 Nov 2008
Husain-Dog, yo spack it nice, like tha cream-king yo are. International relations, innit. Yo put it down real fine. Word atter word, it maks good sense what yo linguistify. Know fo' sure, yo message taken to heart Husain-Dog.

Ex Shia, 17 Oct 2008
As an ex Shia I enjoyed many of the arguments that Ed presented in his book and it helped in my journey back towards more orthodox beliefs, namely, those of Ahl Sunnah.

I just regret the years of moving around groups and ideologies and hope that writings like this could have been available sooner.

With Salams

Pertinent exposé written for the culturally aware, 11 Oct 2008
Eye-opening, honest and intense. I read 'The Islamist' back when it was first released, curious yet naive to the true picture of radical Islam in the West. As with any religion, there are followers who have their faith exploited and distorted. 'The Islamist' is a fascinating account of one man's membership to an extreme organisation, as he fell victim to a way of life that terrifies those on the outside.

Although I read this memoir to fuel my interest in current affairs, the main reason I picked it up is because I wanted to grasp the underlying differences between the beliefs of traditional muslims and those of Islamic extremists. It truely opened my eyes to a culture that I had only been exposed to through the media. Reading books on the subject written in third person are great for gaining an overall, more academic understanding, but Ed Hussain here offers a much greater insight into how and why these groups behave.

Terrorism is a subject on everyone's lips, which is why Hussain's story is so important. Personally however, I believe everone should read this book to eliminate the prejudice that is experienced by so many British Muslims. It is a terrible shame that in the 21st century, it is wrongly assumed by many that those who believe in the same God and dress the same follow the same way of life.

A very good book brought to you by someone who was there., 27 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book, which I found easy to read and gripping. A dynamic and organic view of muslim life for a young man growing up in London, written by a muslim whos belief structure changes as his exposure to the radical and fundmentlist elements increases. A balanced book, that I found interesting and informative and leaves the reader with a thirst for more knowledge. Im really pleased I got this book, buy it....

Clear, contempory, chilling and compulsive, 09 Sep 2008
Great book. A timely counterpoint and contribution to the whole Islam vs. everyone else debate that characterises much / all of the media coverage of this. However, I found the book to be a fascinating and compelling account of one man's search for religious definition and meaning - something that many people experience regardless of their faith or lack of it. As a result I found the book informative as I learnt about the issues between Islam vs. Wahabism that I knew little about but it was also useful to compare and contrast his experiences and struggles with faith with my own, even though as a CofE person I am somewhat removed from his direct experiences. Would commend this to everyone as a valuable view into contempory issues as well as spiritual journey's

Inspirational, 17 Oct 2008
I could not put this book down. In my entire life and professional career, and in dealing with refugees from the countries where she grew up, I have never seen such evidence of courage, fortitude and perseverance as this young lady has demonstrated in the face of unspeakable atrocities. She is an example to us all. When all around her were prepared blindly to accept religious dogma, as it was taught to us, she used her intellect and remained true to that intellect. To my mind, she is probably the most remarkable woman ever. She appears kind and caring of all of her fellow humans. Although not on the cover of this book, there are photos of her on the web which show that she has a very beautiful smile to complement her intellect. In my opinion this book should be compulsory reading for all teenagers before they leave school. Very well done Ayaan.

Riveting autobiography & illuminating history, 20 Jun 2008
It's rare to find autobiography as absorbing as this. Not only because of the author's unusual path from the desert of Somalia to the USA via the Netherlands, but also on account of the absorbing writing style. Clear and descriptive, the narrative of her eventful life had a profound impact on this reader. Born and raised in Somalia, Ayaan spent part of her youth in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, recounting what it was like to live there through the eyes of a child.

She gives a lively account of the history of Somalia under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, explaining the clan system and comparing the relaxed Muslim practice in that country with the rigidy of Saudi Arabia and the hypocrisy and racism that go along with it. The short experience of Ethiopia and later the long stay in Kenya, both predominantly Christian countries, were different again and she really captivates with her descriptions of places and people. One of her most salient memories is the obsessive Antisemitism in Saudi Arabia. Where her family lived in the city of Riyadh, Jews were blamed for everything.

A sub-theme of the book is the increased radicalization of Muslims, partly because of the failures and the suffering brought about by Barre and the chaos of the civil war that unseated him. She noted this radicalization taking place amongst Somalis and others in Kenya where she spent most of her adolescence. This radical strain was brought to Africa by Arabs and Iranians, both Sunni and Shia, also reflecting the failure of secular ideologies and bad government in the dictatorships of the Muslim world.

There are sympathetic but honest portrayals of her family and friends: her mother who showed healthy signs of independence early in life but eventually lost hope and became embittered, her loving and tolerant but mostly absent father, her brother who stayed in Kenya and her sister who, when she couldn't cope in Holland, died tragically after returning to Kenya.

Far from stirring up feelings against Islam, this book makes one contemplate with empathy the location of each individual's birth, how little free choice there really is in a closed society, the powerful hold of your community's history and culture, the difficulty of resisting brainwashing and how grateful people in free societies ought to be for the blessings that a lot of us take for granted.

Infidel is also about a second journey: A journey of the mind from the strictures of stifling, oppressive faith to the liberation of enlightenment and the embrace of Western values like individual freedom, freedom of speech and the rule of law. The fact that the individual mattered and had a right to life, to choice and freedom, was a joyful discovery.

This theme interweaves with the history she so deftly chronicles: the collapse of Somalia, the slow decline in Kenya, Dutch politics in the face of dysfunctional multiculturalism that however well intended, harms individuals in the immigrant communities and society as a whole. More information of these developments in The Netherlands and Europe as a whole is available in While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer and Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski.

It is humbling to read of the author's wonderment and appreciation when she discovered Dutch society where even the police were friendly and helpful and where everything worked. Ayaan clearly loves The Netherlands; her words radiate with gratitude and appreciation of the culture and society. I especially enjoyed the account of her studies at the University of Leiden where she studied the great Western philosophers.

Sometimes harrowing, the story of Infidel includes innocent childhood memories, mutilation, war, deprivation, tragedy, adventure, drastic adaptation and inspiring achievements. It is clear that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an unusually courageous, empathic and resourceful individual. There are 11 black & white plates of family and other people who played a part in her life. As far as the religious aspect is concerned, I recommend the following informative books by two equally courageous women: Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish.


Infidel, 07 Jun 2008
This is a vivid, highly readable and fascinating memoir. It is a true page turner that jumps straight into the narrative and leads you along at pace, unlike any autobiography I have read in years. Her story and her intellectual transformation are an important perspective in our highly charged religious climate. This a fabulous piece of writing. Read this book.

She admited to be a liar!, 30 Apr 2008
This book has very little truth in it and her claims of being oppressed in her homeland was proven to be a fabrication she made up to immigrate to the Netherlands where she later was thrown out of! Now she's trying to make some money by publishing the same lie again! I mean seriously, how gullible do you have to be to fall into the exact same nonsense twice?

An extraordinary and inspiring life, 24 Mar 2008
Ms Ali achieves several things with this book:

She opens up the world of islamic culture, thought and behaviour.

She describes what it was like for a girl to grow up in that culture, and how different it was for her brother

She recounts an extraodinary escape story - for her physically and intellectually

She provides an inspiring tale of personal courage.

In the last year or two, this is the book I am most pleased to have read.

Husain-Dog, yo spack mo speech, 08 Nov 2008
Husain-Dog, yo spack it nice, like tha cream-king yo are. International relations, innit. Yo put it down real fine. Word atter word, it maks good sense what yo linguistify. Know fo' sure, yo message taken to heart Husain-Dog.

Ex Shia, 17 Oct 2008
As an ex Shia I enjoyed many of the arguments that Ed presented in his book and it helped in my journey back towards more orthodox beliefs, namely, those of Ahl Sunnah.

I just regret the years of moving around groups and ideologies and hope that writings like this could have been available sooner.

With Salams

Pertinent exposé written for the culturally aware, 11 Oct 2008
Eye-opening, honest and intense. I read 'The Islamist' back when it was first released, curious yet naive to the true picture of radical Islam in the West. As with any religion, there are followers who have their faith exploited and distorted. 'The Islamist' is a fascinating account of one man's membership to an extreme organisation, as he fell victim to a way of life that terrifies those on the outside.

Although I read this memoir to fuel my interest in current affairs, the main reason I picked it up is because I wanted to grasp the underlying differences between the beliefs of traditional muslims and those of Islamic extremists. It truely opened my eyes to a culture that I had only been exposed to through the media. Reading books on the subject written in third person are great for gaining an overall, more academic understanding, but Ed Hussain here offers a much greater insight into how and why these groups behave.

Terrorism is a subject on everyone's lips, which is why Hussain's story is so important. Personally however, I believe everone should read this book to eliminate the prejudice that is experienced by so many British Muslims. It is a terrible shame that in the 21st century, it is wrongly assumed by many that those who believe in the same God and dress the same follow the same way of life.

