My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the future, when someone uses the phrase, “monumental effort,” I will think of this book.

Mr. Wilkinson has not only attempted, but delivered, a summary history of the Egyptian civilization, from conception to Cleopatra.

Aside from the scope of the work, coupled with actually having achieved it, the most remarkable thing about this book is that Mr. Wilkinson was able to craft such an accessible work.

Even when faced with source material that was both sparse, thousands of years old and almost exclusively the output of dictatorial propaganda departments, Mr. Wilkinson created a narrative that is both engaging and enlightening for the everyday, non-academic reader.

To give some perspective to the scale of the timeline involved, Thutmose IV, who reigned from 1399 BC to 1389 BC, excavated and restored the Great Sphinx of Giza, built by a previous Pharaoh, which was by then buried in shifting sands and already more than 1,000 years old. In today’s world of countries that are mostly less than 300 years old, it is challenging to imagine unearthing a national monument 1,000 years old in a nation that would survive 1,000 years more.

Thutmose IV is but one of 168 Pharaohs who are individually addressed in the book, along with relevant geopolitical and regional context for their times. Somehow, Mr. Wilkinson has derived, extracted and discovered anecdotes that illuminate the life and times of many of these pharaohs, from the famous, such as Tutankhamun and Cleopatra, to the obscure, such as Neferefra and Sobekemsaf II.

While pedants may long for more detail and champions of a particular period, Kingdom or Pharaoh may wish for a more sympathetic endorsement, the overall tone of the book is even and mostly suitably detached, all while avoiding academic sterility. The flaw in this regard is the author’s persistent hectoring of the ancient Egyptians for not being a replica of modern Sweden, along with its leading U.N. Gini index. Despite his sterling credentials, Mr. Wilkinson loses perspective and thus credible assessment of the realities of ancient societies when he repeatedly calls the ancient Egyptian theocratic dictatorships to task for not being more of a socialist paradise. It is hard to imagine how such a goal could have been either achieved or sustained in an era of almost universal illiteracy, cultural isolation and xenophobia. However, in the scope of a work of this magnitude, this is a minor quibble.

It is daunting to even consider addressing, in a meaningful way, a time span of 3,000 years. Mr. Wilkinson has done so, and in a very readable and entertaining fashion.

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It turned out to be one of the most popular essays of that era. 

Since then, it’s turned into a bit of a holiday tradition, with old friends asking early in the holiday season if I’m going to post it again.

As I mentioned last year, we’ve been to more places since I wrote this, so we no longer have room on the tree for decorative ball ornaments, it’s completely filled with just the lights and the little things Steph collects along the way we use as ornaments.

Otherwise, the story remains the same. You can read it here: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/seekers-12.pdf

It turned out to be one of the most popular essays of that era. 

We put up a Christmas tree last week for the first time since then. It was amazing to realize it had been five years since we’d either been in town or had a home to place a tree in.

This year’s Christmas tree resembles the tree in The Seekers. The only difference is that we’ve since collected so many objects from additional places around the world, there is no longer room for any balls, only lights and ornaments.

Otherwise, the story remains the same. You can read it here: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/seekers-12.pdf

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Since we’re going to be here for a while, I’m providing a semi-regular injection of outside perspectives and information gleaned from other cultures, counties and regions in an effort to mitigate some of that insularity.

If you’d like to keep in touch with this information feed, please subscribe via RSS or email using the menu options on the right-hand sidebar.

Quote

Source: The Economist  http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14548871

But a bigger problem is that China’s own world view has failed to keep pace with its growing weight. It is a big power with a medium-power mindset, and a small-power chip on its shoulder.

Factoid

Today’s factoid is the list of countries that supply the U.S. with oil as of June, 2009

Source: Energy Information Administration   http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html

Note that the U.S. sends about $1 Billion per day overseas to purchase oil.

Books

Today’s book recommendation:  After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam.

