<p>This is not only a travel book but a documentary on inter-cultural relationships between the different races and nationalities comprising the huge expatriate population and native Arab residents of the oil-rich peninsula. The many characters portrayed, presented in a variety of authentic stories encountered by the author on his travels, are centred around the horrific event of a public stoning in Saudi Arabia. Some of the stories have a humorous flavour, but all are concerned with the human problems - many of them poignant - of expatriates and Arabs alike, living cheek by jowl in a society of gaping contrasts. The book is not merely a critique of the harsher aspects of Arab life from a Western perspective, for in the cause of future concord, the author calls for a dialogue between the cultures of the Middle East and the West in the name of social justice and modernization. The present strains, in what has become a multi-cultural society following the influx of millions, mostly from the Third World, anticipates the possibility of trouble in the future. The status of women is highlighted and discussed in several dramatic episodes, and a compassionate view is taken of Asian guest workers in the light of their widespread mistreatment in the Gulf. The rigidity of tradition would seem not merely to prevent the development of a modern mind-set, but in the perceived threat of Westernization, to trigger an even more regressive attitude as is shown clearly in this book. But note is also taken of the Arab outlook on the Western world, together with their horror of Western liberal values, and their passionate arguments for resisting change are recorded in detail. An element of mystery is maintained throughout the book as the execution of the condemned victim progresses through the narrative, only interrupted by recollections of other personalities and the stories surrounding them</p>

Death in Riyadh: Dark Secrets in Hidden Arabia

Travel

Carter, Geoff

Asia

Arena Books

Mayday Ufo Vietnam: Mayday UFO Vietnam: The Forbidden Coloring Book from the Hotel Bible Series

Arts & Photography

Independently published

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Books by Carter, Geoff