A very good book brought to you by someone who was there., 27 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book, which I found easy to read and gripping. A dynamic and organic view of muslim life for a young man growing up in London, written by a muslim whos belief structure changes as his exposure to the radical and fundmentlist elements increases. A balanced book, that I found interesting and informative and leaves the reader with a thirst for more knowledge. Im really pleased I got this book, buy it....

Clear, contempory, chilling and compulsive, 09 Sep 2008
Great book. A timely counterpoint and contribution to the whole Islam vs. everyone else debate that characterises much / all of the media coverage of this. However, I found the book to be a fascinating and compelling account of one man's search for religious definition and meaning - something that many people experience regardless of their faith or lack of it. As a result I found the book informative as I learnt about the issues between Islam vs. Wahabism that I knew little about but it was also useful to compare and contrast his experiences and struggles with faith with my own, even though as a CofE person I am somewhat removed from his direct experiences. Would commend this to everyone as a valuable view into contempory issues as well as spiritual journey's

Inspirational, 17 Oct 2008
I could not put this book down. In my entire life and professional career, and in dealing with refugees from the countries where she grew up, I have never seen such evidence of courage, fortitude and perseverance as this young lady has demonstrated in the face of unspeakable atrocities. She is an example to us all. When all around her were prepared blindly to accept religious dogma, as it was taught to us, she used her intellect and remained true to that intellect. To my mind, she is probably the most remarkable woman ever. She appears kind and caring of all of her fellow humans. Although not on the cover of this book, there are photos of her on the web which show that she has a very beautiful smile to complement her intellect. In my opinion this book should be compulsory reading for all teenagers before they leave school. Very well done Ayaan.

Riveting autobiography & illuminating history, 20 Jun 2008
It's rare to find autobiography as absorbing as this. Not only because of the author's unusual path from the desert of Somalia to the USA via the Netherlands, but also on account of the absorbing writing style. Clear and descriptive, the narrative of her eventful life had a profound impact on this reader. Born and raised in Somalia, Ayaan spent part of her youth in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, recounting what it was like to live there through the eyes of a child.

She gives a lively account of the history of Somalia under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, explaining the clan system and comparing the relaxed Muslim practice in that country with the rigidy of Saudi Arabia and the hypocrisy and racism that go along with it. The short experience of Ethiopia and later the long stay in Kenya, both predominantly Christian countries, were different again and she really captivates with her descriptions of places and people. One of her most salient memories is the obsessive Antisemitism in Saudi Arabia. Where her family lived in the city of Riyadh, Jews were blamed for everything.

A sub-theme of the book is the increased radicalization of Muslims, partly because of the failures and the suffering brought about by Barre and the chaos of the civil war that unseated him. She noted this radicalization taking place amongst Somalis and others in Kenya where she spent most of her adolescence. This radical strain was brought to Africa by Arabs and Iranians, both Sunni and Shia, also reflecting the failure of secular ideologies and bad government in the dictatorships of the Muslim world.

There are sympathetic but honest portrayals of her family and friends: her mother who showed healthy signs of independence early in life but eventually lost hope and became embittered, her loving and tolerant but mostly absent father, her brother who stayed in Kenya and her sister who, when she couldn't cope in Holland, died tragically after returning to Kenya.

Far from stirring up feelings against Islam, this book makes one contemplate with empathy the location of each individual's birth, how little free choice there really is in a closed society, the powerful hold of your community's history and culture, the difficulty of resisting brainwashing and how grateful people in free societies ought to be for the blessings that a lot of us take for granted.

Infidel is also about a second journey: A journey of the mind from the strictures of stifling, oppressive faith to the liberation of enlightenment and the embrace of Western values like individual freedom, freedom of speech and the rule of law. The fact that the individual mattered and had a right to life, to choice and freedom, was a joyful discovery.

This theme interweaves with the history she so deftly chronicles: the collapse of Somalia, the slow decline in Kenya, Dutch politics in the face of dysfunctional multiculturalism that however well intended, harms individuals in the immigrant communities and society as a whole. More information of these developments in The Netherlands and Europe as a whole is available in While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer and Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski.

It is humbling to read of the author's wonderment and appreciation when she discovered Dutch society where even the police were friendly and helpful and where everything worked. Ayaan clearly loves The Netherlands; her words radiate with gratitude and appreciation of the culture and society. I especially enjoyed the account of her studies at the University of Leiden where she studied the great Western philosophers.

Sometimes harrowing, the story of Infidel includes innocent childhood memories, mutilation, war, deprivation, tragedy, adventure, drastic adaptation and inspiring achievements. It is clear that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an unusually courageous, empathic and resourceful individual. There are 11 black & white plates of family and other people who played a part in her life. As far as the religious aspect is concerned, I recommend the following informative books by two equally courageous women: Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish.


Infidel, 07 Jun 2008
This is a vivid, highly readable and fascinating memoir. It is a true page turner that jumps straight into the narrative and leads you along at pace, unlike any autobiography I have read in years. Her story and her intellectual transformation are an important perspective in our highly charged religious climate. This a fabulous piece of writing. Read this book.

She admited to be a liar!, 30 Apr 2008
This book has very little truth in it and her claims of being oppressed in her homeland was proven to be a fabrication she made up to immigrate to the Netherlands where she later was thrown out of! Now she's trying to make some money by publishing the same lie again! I mean seriously, how gullible do you have to be to fall into the exact same nonsense twice?

An extraordinary and inspiring life, 24 Mar 2008
Ms Ali achieves several things with this book:

She opens up the world of islamic culture, thought and behaviour.

She describes what it was like for a girl to grow up in that culture, and how different it was for her brother

She recounts an extraodinary escape story - for her physically and intellectually

She provides an inspiring tale of personal courage.

In the last year or two, this is the book I am most pleased to have read.

Best Ever, 09 Sep 2006
Brilliant. T E Lawrence poured his soul into this magnificently crafted autobiography. It takes you from his arrival in Cairo as an upstart academic, through his dramatic evolution into a desert soldier/strategist and leader of the Arab revolt against the Turks, to his ultimate failure to win justice for the people he'd grown to be part of. Lawrence was a gifted writer as well as an extraordinary soldier and I was fascinated by the insights that run through it: into his political naivety, his ambivalent loyalties, and the hints of concern (almost certainly ill-founded) about his own mental state. The combination of high politics and personal danger, played out in the dramatic and mysterious Arab world as it meets the West is quite magnificent.

The writing style is nineteenth century and the language and prose may be unfamiliar to many but this is the most rewarding book I have read. It's the one I unhesitatingly offer as the best ever.



Mellifluous but Dense, 01 Apr 2005
Jim Norton's mellifluous voice is pleasant to listen to but does little to improve the clarity of Lawrence's already dense writing for the listener. Where the reader has the chance to go back to try to clarify a contorted Lawrence sentence, the listener really has no such opportunity and the result is hard work in concentrating on the flow of the text so as not to miss the purpose of the sentence.

Lawrence thought of himself as a new Shakespeare - but unfortunately did not have Shakespeare's intuitive feeling for language so the slightly quirky cadences adopted by Norton coupled with rather brutal editing make this a reading that has to be listened to with concentration. Not recommended for in-car listening -- or even listening while doing the ironing!

A book for bedtime....., 13 Oct 2004
Are you a philosopher? - Read no further, you might enjoy this book, if you can stay awake long enough - for the rest of us, this book, unlike its author, is just not interesting - it's too long-winded.
Definitely NOT a book to read in the 21st Century, it's just NOT of our time - the title is the most interesting thing about it.
It's about as interesting as that dull little tome by Ann Robinson.....zzzzzzzzzzz ......time for bed...

Seven Pillars of Wisdom - A stunning read, 05 Aug 2004
Whilst travelling through Wadi Rum in Jordan a few years ago i was haunted in my mind by images of the enigmatic character that was Lawrence of Arabia; part legend, part myth, part wrong person in the wrong place at the right time.

To read this book is to know the man, the journeys, the politics, the battles. Although he himself admitted to his own ambiguity and uselessness as a British Pawn in the middle east, this book goes some way to dispel the Myth.

A must for anyone who is interested in the middle east, british / arab politics and a very colourful man

Lawrence of Arabia from his own point of view, 05 Jan 2004
Having been a geat fan of the David Lean film ever since my father took me as a 7 year old boy to see it when it was first released, I had intended to read Lawrence's own account of the events covered by the film for a long time. The book itself is a mixture of autobiographical recounting of the events covered by the film and a travelogue interspersed with almost essay type observations by Lawrence on a wide variety of subjects including the plight of the Arabs, their culture, his own motivation and the wartime life of soldiers in general. Most of the book is descriptive with very little in the way of dialogue and it can at times become very difficult to persevere with, particularly during the author's sometimes extreme moments of navel-gazing. However, the persistent reader is taken on a unique journey with Lawrence through his adventures, middle eastern culture and the spectacular desert scenery of the area. When the time came to part I was rather sorry that the journey was over as Lawrence is, if nothing else, an extremely knowledgeable guide. Taken as an adjunct to the film (which takes a certain amount of artistic licence with the facts) the book deepens one's understanding of its political, geographical and personal context and provides a unique insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the man himself.