Westerners are whipsawed daily by events in the Middle East and around the world driven by Islam, but very, very few understand even the most basic things about Islamic culture and history, especially about the differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims. This book presents that story in an entertaining and highly informative manner. The book is written for and to a western general-interest audience, and provides an understandable “road map” to understanding places, people and events that continue to shape  our world today.

Book site: http://www.aftertheprophet.com/ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/After-Prophet-Story-Shia-Sunni-Split/dp/0385523939 

I read the Kindle edition. My review on Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/books/5861472/After-the-Prophet-The-Epic-Story-of-the-Shia-Sunni-Split-in-Isla/reviews/1351890 

World News, Opinions and Perspectives

(Note that these world news sources are English language newspapers and news web sites. As such, they may exhibit a Western bias. To fully understand the local perspective it is best to read news, opinion and information in the native language.)

India
Source: The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/us/Obama-pilloried-over-ducking-Dalai-Lama-to-appease-China/articleshow/5092820.cms

Headline: Obama pilloried over ducking Dalai Lama to appease China 

Excerpt: The US President is going to Beijing next month at a time the US is widely seen as a declining entity and China as a growing power.

Why you should care: The U.S. is in a delicate balancing act between China and India, two countries each with more than a billion people, nuclear arms and the world’s destiny in their hands. What pleases one often displeases the other. Displease them enough and it affects not only your country, but you, individually.

Africa
Source: iol.com South Africa  http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20091006094000582C238237

Headline: Egypt’s top cleric plans school face veil ban

Excerpt: 

Egypt’s top Islamic cleric is planning to bar students wearing the face veil from entering the schools of al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s premier institute of learning, according to an independent daily.

Tantawi angrily told the girl that the niqab “has nothing to do with Islam and is only a custom” and made her take it off.

Why you should care: Fully covered women are often symbols of fundamentalist Islam and corresponding ideology and politics. Governments in the region walk a fine line between upholding the tenants of Islam and alienating their populations as they attempt to limit the rise of fundamentalist challenges to their power, especially in Egypt.

Iran
Source: Iran Daily http://www.iran-daily.com/1388/7/12/MainPaper/3513/Page/2/?NewsID=116

Headline: Western Media Not Really Free

Excerpt:
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said western corporate media has turned into a weapon of subterfuge with the intention of helping advance the West’s narrow political agenda.

According to the president, unbiased media simply does not exist in the West.

“Claims of freedom of the press are sheer lies. Each and every one of the western media outlets primarily serves the interest and policies of their states,” he declared.

Why you should care: Before you shrug this off as more ranting from a certifiable nut job, let me add the following. During our travels overseas, especially in south Asia and the Middle East, I personally witnessed examples of Western media blatantly distorting, omitting or filtering facts to advance specific agendas. What you think is the news is often not, it can be not much more than propaganda in support of a specific political or social goal.

China
Source: Peoples Daily  http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6772134.html

Headline: China open to unified East Asia proposal

Excerpt:
Yang said: “China will continue its receptive attitude on East Asian cooperation with relevant sides,” in the release.

There is a conceptual gap, however, between Beijing and Tokyo as China prefers the East Asian community to be restricted within the ASEAN+3 grouping; Japan wants to involve some other countries and even the United States, Zhou said.

Why you should care: Students of history will feel nervous tremors as echos of the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere ” sound in their heads. That was the framework that Japan used to rationalize their invasions of Asia in WWII. This initiative is also being championed by Japan, although in a very different context. This framework, if realized, will be one of Japan’s last remaining methods of being an ongoing factor in Asia as Japan’s population ages, its economy suffers and China rises to total dominance in the region. The tug of war over membership in this grouping will be a proxy for the battle of influence and control between Japan and China.

Russia

Source: Moscow Times  http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/384878.html

Headline: Alfa, Telenor Agree to $23Bln Merger

Excerpt: “Trust is often key in business.”

Why you should care: Russia spent most of the last decade seizing control and assets from foreign investors via a pile of cash from natural gas and oil sales. Now that oil prices are down and Europe is working frantically to lessen their dependence on Russian natural gas, Russia is once again courting and encouraging foreign direct investment, even in once off-limits “strategic” sectors. Nothing cements common destiny like common trade. The more Russia is intertwined with the outside world via trade the less the chance they will do truly stupid things to underline their ascent back into the ”important nations” club.

