Bloomsday, James Joyce and the poetry in climate change
A poetic look at climate change, drought and a celebrated Irish poet, James Joyce.
Book Reviews
Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookbook for everyday and festivals: Our Review
It’s not a book for beginning cooks, but no recipe is really difficult to manage. For example, baklava might seem intimidating to make, but with filo pastry from the supermarket, a careful cook can easily produce a trayful of that exotic sweet from this book.
Get your kids writing for the environment
Aldo Leopold was an American author who believed that our well-being, or the well-being of all people was tied to the environment. He created today’s idea of community to enlarge it to sentient and non-sentient beings other than us people, to include water, soil, animals and all plants. His most famous book is A Sand […]
6 great reads for Arab American Heritage Month
April is Arab American Heritage Month, and here are six publications from a half dozen Arab American authors whose work is influencing the literary landscape of the USA, and beyond. I’ve chosen one for each of the six Muslim-majority nations whose citizens are currently banned from entering the America. Crack one open and learn some […]
The Martian movie started as a book – here’s the review
Imagine that you are a castaway on a dead planet. You only have provisions for a few days and you are absolutely alone. How would you survive? Andy Weir turned this question into his best-selling novel, The Martian. It is a tale of man versus Mars.
700 free e-books to up your Middle East IQ
Looking for some good reads about the environment and the Middle East? Then click yourself into the University of California Press (UCP) e-books collection (link here) offering free access to hundreds of books published by UCP and other academic presses.
Delights From The Garden of Eden by Nawal Nasrallah – Our Book Review
Want to get close to Iraqi food traditions and culture? This cook book is for you. Lyrical memoirs of Nawal Nasrallah’s childhood in Iraq, and the place that food had in that culture, drift through the pages, pausing for sidebars that offer tidbits like four paragraphs on ancient wives in ancient kitchens. Or samples from a […]
5 Great Ever “Green” Book Ideas and Gifts for Christmas
Here are some green book gift giving ideas for Christmas: Whether you are buying for a business executive who needs to make the company more sustainable (hint, hint), a young environmental activist who wants to change the world, or an MBA student eager to be in the loop, here are some important book ideas.
Dates, A Global History, by Nawal Nasrallah BOOK REVIEW
In the Middle East, date palms are a natural element of the landscape. The towering trees adorn streets and march down road medians. They sprout out of private gardens and public parks. Come late summer, their gracefully swaying green heads send forth sturdy branches laden with heavy fruit clusters.
Jarir Maani’s Field Guide to Jordan is Essential Trekking Gear (Interview)
The “Field Guide to Jordan” is a fantastically comprehensive book that uses beautiful photographs and concise descriptions to introduce locals and visitors to the kingdom’s natural wonders. The guide is the end-product of four years of dedicated research and photography by author Jarir Maani and his band of contributors (composed mainly of friends and family).
IMF: Cut Energy Subsidies and Reduce Global CO2 by 13 Percent
Climate change is one of the most urgent issues of our time, yet most countries in the Middle East and North Africa continue to subsidize energy derived from fossil fuels. Seeking solutions, The Guardian launched a three part Global Public Leaders Series and sent us this recent lecture by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Clock Book – Recipes From a Modern Moroccan Kitchen, by Tara Stevens
We’ve posted about the Cafe Clock blog here, including the recipe for its famous camel burger. In this delightful cookbook, Stevens includes recipes from the Cafe Clock as well as some traditional Moroccan dishes that she discovered herself. Her warm, frank tone and the stories that introduce many of the recipes almost bring the reader […]
The Gulf Monarchies and Climate Change – A Book Review
Working in Qatar has clearly given the academic Mari Luomi access to lots of information about the climate change rhetoric and reality of the Gulf. It also puts her in a rather awkward position in terms of being able to voice her criticism. After interviewing Luomi for Green Prophet around a year ago, however, I […]
‘Beacons – Stories For Our Not So Distant Future’ Are Climate Shorts
A great collection of short stories inspired by the ecological crisis which are honest, creative and sometimes really funny I don’t know if it’s just me but whenever someone recommends a book that is for charity or even a song that is ‘worthy’ – alarm bells go off. Alarms that tell me to stay away […]
Earth Architect Nader Khalili’s Book: Racing Alone
In the book “Racing Alone”, Nader Khalili pursues his own revolution using fire, earth, air and water. In “Racing Alone”, the late Iranian earth architect Nader Khalili who died in 2008 recounts the years leading to the realization of his dream; building a dwelling that infuses Persian culture, history, art, and ingeniousness, and a structure […]