Husain-Dog, yo spack mo speech, 08 Nov 2008
Husain-Dog, yo spack it nice, like tha cream-king yo are. International relations, innit. Yo put it down real fine. Word atter word, it maks good sense what yo linguistify. Know fo' sure, yo message taken to heart Husain-Dog.

Ex Shia, 17 Oct 2008
As an ex Shia I enjoyed many of the arguments that Ed presented in his book and it helped in my journey back towards more orthodox beliefs, namely, those of Ahl Sunnah.

I just regret the years of moving around groups and ideologies and hope that writings like this could have been available sooner.

With Salams

Pertinent exposé written for the culturally aware, 11 Oct 2008
Eye-opening, honest and intense. I read 'The Islamist' back when it was first released, curious yet naive to the true picture of radical Islam in the West. As with any religion, there are followers who have their faith exploited and distorted. 'The Islamist' is a fascinating account of one man's membership to an extreme organisation, as he fell victim to a way of life that terrifies those on the outside.

Although I read this memoir to fuel my interest in current affairs, the main reason I picked it up is because I wanted to grasp the underlying differences between the beliefs of traditional muslims and those of Islamic extremists. It truely opened my eyes to a culture that I had only been exposed to through the media. Reading books on the subject written in third person are great for gaining an overall, more academic understanding, but Ed Hussain here offers a much greater insight into how and why these groups behave.

Terrorism is a subject on everyone's lips, which is why Hussain's story is so important. Personally however, I believe everone should read this book to eliminate the prejudice that is experienced by so many British Muslims. It is a terrible shame that in the 21st century, it is wrongly assumed by many that those who believe in the same God and dress the same follow the same way of life.

A very good book brought to you by someone who was there., 27 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book, which I found easy to read and gripping. A dynamic and organic view of muslim life for a young man growing up in London, written by a muslim whos belief structure changes as his exposure to the radical and fundmentlist elements increases. A balanced book, that I found interesting and informative and leaves the reader with a thirst for more knowledge. Im really pleased I got this book, buy it....

Clear, contempory, chilling and compulsive, 09 Sep 2008
Great book. A timely counterpoint and contribution to the whole Islam vs. everyone else debate that characterises much / all of the media coverage of this. However, I found the book to be a fascinating and compelling account of one man's search for religious definition and meaning - something that many people experience regardless of their faith or lack of it. As a result I found the book informative as I learnt about the issues between Islam vs. Wahabism that I knew little about but it was also useful to compare and contrast his experiences and struggles with faith with my own, even though as a CofE person I am somewhat removed from his direct experiences. Would commend this to everyone as a valuable view into contempory issues as well as spiritual journey's

Inspirational, 17 Oct 2008
I could not put this book down. In my entire life and professional career, and in dealing with refugees from the countries where she grew up, I have never seen such evidence of courage, fortitude and perseverance as this young lady has demonstrated in the face of unspeakable atrocities. She is an example to us all. When all around her were prepared blindly to accept religious dogma, as it was taught to us, she used her intellect and remained true to that intellect. To my mind, she is probably the most remarkable woman ever. She appears kind and caring of all of her fellow humans. Although not on the cover of this book, there are photos of her on the web which show that she has a very beautiful smile to complement her intellect. In my opinion this book should be compulsory reading for all teenagers before they leave school. Very well done Ayaan.

Riveting autobiography & illuminating history, 20 Jun 2008
It's rare to find autobiography as absorbing as this. Not only because of the author's unusual path from the desert of Somalia to the USA via the Netherlands, but also on account of the absorbing writing style. Clear and descriptive, the narrative of her eventful life had a profound impact on this reader. Born and raised in Somalia, Ayaan spent part of her youth in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, recounting what it was like to live there through the eyes of a child.

She gives a lively account of the history of Somalia under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, explaining the clan system and comparing the relaxed Muslim practice in that country with the rigidy of Saudi Arabia and the hypocrisy and racism that go along with it. The short experience of Ethiopia and later the long stay in Kenya, both predominantly Christian countries, were different again and she really captivates with her descriptions of places and people. One of her most salient memories is the obsessive Antisemitism in Saudi Arabia. Where her family lived in the city of Riyadh, Jews were blamed for everything.

A sub-theme of the book is the increased radicalization of Muslims, partly because of the failures and the suffering brought about by Barre and the chaos of the civil war that unseated him. She noted this radicalization taking place amongst Somalis and others in Kenya where she spent most of her adolescence. This radical strain was brought to Africa by Arabs and Iranians, both Sunni and Shia, also reflecting the failure of secular ideologies and bad government in the dictatorships of the Muslim world.

There are sympathetic but honest portrayals of her family and friends: her mother who showed healthy signs of independence early in life but eventually lost hope and became embittered, her loving and tolerant but mostly absent father, her brother who stayed in Kenya and her sister who, when she couldn't cope in Holland, died tragically after returning to Kenya.

Far from stirring up feelings against Islam, this book makes one contemplate with empathy the location of each individual's birth, how little free choice there really is in a closed society, the powerful hold of your community's history and culture, the difficulty of resisting brainwashing and how grateful people in free societies ought to be for the blessings that a lot of us take for granted.

Infidel is also about a second journey: A journey of the mind from the strictures of stifling, oppressive faith to the liberation of enlightenment and the embrace of Western values like individual freedom, freedom of speech and the rule of law. The fact that the individual mattered and had a right to life, to choice and freedom, was a joyful discovery.

This theme interweaves with the history she so deftly chronicles: the collapse of Somalia, the slow decline in Kenya, Dutch politics in the face of dysfunctional multiculturalism that however well intended, harms individuals in the immigrant communities and society as a whole. More information of these developments in The Netherlands and Europe as a whole is available in While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer and Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski.

It is humbling to read of the author's wonderment and appreciation when she discovered Dutch society where even the police were friendly and helpful and where everything worked. Ayaan clearly loves The Netherlands; her words radiate with gratitude and appreciation of the culture and society. I especially enjoyed the account of her studies at the University of Leiden where she studied the great Western philosophers.

Sometimes harrowing, the story of Infidel includes innocent childhood memories, mutilation, war, deprivation, tragedy, adventure, drastic adaptation and inspiring achievements. It is clear that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an unusually courageous, empathic and resourceful individual. There are 11 black & white plates of family and other people who played a part in her life. As far as the religious aspect is concerned, I recommend the following informative books by two equally courageous women: Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish.


Infidel, 07 Jun 2008
This is a vivid, highly readable and fascinating memoir. It is a true page turner that jumps straight into the narrative and leads you along at pace, unlike any autobiography I have read in years. Her story and her intellectual transformation are an important perspective in our highly charged religious climate. This a fabulous piece of writing. Read this book.

She admited to be a liar!, 30 Apr 2008
This book has very little truth in it and her claims of being oppressed in her homeland was proven to be a fabrication she made up to immigrate to the Netherlands where she later was thrown out of! Now she's trying to make some money by publishing the same lie again! I mean seriously, how gullible do you have to be to fall into the exact same nonsense twice?

An extraordinary and inspiring life, 24 Mar 2008
Ms Ali achieves several things with this book:

She opens up the world of islamic culture, thought and behaviour.

She describes what it was like for a girl to grow up in that culture, and how different it was for her brother

She recounts an extraodinary escape story - for her physically and intellectually

She provides an inspiring tale of personal courage.

In the last year or two, this is the book I am most pleased to have read.

Best Ever, 09 Sep 2006
Brilliant. T E Lawrence poured his soul into this magnificently crafted autobiography. It takes you from his arrival in Cairo as an upstart academic, through his dramatic evolution into a desert soldier/strategist and leader of the Arab revolt against the Turks, to his ultimate failure to win justice for the people he'd grown to be part of. Lawrence was a gifted writer as well as an extraordinary soldier and I was fascinated by the insights that run through it: into his political naivety, his ambivalent loyalties, and the hints of concern (almost certainly ill-founded) about his own mental state. The combination of high politics and personal danger, played out in the dramatic and mysterious Arab world as it meets the West is quite magnificent.

The writing style is nineteenth century and the language and prose may be unfamiliar to many but this is the most rewarding book I have read. It's the one I unhesitatingly offer as the best ever.



Mellifluous but Dense, 01 Apr 2005
Jim Norton's mellifluous voice is pleasant to listen to but does little to improve the clarity of Lawrence's already dense writing for the listener. Where the reader has the chance to go back to try to clarify a contorted Lawrence sentence, the listener really has no such opportunity and the result is hard work in concentrating on the flow of the text so as not to miss the purpose of the sentence.

Lawrence thought of himself as a new Shakespeare - but unfortunately did not have Shakespeare's intuitive feeling for language so the slightly quirky cadences adopted by Norton coupled with rather brutal editing make this a reading that has to be listened to with concentration. Not recommended for in-car listening -- or even listening while doing the ironing!