Turkey

Source: Sabah http://english.sabah.com.tr/

Headline: Seven-thousand kilometer project is awaiting parliamentary approval

Excerpt:
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu suggested a “road for peace” span from the Caucasus to Europe, within the framework of the Armenian expansion.

The Highway, which will pass through 12 different countries and 24 cities, will connect the Caucasus to the Balkans and then to European highways. Therefore, the Black Sea Highway will provide the network system to access Europe. An individual will be able to leave Baku and access Western Europe.

Why you should care: One of the most important geopolitical seismic shifts in recent memory is Turkey and Armenia seeking rapprochement with concrete steps to defuse tensions and re-open normal diplomatic relations. This highway project is more than a symbolic gesture. It is a statement of what this region could become: a center of gravity of influence, resources and inter-cultural and trade exchange.

Indonesia

Source: The Jarkata Post  http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/06/government-targets-big-cities-crackdown-illegal-software.html

Headline: Government targets big cities in crackdown on illegal software

Excerpt:
The team put up posters inside the Mangga Dua International Trade Center mall in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, urging people not to buy or produce illegal software.

The International Data Corporation estimates the rate of software piracy in Indonesia has increased by 1 percent in 2008 to 85 percent from the previous year, causing US$544 million in losses to copyright holders.

Why you should care: Note that the government crackdown consisted of putting up posters and that the current rate of software piracy is 85 percent. Outside the post-development countries (U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia, etc.) there is essentially no copyright or intellectual property (IP) protection of any kind. Developing country governments are loathe to provide any real IP protection as it would put the brakes on development and productivity growth. Currently, they can essentially automate their countries’ business processes for free. The tipping point comes when a country starts to develop its own IP, that is when they will start to enforce IP protection, albeit most aggressively on their indigenous products.

Egypt

Source: Daily News  http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=24923

Headline: Egypt to raise energy prices for non-intensive industries

Excerpt: Egypt will decrease subsidies on natural gas and electricity to non-energy intensive industries, the local press reported, raising prices 26 percent by the beginning of 2010…

Khalid Sekkat, research director at the Economic Research Forum, said that the subsidy on diesel is noticeably absent from the restructuring effort. “While butane is largely limited to familial use, increasing the price of diesel would likely lead to dissatisfaction from all areas of the transportation sector,” Sekkat told Daily News Egypt.

Sekkat commented on Egypt’s subsidy restructuring as part of a larger trend of liberalization that has accompanied efforts to further integrate the MENA region into the globalized world economy.

Why you should care: Most developing countries heavily subsidize core products in their economies such as fuel. This creates highly distorted economies that are ill suited to compete in the global market. As seen in this story, even though some countries are making steps to reduce energy subsidies, they are unable to reduce or eliminate energy subsidies that affect the broad populace (butane/propane/GLP, diesel, etc.). As we’ve seen in the U.S., artificially low fuel prices lead to societies developing in non-energy-efficient forms, such as uncontrolled sprawl. The easiest way to measure a country’s relative level of development is to look at their total energy consumption, especially on an per-capita basis. An economy that depends on artificially subsidized energy will be incapable of sustainable growth.

Saudi Arabia

Source: Arab News  http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=127120&d=6&m=10&y=2009

Headline: King Abdullah to visit Syria

Excerpt:
King Abdullah’s landmark visit to Damascus reflects the improving relations between the two Arab countries.

Lebanese leaders were also happy over the talks between King Abdullah and Assad. “President Assad’s visit to the Kingdom is an important step upon which we must build,” said Fouad Siniora, who is Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister and a member of Saad Hariri’s Future Movement.

