Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace

by Avi Shlaim

Book Overview

The first major account of the life of an extraordinary soldier and statesman, King Hussein of Jordan. Throughout his long reign (1953--1999), Hussein remained a dominant figure in Middle Eastern... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400043050
• ISBN13: 9781400043057
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 723 Pages
• Weight: 2.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Journey of Middle East Histrory through the life of King Hussain

Just finished reading this amazing narrative of Middle East Histroy throught the life of King Hussain. While I am not really much of a history guy, I found this to be a compelling read much more exciting than I had expected. Avi Shlaim style of vivid story-telling of events and colorful command of the language makes this an interesting journey; much of it I can relate to from my early childhood growing up in Jordan. Avi also resonates a tone unbiased ringing of fairness & seeking the truth, not political statements. He introduces a new element from the intellectual side that exposes hidden truths about a people's suffering in Palestine and Israeli state bent on controlling, occupying and doing whatever it takes to emerge a winner at whatever cost to its surroundings, the people they took the land from and its neighbors. Some of the pages read straight from the story pages of "Avatar'. I highly recommend it if you can stand a 700 page history trip of middle east starting from the early 50's. an excellent read.

A lion on a tightrope

Hussein's life was principled on the premise that " King Hussein was fundamentally and structurally a client king ...for all practical purposes the Hashemite legacy inherited from his grandfather was one of continuing dependence on the West." P.154 His wide recognition, acclaim and complexity were due to " the principle of balancing applied at all levels: the inter -Arab, the regional, (domestic) and the global...this meant balancing between Arab and conservatives and Arab radicals, between the Arab world on the one hand and Israel on the other, and the global level between the West and the Soviet bloc...The survival of the Hashemite dynastic interests were paramount (and) the guiding principle behind his foreign policy, the key to constant shits and maneuvers , to all the alliances and realignments " P.212 With these two elements as the deciding factors in Hussein's life, Avi Shlaim delivers a superb biography that is well written, researched, revealing, passionate and to a great extent objective. Regardless if one agrees or not with the King's inherited role, he was able to save his dynasty and country. Although King Hussein's life revolved on the previous mentioned principles, not all of the King's actions can be aligned with those principles if one takes a simplistic view of those actions without serious reflection and reading between the lines. Avi Shlaim does an excellent job on analyzing the King and his actions from the day he reached the thrown until the last moments on his deathbed. For example, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the King sided with Iraq, which is contradictory to King's " balancing principle." However, after reading the author's analysis and the foreign/domestic challenges facing the King, the King through careful policies and outstanding foresight was able to save his country and dynasty from Iraq, Israel and from domestic upheavals. Even though the King had a "special" relationship with Israel for many reasons, which are explored in the book, the King realized the only way to have the support of Washington was through Israel. This is revealed when King Hussein gave Bush I a memo that stated in part, in his (the king's) judgment the Arab-Israeli conflict was not a foreign policy for the US but rather a domestic US issue due to the domestic influences in the US on the issue. P 478 Although not comprehensible to the King, this an obstacle to peace in the region. Another example is when President Clinton at the request of King Hussein was unable to sway congress to forgive Jordan's debt to the US. Clinton in turn asked for the help of Rabin. " Yes Mr. President," replied Rabin slowly we will do our best. To the Jordanians present at this brief exchange provided a remarkable demonstration of the political clout wielded by Israel and its friends on Capitol Hill" p 545 During the peace negotiations with Israel, King Hussein was very calculating with extreme foresight, Unlike Arafat who in my judgment was incomp

A lion for the world

A truly extrodinary account of every detail of King Hussien's lifelong quest for a place for his kingdom at the table of respected nations of the world - primarily by pushing for peace in his region at any cost (most often through secret contact with his Israeli nemeses). He was not without errors in this quest, and he benefitted personally ($$) probably more than he should have, but this is the story of an exceptional person on an extrodinary journey who regularly showed more character than either his Isreali or American counterparts. This is the striking aspect of the book -- the lack of good faith (or even honesty) on the part of the leaders of Isreal and USA. It makes an American with an open mind a little uncomfortable with the actions of our leaders - congressional, but also presidents. BUT, the book is as detailed as it could be and focuses on the quest, the policies, and the political experience of this fine man, this amazing king.