A book for bedtime....., 13 Oct 2004
Are you a philosopher? - Read no further, you might enjoy this book, if you can stay awake long enough - for the rest of us, this book, unlike its author, is just not interesting - it's too long-winded.
Definitely NOT a book to read in the 21st Century, it's just NOT of our time - the title is the most interesting thing about it.
It's about as interesting as that dull little tome by Ann Robinson.....zzzzzzzzzzz ......time for bed...

Seven Pillars of Wisdom - A stunning read, 05 Aug 2004
Whilst travelling through Wadi Rum in Jordan a few years ago i was haunted in my mind by images of the enigmatic character that was Lawrence of Arabia; part legend, part myth, part wrong person in the wrong place at the right time.

To read this book is to know the man, the journeys, the politics, the battles. Although he himself admitted to his own ambiguity and uselessness as a British Pawn in the middle east, this book goes some way to dispel the Myth.

A must for anyone who is interested in the middle east, british / arab politics and a very colourful man

Lawrence of Arabia from his own point of view, 05 Jan 2004
Having been a geat fan of the David Lean film ever since my father took me as a 7 year old boy to see it when it was first released, I had intended to read Lawrence's own account of the events covered by the film for a long time. The book itself is a mixture of autobiographical recounting of the events covered by the film and a travelogue interspersed with almost essay type observations by Lawrence on a wide variety of subjects including the plight of the Arabs, their culture, his own motivation and the wartime life of soldiers in general. Most of the book is descriptive with very little in the way of dialogue and it can at times become very difficult to persevere with, particularly during the author's sometimes extreme moments of navel-gazing. However, the persistent reader is taken on a unique journey with Lawrence through his adventures, middle eastern culture and the spectacular desert scenery of the area. When the time came to part I was rather sorry that the journey was over as Lawrence is, if nothing else, an extremely knowledgeable guide. Taken as an adjunct to the film (which takes a certain amount of artistic licence with the facts) the book deepens one's understanding of its political, geographical and personal context and provides a unique insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the man himself.

As good as they say, 12 Aug 2008
Currently very hyped but deservedly so. Wonderfully personal, often in touching and tragic ways. A comic without caricatures, Persepolis is, without hyperbole, a modern classic. Politically astute and subtle, noone emerges clean from the various machinations that have besieged Iran in the last decades, which is not to say that Satrapi refuses allegiances. On the contrary, the themes of political discovery and commitment that form a major subtheme only reinforce the Marxist-flavoured analyses of her father, and her implicit seconding of them. The eventual political tone is robustly anti-authoritarian - more like the Bakunin recommended to a young Sartrapi by a poser punk that she may like to think. Technically, the economies of line and shade are accomplished, as is the use of dialogue and gesture. Very much recommended. It may even be better than Maus.

Wonderful story and instructive over recent history of Iran seen through a child's eyes, 29 Jul 2008
This is a wonderful story through pictures of Marjane's childhood. It shows Iran during the revolution and after through Marjane's eyes. I expect if you are Iranian then a lot of this recent history is known to you and perhaps Marjane's individual story may not accord with yours as one reviewer suggests), however for many of us outside of Iranian society it gives a glimpse in to the life, dreams, hopes and struggles of the people of Iran, over the last 50 years.

There is a great deal of hope in the book and Marjane doesn't shy away from the difficulties, she and her family had - but she expresses the ideas of hope and the feelings of loss and disappointment from a singularly fascinating point of view. It also makes me think, I could have done with such a formidable and gentle grandmother around, when I was growing up!

The drawings are characterful and expressive. I believe the book translates to film well and if you've only seen the film, I would recommend going back to the book as a way of absorbing the story at a slower pace.
Highly recommended.


A Joy A Total Joy , 15 Jul 2008
The Complete PersepolisThis is the first graphic novel I have ever read and I have to say I totally loved it. It is a wonderful account of an acient civilization and an itelligent people who had to life though pointless wars, religous nuts who I would consider to be hypocritices. The comic strip adds so much and is very humourous at times. You can not help but like the author, her parents or her grandmother. You also can not help feeling the intelligence of these people and the sadness sorounding their country. The author's journey into Europe is both sad and enlightening. This book is not one you can afford to miss.

wait its bilingual -english and french versions -both great, 01 May 2008
marjane ,music ,men and marijuana
the privileged child of a pro communist teheran family tells her somewhat hedonistic and always veracious adventures in the backdrop of a war and revolution,the travesty becomes reality as she proceeds to her personal predicament ,a girl's transition to a woman in the context of preserving her bosom with jasmine flowers is both poetic and filled with pathos as she is destroyed almost by, a perfunctory western culture of drug and hard metal,her contempt of religious authority is only equalled by the patronising condescension of her western peers with their pseudo intellectual gibberish and selfishness,

yet she gives a horrific account of the terrible war wrought upon a newly freed iran by the american ally saddam ,the bilateral arming of the 2 oil rich nations by west,resulting in an unforgivable massacre is described appropriately .

the political comment even goes to claim the revolution could have donned another mantle if a weak iran had not been targeted by iraq at america's behest.

the coming of age in a french viennese school is a satire on the artifice and hypocrisy of the western claims to civilization ,the racial patronising as an iranian and her sexual coming of age with european men who use her as a portal to discover their homosexuality and later to buy cannabis is dark humour but pathetically predatory .

she wins ultimately as she discovers her intuitive strength as a woman who needs a man not for security but intellectual consumption ,her sojourn to paris after her obligatory marriage in iran is a liberation not from a regime ,which are all the same in their hierarchy and machiavellian political antics,but self-discovery.

she finds liberty with her wise granny who teaches that the only ugliness in the world is a lie and it is refreshing to see her critique of the hypocrisy of the attires assigned to male and women students in tehran university.

the movie is a poetic blend of verisimilitude and monochrome images juxtaposed with colour occassionally and always spellbinding to watch .

it spares no one -the bearded iranian revolutionaries ,the hypocrisy of catholic nuns -the predatory sex drug culture of the west or the political games of the superpowers which treat people as fodder for missiles .

but its inherent strength for me lies in a honest account of a disillusioned,spirited woman who becomes content when she is true to herself, not listening to bootlegged iron maiden and guzzling home-made wine.

her pride in being iranian is the key to understanding a personal account which is neither a mockery of mullahs nor a celebration of female emancipation ,but rather a search for your own truth .

marjane means a precious gem in farsi and persepolis was the ancient persian capital torched to ashes by alexander -the metaphor for the bombing of modern iran by western bombs is complete -time comes full circle.
the movie might be black and white but the content is so rich and diverse it needs no color ,an ingenious invention for a tired medium.

i will recommend multiple viewings for this dvd in french and english both as catherine deneuve and chiara have dubbed the brilliant black and white visuals .
love to see the making of as well -and marjanes tehran home will be a great story in a special edition.

usman khawaja



it is an amazing autobiography...., 20 Mar 2008
the book depict many aspects of social history of Iran since 30-40 years ago, however, many issues explained in the book, despite they are right, can not be generalised for whole people...and I think the readers might understand that the book is actually an autobiography...a very impressive one of course...I found it amazing ....

Husain-Dog, yo spack mo speech, 08 Nov 2008
Husain-Dog, yo spack it nice, like tha cream-king yo are. International relations, innit. Yo put it down real fine. Word atter word, it maks good sense what yo linguistify. Know fo' sure, yo message taken to heart Husain-Dog.

Ex Shia, 17 Oct 2008
As an ex Shia I enjoyed many of the arguments that Ed presented in his book and it helped in my journey back towards more orthodox beliefs, namely, those of Ahl Sunnah.

I just regret the years of moving around groups and ideologies and hope that writings like this could have been available sooner.

With Salams

Pertinent exposé written for the culturally aware, 11 Oct 2008
Eye-opening, honest and intense. I read 'The Islamist' back when it was first released, curious yet naive to the true picture of radical Islam in the West. As with any religion, there are followers who have their faith exploited and distorted. 'The Islamist' is a fascinating account of one man's membership to an extreme organisation, as he fell victim to a way of life that terrifies those on the outside.

Although I read this memoir to fuel my interest in current affairs, the main reason I picked it up is because I wanted to grasp the underlying differences between the beliefs of traditional muslims and those of Islamic extremists. It truely opened my eyes to a culture that I had only been exposed to through the media. Reading books on the subject written in third person are great for gaining an overall, more academic understanding, but Ed Hussain here offers a much greater insight into how and why these groups behave.

Terrorism is a subject on everyone's lips, which is why Hussain's story is so important. Personally however, I believe everone should read this book to eliminate the prejudice that is experienced by so many British Muslims. It is a terrible shame that in the 21st century, it is wrongly assumed by many that those who believe in the same God and dress the same follow the same way of life.