Why you should care: Anything that happens in the Middle East in the way of stabilization, such as improved relations with Israel, will involve the Saudis. Saudi Arabia shares a desire to keep Iran fenced in as much as possible with Syria, Egypt and Iraq. While Syria desires to restore itself to its past position as an important and powerful player in Middle Eastern and Islamic affairs, for now it must take a back seat to Saudi Arabia and use improved relations with Saudi Arabia as part of its overall strategy of self-rehabilitation. The next major move towards peace in the Middle East will probably be a return by Israel of the Golan Heights to Syria. This will probably happen in the context of a broader initiative involving other Arab nations (note that Iran is Persian, not Arab) and the Palestinians. It is in Iran’s interests to prevent a united bloc of Arab nations plus Israel and the U.S. to form offsetting it, so it will continue to provoke via its nuclear program until there is a military strike against its territory, thus inflaming the Muslim world and again forestalling any Middle East peace for another decade or two. In many ways, Saudi Arabia is the key broker in this game, so it behooves interested parties to watch their moves closely.

Closing Shot

Location: Afghanistan

Story: The Last Jew in Afghanistan  

Source: The Dawn, Pakistan  http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/media-gallery/04-Synagogue-dweller-is-Afghan-Jewry-last-gasp-qs-11

In this photo taken Saturday, August 29, 2009, Zebulon Simentov, the last known Jew living in Afghanistan, sits as his dining room table during Shabbat in his Kabul home, as Shirgul Amiri, right, a local Muslim friend, prays toward Mecca. Simentov is the caretaker and sole member of Afghanistan’s only working synagogue.

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I promise not to reveal any plot twists or surprise endings. However, I will say that there was only one plot twist that I found truly surprising, and that is indicative of my feelings about the book as a whole.

In the interests of full disclosure, I’ve always found Mr. Brown’s thriller writing to be workmanlike, the product of a studious journeyman rather than the output of an accomplished master of the genre.

To give credit where credit is due, he absolutely has figured out the formula for commercial success, and I, for one, am not going to denigrate him for making the choice to pursue that path rather than die penniless on a park bench in fruitless pursuit of artistic purity.

His current work, The Lost Symbol, will undoubtedly be a large commercial success and be made into another blockbuster movie. The upside is that discounted sales of the book may increase brick-and-mortar retail book store foot traffic and online referred book activity, thus driving sales of other titles. And in today’s publishing market, that would be a very good thing for all involved.

However, no amount of marketing millions will change The Lost Symbol into the thriller it could have been with one simple change. Merely by deleting somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of its content, The Lost Symbol would be a much better book.

What 30 to 50 percent of the content should be deleted? It is the same 30 to 50 percent of unrelated content that ruined the later titles of Tom Clancy, another thriller writer who lost his way.

There seems to be a law of the universe at work here that states, “Once a writer earns a few million and begins to believe the accolades of their fans and the brilliance claimed in their publisher’s press releases, the writer feels entitled to preach rather than teach, cajole rather than captivate and provide indoctrination rather than insight.”

What Mr. Clancy and Mr. Brown share in this regard is they are no longer writing books to entertain and perhaps, just a little, educate; they are writing books to advance a very specific agenda. While topics such as social politics, sexual politics or belief systems have long provided conceptual and foundational elements of drama and storytelling; they are best used, and by far most effective, when they are used as plot and character development elements, not topics of shrill and unrelenting browbeating.

No matter how much I or anyone else may agree or disagree with the subject of Mr. Clancy’s, Mr. Brown’s or any other thriller writer’s latest pet cause, the inevitable result of filling a large portion of a thriller novel with material that is more about advancing that cause than advancing the plot is a much weaker work and a diminishment of the genre as a whole. The purpose of a thriller is to thrill, not to indoctrinate.

While it is almost certain that authors who pass over the tipping point of believing they are uniquely suited to lead the masses towards enlightenment regarding their particular cause du jour do so in good faith; they are, when viewed objectively, much more likely to slip into the category of the Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. That’s a title most people would shun, since it is shared with another writer of novels and plays, the PhD. and thought leader, Paul Joseph Goebbels.

