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Review
`Clark leads the reader through Yemen's turbulent past with humour and perception... The book brilliantly exposes Yemen's tragicomic modern history.'
--Richard Beeston, The Times, 27th February 2010
`Excellent new book on the country, part history and part travelogue.' --Richard Beeston, London Review of Books Bookshop, 8th April 2010
`This book is compulsory reading for anyone who wants to get to grips with Yemen's pit of slithery serpents.' --The Economist, 23rd April 2010
`Easily the best and most readable account of Yemen's current problems and their daunting complexity.'
--Brian Whitaker, The Guardian, 24th April 2010
`Clark tracks Yemen's turbulent past and unstable present with a light touch, combining historical travelogue with investigative reportage.'
--Philip McCrum, Middle East International - Issue 14, May 2010
`Victoria Clark's timely book offers a vivid portrait of Osama Bin Laden's ancestral homeland.'
--Lucy Popescu, Tribune, 18th June 2010
`...experienced foreign correspondent casts a timely light on the complex fissiparous, impoverished country now seen as a haven for Al-Qaeda.'
--Harry Eyres, Financial Times, 26th/27th June 2010
--Richard Beeston, The Times, 27th February 2010
`Excellent new book on the country, part history and part travelogue.' --Richard Beeston, London Review of Books Bookshop, 8th April 2010
`This book is compulsory reading for anyone who wants to get to grips with Yemen's pit of slithery serpents.' --The Economist, 23rd April 2010
`Easily the best and most readable account of Yemen's current problems and their daunting complexity.'
--Brian Whitaker, The Guardian, 24th April 2010
`Clark tracks Yemen's turbulent past and unstable present with a light touch, combining historical travelogue with investigative reportage.'
--Philip McCrum, Middle East International - Issue 14, May 2010
`Victoria Clark's timely book offers a vivid portrait of Osama Bin Laden's ancestral homeland.'
--Lucy Popescu, Tribune, 18th June 2010
`...experienced foreign correspondent casts a timely light on the complex fissiparous, impoverished country now seen as a haven for Al-Qaeda.'
--Harry Eyres, Financial Times, 26th/27th June 2010
Product Description
Yemen is the dark horse of the Middle East. Every so often it enters the headlines for one alarming reason or another - links with al-Qaeda, kidnapped Westerners, explosive population growth - then sinks into obscurity again. But, as Victoria Clark argues in this riveting book, we ignore Yemen at our peril. The poorest state in the Arab world, it is still dominated by its tribal makeup and has become a perfect breeding ground for insurgent and terrorist movements. Clark returns to the country where she was born to discover a perilously fragile state that deserves more of our understanding and attention. On a series of visits to Yemen between 2004 and 2009, she meets politicians, influential tribesmen, oil workers and jihadists as well as ordinary Yemenis. Untangling Yemen's history before examining the country's role in both al-Qaeda and the wider jihadist movement today, Clark presents a lively, clear, and up-to-date account of a little-known state whose chronic instability is increasingly engaging the general reader.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an example of how Victoria Clark introduces a sub-chapter (President Salih's present problems). And indeed throughout her exploration of Yemen's history and character she really allows the reader to comprehend the hardy tribalism, the extreme violence fed by so much easy weaponry, the jihadist roots, the buffeting by outside forces, the corruption and poverty, the surprisingly dogged optimism, the Islamic variations, the scandalous qat cultivation ... it is all there. She explains why Aden is "the Cinderella of the East", how the various rebellions reoccur, why separation is still on some tribe's agenda, how Marxism took root here only to fail, and importantly why there is such an economic gulf separating Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The format is colourful and easy to read. The State and The Tribes: "the manner in which the competing authorities are constantly being challenged, tested and renegotiated" gives the book its superb title. I would have liked more informative maps and more photos, but the geography is explained well. I took this book on a recent holiday to Morocco and I was know as "Mr Yemen" because I always had this book with me (and open!).
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Dancing on Heads of Snakes,
The book tells you what is really going on The Yemen.
Author travels around speak with high ranking tribal officials and government officials - anyone who wants to know history of Yemen and where is Yemen going, then buy this book it's worth every single pound.
The book tells you what is really going on The Yemen.
Author travels around speak with high ranking tribal officials and government officials - anyone who wants to know history of Yemen and where is Yemen going, then buy this book it's worth every single pound.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I wish this book had been available 25 years ago when first we worked in Yemen, tribalism is a problem in every culture as we forget the unity of all, this explains much of the nature of Yemen's difficulties and with understanding comes acceptance and solutions.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Helpfully Comprehensive
A helpfully comprehensive history of a fantastic country, written on a par with Tim Mackintosh-Smith's books. Read more
Published 12 months ago by L Ship
Authentic gossiping
Clark's was one of the books I bought before my posting to Yemen. Comparing hers to those other books, the greatest achievement of the author is putting Yemen's history and present... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Dmitry Pozhidaev
Once I have them (bourgeousie), I can then discuss getting rid of...
A wonderfully incisive piece of work that covers the intricacies and details of Yemeni feudalism and tribalism. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Dan Skipworth-michell
Meticulous, daring research but sloppy copy-editing
Hats off to Victoria Clark for going into places and meeting people that few, if any, other journalists (especially women) would ever dream of doing, and especially against... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Thoughtful reader
Excellent insight into Yemen
Once I opened this book I was unable to put it down and I managed to read it in about 5 days. The book is split into four sections that discuss Yemen from a historical prospective... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Kamal Mashjari
Insights into Yemen
Excellent informative work,of considerable insight. The work is very well written, easy to follow and comprehensively annotated.
An first class read.
An first class read.
Published on 14 April 2010 by C. J. Cooper
Well worth reading
Up to date, in depth. Anyone who wants to understand the importance of Yemen today should read this book.
Published on 5 April 2010 by Euclid
yemen
This excellent book deals with the the history of Yemen and how the present situation in the cocntry developed. Read more
Published on 1 April 2010 by G. I. Forbes
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