A very good book brought to you by someone who was there., 27 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book, which I found easy to read and gripping. A dynamic and organic view of muslim life for a young man growing up in London, written by a muslim whos belief structure changes as his exposure to the radical and fundmentlist elements increases. A balanced book, that I found interesting and informative and leaves the reader with a thirst for more knowledge. Im really pleased I got this book, buy it....

Clear, contempory, chilling and compulsive, 09 Sep 2008
Great book. A timely counterpoint and contribution to the whole Islam vs. everyone else debate that characterises much / all of the media coverage of this. However, I found the book to be a fascinating and compelling account of one man's search for religious definition and meaning - something that many people experience regardless of their faith or lack of it. As a result I found the book informative as I learnt about the issues between Islam vs. Wahabism that I knew little about but it was also useful to compare and contrast his experiences and struggles with faith with my own, even though as a CofE person I am somewhat removed from his direct experiences. Would commend this to everyone as a valuable view into contempory issues as well as spiritual journey's

Inspirational, 17 Oct 2008
I could not put this book down. In my entire life and professional career, and in dealing with refugees from the countries where she grew up, I have never seen such evidence of courage, fortitude and perseverance as this young lady has demonstrated in the face of unspeakable atrocities. She is an example to us all. When all around her were prepared blindly to accept religious dogma, as it was taught to us, she used her intellect and remained true to that intellect. To my mind, she is probably the most remarkable woman ever. She appears kind and caring of all of her fellow humans. Although not on the cover of this book, there are photos of her on the web which show that she has a very beautiful smile to complement her intellect. In my opinion this book should be compulsory reading for all teenagers before they leave school. Very well done Ayaan.

Riveting autobiography & illuminating history, 20 Jun 2008
It's rare to find autobiography as absorbing as this. Not only because of the author's unusual path from the desert of Somalia to the USA via the Netherlands, but also on account of the absorbing writing style. Clear and descriptive, the narrative of her eventful life had a profound impact on this reader. Born and raised in Somalia, Ayaan spent part of her youth in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, recounting what it was like to live there through the eyes of a child.

She gives a lively account of the history of Somalia under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, explaining the clan system and comparing the relaxed Muslim practice in that country with the rigidy of Saudi Arabia and the hypocrisy and racism that go along with it. The short experience of Ethiopia and later the long stay in Kenya, both predominantly Christian countries, were different again and she really captivates with her descriptions of places and people. One of her most salient memories is the obsessive Antisemitism in Saudi Arabia. Where her family lived in the city of Riyadh, Jews were blamed for everything.

A sub-theme of the book is the increased radicalization of Muslims, partly because of the failures and the suffering brought about by Barre and the chaos of the civil war that unseated him. She noted this radicalization taking place amongst Somalis and others in Kenya where she spent most of her adolescence. This radical strain was brought to Africa by Arabs and Iranians, both Sunni and Shia, also reflecting the failure of secular ideologies and bad government in the dictatorships of the Muslim world.

There are sympathetic but honest portrayals of her family and friends: her mother who showed healthy signs of independence early in life but eventually lost hope and became embittered, her loving and tolerant but mostly absent father, her brother who stayed in Kenya and her sister who, when she couldn't cope in Holland, died tragically after returning to Kenya.

Far from stirring up feelings against Islam, this book makes one contemplate with empathy the location of each individual's birth, how little free choice there really is in a closed society, the powerful hold of your community's history and culture, the difficulty of resisting brainwashing and how grateful people in free societies ought to be for the blessings that a lot of us take for granted.

Infidel is also about a second journey: A journey of the mind from the strictures of stifling, oppressive faith to the liberation of enlightenment and the embrace of Western values like individual freedom, freedom of speech and the rule of law. The fact that the individual mattered and had a right to life, to choice and freedom, was a joyful discovery.

This theme interweaves with the history she so deftly chronicles: the collapse of Somalia, the slow decline in Kenya, Dutch politics in the face of dysfunctional multiculturalism that however well intended, harms individuals in the immigrant communities and society as a whole. More information of these developments in The Netherlands and Europe as a whole is available in While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer and Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski.

It is humbling to read of the author's wonderment and appreciation when she discovered Dutch society where even the police were friendly and helpful and where everything worked. Ayaan clearly loves The Netherlands; her words radiate with gratitude and appreciation of the culture and society. I especially enjoyed the account of her studies at the University of Leiden where she studied the great Western philosophers.

Sometimes harrowing, the story of Infidel includes innocent childhood memories, mutilation, war, deprivation, tragedy, adventure, drastic adaptation and inspiring achievements. It is clear that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an unusually courageous, empathic and resourceful individual. There are 11 black & white plates of family and other people who played a part in her life. As far as the religious aspect is concerned, I recommend the following informative books by two equally courageous women: Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish.


Infidel, 07 Jun 2008
This is a vivid, highly readable and fascinating memoir. It is a true page turner that jumps straight into the narrative and leads you along at pace, unlike any autobiography I have read in years. Her story and her intellectual transformation are an important perspective in our highly charged religious climate. This a fabulous piece of writing. Read this book.

She admited to be a liar!, 30 Apr 2008
This book has very little truth in it and her claims of being oppressed in her homeland was proven to be a fabrication she made up to immigrate to the Netherlands where she later was thrown out of! Now she's trying to make some money by publishing the same lie again! I mean seriously, how gullible do you have to be to fall into the exact same nonsense twice?

An extraordinary and inspiring life, 24 Mar 2008
Ms Ali achieves several things with this book:

She opens up the world of islamic culture, thought and behaviour.

She describes what it was like for a girl to grow up in that culture, and how different it was for her brother

She recounts an extraodinary escape story - for her physically and intellectually

She provides an inspiring tale of personal courage.

In the last year or two, this is the book I am most pleased to have read.

Best Ever, 09 Sep 2006
Brilliant. T E Lawrence poured his soul into this magnificently crafted autobiography. It takes you from his arrival in Cairo as an upstart academic, through his dramatic evolution into a desert soldier/strategist and leader of the Arab revolt against the Turks, to his ultimate failure to win justice for the people he'd grown to be part of. Lawrence was a gifted writer as well as an extraordinary soldier and I was fascinated by the insights that run through it: into his political naivety, his ambivalent loyalties, and the hints of concern (almost certainly ill-founded) about his own mental state. The combination of high politics and personal danger, played out in the dramatic and mysterious Arab world as it meets the West is quite magnificent.

The writing style is nineteenth century and the language and prose may be unfamiliar to many but this is the most rewarding book I have read. It's the one I unhesitatingly offer as the best ever.



Mellifluous but Dense, 01 Apr 2005
Jim Norton's mellifluous voice is pleasant to listen to but does little to improve the clarity of Lawrence's already dense writing for the listener. Where the reader has the chance to go back to try to clarify a contorted Lawrence sentence, the listener really has no such opportunity and the result is hard work in concentrating on the flow of the text so as not to miss the purpose of the sentence.

Lawrence thought of himself as a new Shakespeare - but unfortunately did not have Shakespeare's intuitive feeling for language so the slightly quirky cadences adopted by Norton coupled with rather brutal editing make this a reading that has to be listened to with concentration. Not recommended for in-car listening -- or even listening while doing the ironing!

A book for bedtime....., 13 Oct 2004
Are you a philosopher? - Read no further, you might enjoy this book, if you can stay awake long enough - for the rest of us, this book, unlike its author, is just not interesting - it's too long-winded.
Definitely NOT a book to read in the 21st Century, it's just NOT of our time - the title is the most interesting thing about it.
It's about as interesting as that dull little tome by Ann Robinson.....zzzzzzzzzzz ......time for bed...

Seven Pillars of Wisdom - A stunning read, 05 Aug 2004
Whilst travelling through Wadi Rum in Jordan a few years ago i was haunted in my mind by images of the enigmatic character that was Lawrence of Arabia; part legend, part myth, part wrong person in the wrong place at the right time.

To read this book is to know the man, the journeys, the politics, the battles. Although he himself admitted to his own ambiguity and uselessness as a British Pawn in the middle east, this book goes some way to dispel the Myth.

A must for anyone who is interested in the middle east, british / arab politics and a very colourful man

Lawrence of Arabia from his own point of view, 05 Jan 2004
Having been a geat fan of the David Lean film ever since my father took me as a 7 year old boy to see it when it was first released, I had intended to read Lawrence's own account of the events covered by the film for a long time. The book itself is a mixture of autobiographical recounting of the events covered by the film and a travelogue interspersed with almost essay type observations by Lawrence on a wide variety of subjects including the plight of the Arabs, their culture, his own motivation and the wartime life of soldiers in general. Most of the book is descriptive with very little in the way of dialogue and it can at times become very difficult to persevere with, particularly during the author's sometimes extreme moments of navel-gazing. However, the persistent reader is taken on a unique journey with Lawrence through his adventures, middle eastern culture and the spectacular desert scenery of the area. When the time came to part I was rather sorry that the journey was over as Lawrence is, if nothing else, an extremely knowledgeable guide. Taken as an adjunct to the film (which takes a certain amount of artistic licence with the facts) the book deepens one's understanding of its political, geographical and personal context and provides a unique insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the man himself.

