A01=Adam Valen Levinson
afghanistan
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Author_Adam Valen Levinson
automatic-update
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=WT
Category=WTH
coming of age
COP=United States
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
discovery
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_travel
funny
humanity
journey
Language_English
PA=Available
pakistan
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Active
softlaunch
travel
yemen
Product details
- ISBN 9780393608366
- Weight: 550g
- Dimensions: 165 x 244mm
- Publication Date: 14 Nov 2017
- Publisher: WW Norton & Co
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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Armed only with textbook Arabic and restless curiosity, Adam Valen Levinson set out to “learn about the world 9/11 made us fear”. From a base in Abu Dhabi, he sets out to lunch in Taliban territory in Afghanistan, travels under the watchful eye of Aleppo’s secret police, risks shipwreck en route to Somalia, investigates Yazidi beliefs in a sacred cave, cliff-dives in Oman, celebrates New Year’s Eve in Tahrir Square and, at every turn, discovers a place that doesn’t match its reputation.
While politicians and the media eagerly stoke the flames of Islamophobia, Valen Levinson crosses borders with abundant humour and humanity. Seeking common ground everywhere, he finds that people who pray differently often laugh the same. And as a young man bar mitzvahed at twenty-one (instead of the usual thirteen), he slowly learns how childish it is to live by decisions and distinctions born of fear.
Adam Valen Levinson is a journalist and travel writer whose work focuses on human stories in conflict areas. His work has appeared in numerous outlets, including VICE, the Paris Review, Al Jazeera, and Haaretz. He is an affiliate of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., and a fellow at the Center for Cultural Sociology at Yale University, studying humor as a key to cultural understanding.
