Yemen : the unknown Arabia /

Mackintosh-Smith's book is a strange hybrid. On one hand, it is a travelogue, filled with descriptions of magnificent landscapes, stunning cities, and personal stories of the author's experiences. It is also a history book, albeit not a chronological one because Mackintosh-Smith jumps from time period to time period as his travels bring him to places of historical significance. These parts together make Yemen a very unique book indeed. Mackintosh-Smith is a talented writer and observer, and he skillfully conveys his sense of wonder to the reader. He states in the preface that the book "treads the thin line between seriousness and frivolity," but there is nothing frivolous about his narrative, which thoroughly draws the reader into the world of Yemen. This book is an excellent introduction to an often overlooked country. --Kristine Huntley

Against the advice of his Arabic teacher ("Why don't you go somewhere respectable?"), Mackintosh-Smith decided to go to Yemen in 1982 and has "been there ever since." As a result, this is no ordinary travelogue, but an impressionistic exploration of a non-Western land by an experienced observer. A latter-day Lawrence of Arabia without the military exploits, the author has taken up many of the customs of his adoptive land: he's become addicted to qat, a plant that is chewed, often in groups, for its calming effects. The book, a bestseller in Britain, takes the reader on Mackintosh-Smith's travels throughout this south Arabian land, introducing the reader to both wizened Yemenis and the perils of roughing it--even in the late 20th century--throughout a mainly unexplored land. Sleepless nights on rocky inclines mix with desert heat and scorpions on one trip through the countryside, while an odd visit to a Yemeni dancing club highlights his trip to the city of Aden. An engaging writer with a journalist's eye for detail, Mackintosh-Smith never loses his sense of humor: his description of his visit to an English class, where the teacher asks the students, "How many noses does Professor Tim have?" is sidesplitting. The book offers an opportunity for dedicated armchair travelers to delight in a land few Westerners will actually visit. One warning: the author intersperses some history and politics among his travels, but the lay reader is advised to keep a reference source handy. Etchings by Martin Yeoman. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

A literate journey into exotic territory by a traveler with an unusual depth of knowledge. Yemen, whose Arabic name means 'the south,' is a mystery even to its neighbors in the Arab world. Tribal, remote, and seemingly inhospitable, it seldom figures in the itineraries of even the most adventurous travelers. When Mackintosh-Smith, a student of Arabic at Oxford, announced to his tutor that he intended to live in Yemen because, he understood, its dialect was the closest living relative of classical Arabic, he was advised to go instead to the safer, and better known, confines of Cairo, Amman, or Tunis. He left in 1982 with the promise to return to his studies soon. Yemen, however, cast its spell'or perhaps it was the qat, the mildly narcotic herbal stimulant whose consumption occupies him over much of his wandering. Mackintosh-Smith guides his readers through what he calls 'dictionary land,' by which he means a land whose every expression can mean many things'where, for example, the word qarurah can mean either 'the apple of one's eye' or 'urinal,' depending on context and mood. He neither tries to make the exotic overly familiar nor the familiar overly exotic, in the way of so many British literary travelers to the legend-shrouded lands of Arabia Felix. His characters are not the mustachioed bandidos of old, but men who have worked oil rigs, fought civil wars, harvested frankincense and myrrh, and, in one instance, 'made a killing in Riyadh, running a juice bar.' And the places he visits do not serve as mere backdrops for the author's ruminations on the ills of modern life; rather, they are celebrated and assessed for their specific qualities: hot, dusty, endlessly fascinating places with histories that cry out for attention. A vigorous, humorous debut that paints a delightful portrait of a distant land.