As good as they say, 12 Aug 2008
Currently very hyped but deservedly so. Wonderfully personal, often in touching and tragic ways. A comic without caricatures, Persepolis is, without hyperbole, a modern classic. Politically astute and subtle, noone emerges clean from the various machinations that have besieged Iran in the last decades, which is not to say that Satrapi refuses allegiances. On the contrary, the themes of political discovery and commitment that form a major subtheme only reinforce the Marxist-flavoured analyses of her father, and her implicit seconding of them. The eventual political tone is robustly anti-authoritarian - more like the Bakunin recommended to a young Sartrapi by a poser punk that she may like to think. Technically, the economies of line and shade are accomplished, as is the use of dialogue and gesture. Very much recommended. It may even be better than Maus.

Wonderful story and instructive over recent history of Iran seen through a child's eyes, 29 Jul 2008
This is a wonderful story through pictures of Marjane's childhood. It shows Iran during the revolution and after through Marjane's eyes. I expect if you are Iranian then a lot of this recent history is known to you and perhaps Marjane's individual story may not accord with yours as one reviewer suggests), however for many of us outside of Iranian society it gives a glimpse in to the life, dreams, hopes and struggles of the people of Iran, over the last 50 years.

There is a great deal of hope in the book and Marjane doesn't shy away from the difficulties, she and her family had - but she expresses the ideas of hope and the feelings of loss and disappointment from a singularly fascinating point of view. It also makes me think, I could have done with such a formidable and gentle grandmother around, when I was growing up!

The drawings are characterful and expressive. I believe the book translates to film well and if you've only seen the film, I would recommend going back to the book as a way of absorbing the story at a slower pace.
Highly recommended.


A Joy A Total Joy , 15 Jul 2008
The Complete PersepolisThis is the first graphic novel I have ever read and I have to say I totally loved it. It is a wonderful account of an acient civilization and an itelligent people who had to life though pointless wars, religous nuts who I would consider to be hypocritices. The comic strip adds so much and is very humourous at times. You can not help but like the author, her parents or her grandmother. You also can not help feeling the intelligence of these people and the sadness sorounding their country. The author's journey into Europe is both sad and enlightening. This book is not one you can afford to miss.

wait its bilingual -english and french versions -both great, 01 May 2008
marjane ,music ,men and marijuana
the privileged child of a pro communist teheran family tells her somewhat hedonistic and always veracious adventures in the backdrop of a war and revolution,the travesty becomes reality as she proceeds to her personal predicament ,a girl's transition to a woman in the context of preserving her bosom with jasmine flowers is both poetic and filled with pathos as she is destroyed almost by, a perfunctory western culture of drug and hard metal,her contempt of religious authority is only equalled by the patronising condescension of her western peers with their pseudo intellectual gibberish and selfishness,

yet she gives a horrific account of the terrible war wrought upon a newly freed iran by the american ally saddam ,the bilateral arming of the 2 oil rich nations by west,resulting in an unforgivable massacre is described appropriately .

the political comment even goes to claim the revolution could have donned another mantle if a weak iran had not been targeted by iraq at america's behest.

the coming of age in a french viennese school is a satire on the artifice and hypocrisy of the western claims to civilization ,the racial patronising as an iranian and her sexual coming of age with european men who use her as a portal to discover their homosexuality and later to buy cannabis is dark humour but pathetically predatory .

she wins ultimately as she discovers her intuitive strength as a woman who needs a man not for security but intellectual consumption ,her sojourn to paris after her obligatory marriage in iran is a liberation not from a regime ,which are all the same in their hierarchy and machiavellian political antics,but self-discovery.

she finds liberty with her wise granny who teaches that the only ugliness in the world is a lie and it is refreshing to see her critique of the hypocrisy of the attires assigned to male and women students in tehran university.

the movie is a poetic blend of verisimilitude and monochrome images juxtaposed with colour occassionally and always spellbinding to watch .

it spares no one -the bearded iranian revolutionaries ,the hypocrisy of catholic nuns -the predatory sex drug culture of the west or the political games of the superpowers which treat people as fodder for missiles .

but its inherent strength for me lies in a honest account of a disillusioned,spirited woman who becomes content when she is true to herself, not listening to bootlegged iron maiden and guzzling home-made wine.

her pride in being iranian is the key to understanding a personal account which is neither a mockery of mullahs nor a celebration of female emancipation ,but rather a search for your own truth .

marjane means a precious gem in farsi and persepolis was the ancient persian capital torched to ashes by alexander -the metaphor for the bombing of modern iran by western bombs is complete -time comes full circle.
the movie might be black and white but the content is so rich and diverse it needs no color ,an ingenious invention for a tired medium.

i will recommend multiple viewings for this dvd in french and english both as catherine deneuve and chiara have dubbed the brilliant black and white visuals .
love to see the making of as well -and marjanes tehran home will be a great story in a special edition.

usman khawaja



it is an amazing autobiography...., 20 Mar 2008
the book depict many aspects of social history of Iran since 30-40 years ago, however, many issues explained in the book, despite they are right, can not be generalised for whole people...and I think the readers might understand that the book is actually an autobiography...a very impressive one of course...I found it amazing ....


One of the best books, 26 Aug 2007
the thing that made me pick this book is that to exploer how a young women fron Newzleand leaves everything behind her and lives in a cave in the Jordinian desert. this book is really intresting it gives great details in how the bedioun lives. i highly recommend the book to anyone who is intrested in the middle east and how any one can do anything for the sake of love.

A wonderful love story, 27 Jun 2007
A very interesting book which not only describes the live of Marguerite and her husband but also the way the Bedouin think, celebrate and their general customs which I found very interesting.
It seem to be the love story I have longed to read but never found what an unusual couple which seemed to be soul mates in a harsh climate.


I loved this book, 26 Mar 2007
I have just visited Petra and met some of the delightful people of the bedouin tribe and our guide recommended this book. It is a thrilling, romantic tale set amongst the stunning scenery of Petra. The story is all the more remarkable because it is a true tale. Marguerite gives a fascinating insight into day to day life of the bedouin and vividly describes the remarkable surroundings. I finished the book a few days ago and was so enraptured by Marguerite that I am still wondering what happened next. Please write an up to date epilogue!

Husain-Dog, yo spack mo speech, 08 Nov 2008
Husain-Dog, yo spack it nice, like tha cream-king yo are. International relations, innit. Yo put it down real fine. Word atter word, it maks good sense what yo linguistify. Know fo' sure, yo message taken to heart Husain-Dog.

Ex Shia, 17 Oct 2008
As an ex Shia I enjoyed many of the arguments that Ed presented in his book and it helped in my journey back towards more orthodox beliefs, namely, those of Ahl Sunnah.

I just regret the years of moving around groups and ideologies and hope that writings like this could have been available sooner.

With Salams

Pertinent exposé written for the culturally aware, 11 Oct 2008
Eye-opening, honest and intense. I read 'The Islamist' back when it was first released, curious yet naive to the true picture of radical Islam in the West. As with any religion, there are followers who have their faith exploited and distorted. 'The Islamist' is a fascinating account of one man's membership to an extreme organisation, as he fell victim to a way of life that terrifies those on the outside.

Although I read this memoir to fuel my interest in current affairs, the main reason I picked it up is because I wanted to grasp the underlying differences between the beliefs of traditional muslims and those of Islamic extremists. It truely opened my eyes to a culture that I had only been exposed to through the media. Reading books on the subject written in third person are great for gaining an overall, more academic understanding, but Ed Hussain here offers a much greater insight into how and why these groups behave.

Terrorism is a subject on everyone's lips, which is why Hussain's story is so important. Personally however, I believe everone should read this book to eliminate the prejudice that is experienced by so many British Muslims. It is a terrible shame that in the 21st century, it is wrongly assumed by many that those who believe in the same God and dress the same follow the same way of life.

A very good book brought to you by someone who was there., 27 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book, which I found easy to read and gripping. A dynamic and organic view of muslim life for a young man growing up in London, written by a muslim whos belief structure changes as his exposure to the radical and fundmentlist elements increases. A balanced book, that I found interesting and informative and leaves the reader with a thirst for more knowledge. Im really pleased I got this book, buy it....

Clear, contempory, chilling and compulsive, 09 Sep 2008
Great book. A timely counterpoint and contribution to the whole Islam vs. everyone else debate that characterises much / all of the media coverage of this. However, I found the book to be a fascinating and compelling account of one man's search for religious definition and meaning - something that many people experience regardless of their faith or lack of it. As a result I found the book informative as I learnt about the issues between Islam vs. Wahabism that I knew little about but it was also useful to compare and contrast his experiences and struggles with faith with my own, even though as a CofE person I am somewhat removed from his direct experiences. Would commend this to everyone as a valuable view into contempory issues as well as spiritual journey's

Inspirational, 17 Oct 2008
I could not put this book down. In my entire life and professional career, and in dealing with refugees from the countries where she grew up, I have never seen such evidence of courage, fortitude and perseverance as this young lady has demonstrated in the face of unspeakable atrocities. She is an example to us all. When all around her were prepared blindly to accept religious dogma, as it was taught to us, she used her intellect and remained true to that intellect. To my mind, she is probably the most remarkable woman ever. She appears kind and caring of all of her fellow humans. Although not on the cover of this book, there are photos of her on the web which show that she has a very beautiful smile to complement her intellect. In my opinion this book should be compulsory reading for all teenagers before they leave school. Very well done Ayaan.