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I wrote some magazine columns and also wrote quite a bit about the issues and challenges surrounding the event in non-commercial venues.

In addition to doing what I could within my sphere of influence and expertise, I also wanted to learn more about how it came about, the people behind it, their culture and their religion.

To that end, I read a lot of books on those topics. The books provided important information on the region, its politics, its religions and its history.

Not satisfied with the books, magazines and newspapers, I also took a trip to the Middle East, and got to know some people there, as well as a little bit about the realities of their countries and cultures.

My in-person, eyewitness experiences taught me things I could never learn from a book.

While there I witnessed some things and interviewed some people. Some of those events and people were covered in the mainstream western media, including the New York Times. That coverage taught me the reality of western media: that the facts–the truth–had nothing to do with what was reported by the mainstream western media.

Many of the local people I met in the Middle East begged me to return to the U.S. and “tell them what we are really like.” I endeavored to do so, with varying levels of success and impact.

As a result of my experiences there, I have continued to be be interested in the countries, cultures, religions and people of the region, and especially in how they relate to the West and how the West relates to them.

Consequently, I was particularly interested in a watershed moment in that relationship, President Obama’s speech in Egypt.

As with all news, if you want to know what actually happened, you had to be there or watch or listen to the raw media feeds. Fortunately for us in this case, you can avoid the media filters, formation and spin by watching the raw video of the speech here. It’s worth investing the 55 minutes.

If you watch nothing else, the last five minutes contain some core messages and are worth viewing.

Highlights:

• ~13:00 commonalities
• ~18:30 extremists
• ~27:40 two state solution
• ~33:00 sons of Abraham
• ~45:00 development versus cultural identity

If the embeded player doesn’t work, use this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BlqLwCKkeY

If you’d prefer to read the transcript, it is here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/

Viewed from a strictly inside-the-U.S.-looking-out perspective, the speech will probably have less impact than it does to those who have been to the Middle East or who are there now. After all, all politics are local, and if you have no interest in the region other than their oil, there won’t be much there except grist for the polarized partisan mill.

Viewed from my perspective, having had a small taste of the realities of the region, it is a significant foreign policy speech, and it could be a significant milestone in relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world. Or not.

How do other countries, with different perspectives view it? Here are some samples:

• People’s Daily – China: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6672051.html
• The Dawn – Pakistan: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/04-barack-obama-speaks-at-cairo-university-qs-013
• The Times – India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Obama-woos-Muslims-gives-Kashmir-a-pass/articleshow/4617934.cms
• The Times – UK: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6430692.ece
• Moscow Times – Russia (there’s no story link because I couldn’t find one, and that in itself is a story): http://www.themoscowtimes.com/index.htm

Notes:

a) The president gives a greeting of As-Salaamu ‘Alaykum. It is an Arabic spoken greeting used by Muslims as well as Arab Christians and Jews. The term Salam in Arabic means “Peace”. The greeting may also be transliterated as Salaam ‘Alaykum. It means “Peace be upon you”. The traditional response is wa `Alaykum As-Salaam, meaning “and upon you be peace.” (source: Wikipedia)

b) The president refers to “zakat” in the speech. Zakat (or zakah) (Giving of Alms) is the fourth of the five pillars, or obligations, of Sunni Islam. The five pillars are Shahada (Profession of Faith), Salah (prayers), Zakah (Giving of Alms), Saum (Fasting during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). Shi’a Muslims subscribe to eight ritual practices which substantially overlap with the five Pillars. (source: Wikipedia)

c) The president mispronounced “hijab” (headscarf), instead saying “hajib.”

d) The president refers to the “Sons of Abraham.” This is in reference to the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, who trace their major prophets’ bloodlines (Moses, Jesus Christ and Muhammad) back to the common ancestor of Abraham.

e) My favorite word from the speech was “rectitude,” which means “righteousness as a consequence of being honorable and honest.”

I was forwarded a copy of "The Endorsement from Hell," a recent editorial by Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times.

My comments on the editorial follow the "Read more" link. Mr. Kristoff’s editorial follows my comments.