Riveting autobiography & illuminating history, 20 Jun 2008
It's rare to find autobiography as absorbing as this. Not only because of the author's unusual path from the desert of Somalia to the USA via the Netherlands, but also on account of the absorbing writing style. Clear and descriptive, the narrative of her eventful life had a profound impact on this reader. Born and raised in Somalia, Ayaan spent part of her youth in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, recounting what it was like to live there through the eyes of a child.

She gives a lively account of the history of Somalia under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, explaining the clan system and comparing the relaxed Muslim practice in that country with the rigidy of Saudi Arabia and the hypocrisy and racism that go along with it. The short experience of Ethiopia and later the long stay in Kenya, both predominantly Christian countries, were different again and she really captivates with her descriptions of places and people. One of her most salient memories is the obsessive Antisemitism in Saudi Arabia. Where her family lived in the city of Riyadh, Jews were blamed for everything.

A sub-theme of the book is the increased radicalization of Muslims, partly because of the failures and the suffering brought about by Barre and the chaos of the civil war that unseated him. She noted this radicalization taking place amongst Somalis and others in Kenya where she spent most of her adolescence. This radical strain was brought to Africa by Arabs and Iranians, both Sunni and Shia, also reflecting the failure of secular ideologies and bad government in the dictatorships of the Muslim world.

There are sympathetic but honest portrayals of her family and friends: her mother who showed healthy signs of independence early in life but eventually lost hope and became embittered, her loving and tolerant but mostly absent father, her brother who stayed in Kenya and her sister who, when she couldn't cope in Holland, died tragically after returning to Kenya.

Far from stirring up feelings against Islam, this book makes one contemplate with empathy the location of each individual's birth, how little free choice there really is in a closed society, the powerful hold of your community's history and culture, the difficulty of resisting brainwashing and how grateful people in free societies ought to be for the blessings that a lot of us take for granted.

Infidel is also about a second journey: A journey of the mind from the strictures of stifling, oppressive faith to the liberation of enlightenment and the embrace of Western values like individual freedom, freedom of speech and the rule of law. The fact that the individual mattered and had a right to life, to choice and freedom, was a joyful discovery.

This theme interweaves with the history she so deftly chronicles: the collapse of Somalia, the slow decline in Kenya, Dutch politics in the face of dysfunctional multiculturalism that however well intended, harms individuals in the immigrant communities and society as a whole. More information of these developments in The Netherlands and Europe as a whole is available in While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer and Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski.

It is humbling to read of the author's wonderment and appreciation when she discovered Dutch society where even the police were friendly and helpful and where everything worked. Ayaan clearly loves The Netherlands; her words radiate with gratitude and appreciation of the culture and society. I especially enjoyed the account of her studies at the University of Leiden where she studied the great Western philosophers.

Sometimes harrowing, the story of Infidel includes innocent childhood memories, mutilation, war, deprivation, tragedy, adventure, drastic adaptation and inspiring achievements. It is clear that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an unusually courageous, empathic and resourceful individual. There are 11 black & white plates of family and other people who played a part in her life. As far as the religious aspect is concerned, I recommend the following informative books by two equally courageous women: Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish.


Infidel, 07 Jun 2008
This is a vivid, highly readable and fascinating memoir. It is a true page turner that jumps straight into the narrative and leads you along at pace, unlike any autobiography I have read in years. Her story and her intellectual transformation are an important perspective in our highly charged religious climate. This a fabulous piece of writing. Read this book.

She admited to be a liar!, 30 Apr 2008
This book has very little truth in it and her claims of being oppressed in her homeland was proven to be a fabrication she made up to immigrate to the Netherlands where she later was thrown out of! Now she's trying to make some money by publishing the same lie again! I mean seriously, how gullible do you have to be to fall into the exact same nonsense twice?

An extraordinary and inspiring life, 24 Mar 2008
Ms Ali achieves several things with this book:

She opens up the world of islamic culture, thought and behaviour.

She describes what it was like for a girl to grow up in that culture, and how different it was for her brother

She recounts an extraodinary escape story - for her physically and intellectually

She provides an inspiring tale of personal courage.

In the last year or two, this is the book I am most pleased to have read.

Best Ever, 09 Sep 2006
Brilliant. T E Lawrence poured his soul into this magnificently crafted autobiography. It takes you from his arrival in Cairo as an upstart academic, through his dramatic evolution into a desert soldier/strategist and leader of the Arab revolt against the Turks, to his ultimate failure to win justice for the people he'd grown to be part of. Lawrence was a gifted writer as well as an extraordinary soldier and I was fascinated by the insights that run through it: into his political naivety, his ambivalent loyalties, and the hints of concern (almost certainly ill-founded) about his own mental state. The combination of high politics and personal danger, played out in the dramatic and mysterious Arab world as it meets the West is quite magnificent.

The writing style is nineteenth century and the language and prose may be unfamiliar to many but this is the most rewarding book I have read. It's the one I unhesitatingly offer as the best ever.



Mellifluous but Dense, 01 Apr 2005
Jim Norton's mellifluous voice is pleasant to listen to but does little to improve the clarity of Lawrence's already dense writing for the listener. Where the reader has the chance to go back to try to clarify a contorted Lawrence sentence, the listener really has no such opportunity and the result is hard work in concentrating on the flow of the text so as not to miss the purpose of the sentence.

Lawrence thought of himself as a new Shakespeare - but unfortunately did not have Shakespeare's intuitive feeling for language so the slightly quirky cadences adopted by Norton coupled with rather brutal editing make this a reading that has to be listened to with concentration. Not recommended for in-car listening -- or even listening while doing the ironing!

A book for bedtime....., 13 Oct 2004
Are you a philosopher? - Read no further, you might enjoy this book, if you can stay awake long enough - for the rest of us, this book, unlike its author, is just not interesting - it's too long-winded.
Definitely NOT a book to read in the 21st Century, it's just NOT of our time - the title is the most interesting thing about it.
It's about as interesting as that dull little tome by Ann Robinson.....zzzzzzzzzzz ......time for bed...

Seven Pillars of Wisdom - A stunning read, 05 Aug 2004
Whilst travelling through Wadi Rum in Jordan a few years ago i was haunted in my mind by images of the enigmatic character that was Lawrence of Arabia; part legend, part myth, part wrong person in the wrong place at the right time.

To read this book is to know the man, the journeys, the politics, the battles. Although he himself admitted to his own ambiguity and uselessness as a British Pawn in the middle east, this book goes some way to dispel the Myth.

A must for anyone who is interested in the middle east, british / arab politics and a very colourful man

Lawrence of Arabia from his own point of view, 05 Jan 2004
Having been a geat fan of the David Lean film ever since my father took me as a 7 year old boy to see it when it was first released, I had intended to read Lawrence's own account of the events covered by the film for a long time. The book itself is a mixture of autobiographical recounting of the events covered by the film and a travelogue interspersed with almost essay type observations by Lawrence on a wide variety of subjects including the plight of the Arabs, their culture, his own motivation and the wartime life of soldiers in general. Most of the book is descriptive with very little in the way of dialogue and it can at times become very difficult to persevere with, particularly during the author's sometimes extreme moments of navel-gazing. However, the persistent reader is taken on a unique journey with Lawrence through his adventures, middle eastern culture and the spectacular desert scenery of the area. When the time came to part I was rather sorry that the journey was over as Lawrence is, if nothing else, an extremely knowledgeable guide. Taken as an adjunct to the film (which takes a certain amount of artistic licence with the facts) the book deepens one's understanding of its political, geographical and personal context and provides a unique insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the man himself.

As good as they say, 12 Aug 2008
Currently very hyped but deservedly so. Wonderfully personal, often in touching and tragic ways. A comic without caricatures, Persepolis is, without hyperbole, a modern classic. Politically astute and subtle, noone emerges clean from the various machinations that have besieged Iran in the last decades, which is not to say that Satrapi refuses allegiances. On the contrary, the themes of political discovery and commitment that form a major subtheme only reinforce the Marxist-flavoured analyses of her father, and her implicit seconding of them. The eventual political tone is robustly anti-authoritarian - more like the Bakunin recommended to a young Sartrapi by a poser punk that she may like to think. Technically, the economies of line and shade are accomplished, as is the use of dialogue and gesture. Very much recommended. It may even be better than Maus.

Wonderful story and instructive over recent history of Iran seen through a child's eyes, 29 Jul 2008
This is a wonderful story through pictures of Marjane's childhood. It shows Iran during the revolution and after through Marjane's eyes. I expect if you are Iranian then a lot of this recent history is known to you and perhaps Marjane's individual story may not accord with yours as one reviewer suggests), however for many of us outside of Iranian society it gives a glimpse in to the life, dreams, hopes and struggles of the people of Iran, over the last 50 years.

There is a great deal of hope in the book and Marjane doesn't shy away from the difficulties, she and her family had - but she expresses the ideas of hope and the feelings of loss and disappointment from a singularly fascinating point of view. It also makes me think, I could have done with such a formidable and gentle grandmother around, when I was growing up!

The drawings are characterful and expressive. I believe the book translates to film well and if you've only seen the film, I would recommend going back to the book as a way of absorbing the story at a slower pace.
Highly recommended.


A Joy A Total Joy , 15 Jul 2008
The Complete PersepolisThis is the first graphic novel I have ever read and I have to say I totally loved it. It is a wonderful account of an acient civilization and an itelligent people who had to life though pointless wars, religous nuts who I would consider to be hypocritices. The comic strip adds so much and is very humourous at times. You can not help but like the author, her parents or her grandmother. You also can not help feeling the intelligence of these people and the sadness sorounding their country. The author's journey into Europe is both sad and enlightening. This book is not one you can afford to miss.

wait its bilingual -english and french versions -both great, 01 May 2008
marjane ,music ,men and marijuana
the privileged child of a pro communist teheran family tells her somewhat hedonistic and always veracious adventures in the backdrop of a war and revolution,the travesty becomes reality as she proceeds to her personal predicament ,a girl's transition to a woman in the context of preserving her bosom with jasmine flowers is both poetic and filled with pathos as she is destroyed almost by, a perfunctory western culture of drug and hard metal,her contempt of religious authority is only equalled by the patronising condescension of her western peers with their pseudo intellectual gibberish and selfishness,

yet she gives a horrific account of the terrible war wrought upon a newly freed iran by the american ally saddam ,the bilateral arming of the 2 oil rich nations by west,resulting in an unforgivable massacre is described appropriately .

the political comment even goes to claim the revolution could have donned another mantle if a weak iran had not been targeted by iraq at america's behest.

the coming of age in a french viennese school is a satire on the artifice and hypocrisy of the western claims to civilization ,the racial patronising as an iranian and her sexual coming of age with european men who use her as a portal to discover their homosexuality and later to buy cannabis is dark humour but pathetically predatory .

she wins ultimately as she discovers her intuitive strength as a woman who needs a man not for security but intellectual consumption ,her sojourn to paris after her obligatory marriage in iran is a liberation not from a regime ,which are all the same in their hierarchy and machiavellian political antics,but self-discovery.

she finds liberty with her wise granny who teaches that the only ugliness in the world is a lie and it is refreshing to see her critique of the hypocrisy of the attires assigned to male and women students in tehran university.

the movie is a poetic blend of verisimilitude and monochrome images juxtaposed with colour occassionally and always spellbinding to watch .

it spares no one -the bearded iranian revolutionaries ,the hypocrisy of catholic nuns -the predatory sex drug culture of the west or the political games of the superpowers which treat people as fodder for missiles .

but its inherent strength for me lies in a honest account of a disillusioned,spirited woman who becomes content when she is true to herself, not listening to bootlegged iron maiden and guzzling home-made wine.

her pride in being iranian is the key to understanding a personal account which is neither a mockery of mullahs nor a celebration of female emancipation ,but rather a search for your own truth .

marjane means a precious gem in farsi and persepolis was the ancient persian capital torched to ashes by alexander -the metaphor for the bombing of modern iran by western bombs is complete -time comes full circle.
the movie might be black and white but the content is so rich and diverse it needs no color ,an ingenious invention for a tired medium.

i will recommend multiple viewings for this dvd in french and english both as catherine deneuve and chiara have dubbed the brilliant black and white visuals .
love to see the making of as well -and marjanes tehran home will be a great story in a special edition.

usman khawaja



it is an amazing autobiography...., 20 Mar 2008
the book depict many aspects of social history of Iran since 30-40 years ago, however, many issues explained in the book, despite they are right, can not be generalised for whole people...and I think the readers might understand that the book is actually an autobiography...a very impressive one of course...I found it amazing ....


One of the best books, 26 Aug 2007
the thing that made me pick this book is that to exploer how a young women fron Newzleand leaves everything behind her and lives in a cave in the Jordinian desert. this book is really intresting it gives great details in how the bedioun lives. i highly recommend the book to anyone who is intrested in the middle east and how any one can do anything for the sake of love.

A wonderful love story, 27 Jun 2007
A very interesting book which not only describes the live of Marguerite and her husband but also the way the Bedouin think, celebrate and their general customs which I found very interesting.
It seem to be the love story I have longed to read but never found what an unusual couple which seemed to be soul mates in a harsh climate.


I loved this book, 26 Mar 2007
I have just visited Petra and met some of the delightful people of the bedouin tribe and our guide recommended this book. It is a thrilling, romantic tale set amongst the stunning scenery of Petra. The story is all the more remarkable because it is a true tale. Marguerite gives a fascinating insight into day to day life of the bedouin and vividly describes the remarkable surroundings. I finished the book a few days ago and was so enraptured by Marguerite that I am still wondering what happened next. Please write an up to date epilogue!

An Amazing Journey , 14 May 2008
This book makes you feel as though you know the author and share with her the experiences as she tells you of both the dreadful and good things that have happened to her. I want to tell everyone to read it and learn how such a lot of people have to struggle to obtain rights that we take for granted in our democracy which is far from perfect but better than the alternative.

Accurate account and beautifully written..., 02 Feb 2008
I was fascinated by Ms Ebadi's account of her life both prior to the Revolution working as a succesful young woman in her own right, then the struggles she faced in the post-Revolution years and how she has corageously battled on to try and improve the Rights of Women and Children in Iran. Ms Ebadi is a credit to our nation and a postive force to be reckoned with!... I hope to read more of her work in the near future....

Women's Iran, 01 Jun 2007
No matter where you are when reading Shirin Ebadi's account of events in the Iran of past three decades, you'll see and feel the vivid streets of Tehran, people's whispers of hope and fear and take a glimpse 'behind the veil'.

Being forced into a career fallback from judgeship to a clerk, Madame Ebadi doesn't allow the authorities the luxury of enjoying the ousting of yet another female intellectual. An activist at heart, she doesn't give up, becomes a human rights defender and in an atmosphere of neverending closures of basic freedoms and rights for women, she nevertheless achieves to awaken her fellow citizens' minds pointing to the absurdity of rules that embed the evryday lives of the women amongst them.

Her account is a fresh reminder for all of the value of democratic rights and freedoms that can co-exist with Islam or any other religion for that matter for it's all about true and moderate interpretation of religious rules that a society can pull itself into a new age appealing to all generations. She earned a Nobel Prize for this unbiased Iranian take on universal values.

A fascinating read... difficult to put down, 14 Jun 2006
Ms. Ebadi's book "Iran Awakening" is one of the best English books about Iran that I have read. The book is essentially a memoir of Ms. Ebadi's life from the time she enters Tehran University and graduates as the top Law student up to a few months ago when she was representing the reporter Akbar Ganji as his lawyer.

The book is concisely and clearly written with detailed first hand accounts of her life in pre and post revolution Iran. Ms Ebadi's work is independent of any political organisation and as such she has pointed out many of the faults she saw and experienced in the Shah's regime, the Islamic Republic and the United States. However, saying that, the majority of the criticism is levelled at the Islamic Republic's poor record of Human Rights and the incredible gulf between rights of men and women.

Reading the book it was more than clear to me that the Nobel Prize committee made the best decision they could have to award the Peace prize to Ms Ebadi. Being a lawyer in Iran is difficult enough, but being female and a lawyer and working for Human Rights is not only an uphill struggle but more like a free climber dangling freely knowing that any minute now consciousness could be taken from you. In addition to this, let's not forget that she is a wife and a mother too which as she writes so passionately about in her book, has provided her with many equally challenging dilemmas.

There are many English books written about Iran but this book is different. This book is authored by an Iranian who has lived every day of her life in Iran; who has got to know the system both from the inside, as a civil servant, and from the outside, as a lawyer for its victims; has specifically written the book for an English audience.

I'm sure there will be critical reviews of the contents for her lack of criticism at the various political factions that have at some point been either popular or held power over the Iranians. Ignore that! This book is written by a woman who has fought discrimination in its ugliest form and has maintained an independent and balanced view of all aspects of Iran. She is a Muslim not blindly loyal to any regime or party and as such I'm sure - as she has recognised - she will be criticised at the same time for being pro-regime or anti-regime by Iranians because of their different political agendas.

Ms Ebadi says that this is her first book aimed at an English audience, but I think Iranians, especially the diaspora, can learn much from this book as well. Lastly, as this book is banned in Iran, I hope people outside will appreciate the risk and effort it has taken for Ms Ebadi to get this published.


Me