A Diamond in the Desert: Behind the Scenes in Abu Dhabi, the World's Richest City - Couverture souple

Tatchell, Jo

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 080217079X ISBN 13 : 9780802170798

Editeur : Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press, 2010

Synopsis

Tatchell takes us on a tour of the city with an outlook that's part native, part critic, part wide-eyed traveler. The result is a truly original collage of perspectives and images, from a regal expatriate whose husband was one of the first Brits to settle in Abu Dhabi to young Emirati artists celebrating their newfound freedom of expression. A compelling piece of history told with an intimate narrative voice, A Diamond in the Desert is an eye-opening and often haunting perspective on just how much this fascinating city has changed--and, for better or for worse, how much it has stayed the same.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Arabia in the 1960s - still a land of desert, nomadic tribes, falcons and gazelles. And Abu Dhabi, perched on the Gulf Coast, was a poor fishing community. Barely forty years on, it is the richest city on earth, with major stakes in Western economies. And if the extraordinarily ambitious plans for the capital of the United Arab Emirates succeed, its future impact will be global.

Jo Tatchell's family arrived in Abu Dhabi in 1974 when there were only a few thousand inhabitants. She left as a young adult in the nineties, choosing personal freedom over a life of comfort and ease. But in recent years, as Abu Dhabi has become ever more significant on the world stage, she has returned to get behind the headlines and see how the city is changing for herself.

In this illuminating portrait, she shows Abu Dhabi past and present through the eyes of its people - from sheikhs to Indian immigrants, housewives to ex-pats - as well as her own. Tales of traditional Bedu hospitality and of expeditions into the desert mingle with accounts of hair-raising decadence and double standards, as she reveals a society and culture almost derailed by sudden, extreme wealth. And yet, as she discovers, Abu Dhabi is about to change again. Its rulers have a grand vision of a cultural bridge between Islam and the West, which might just transform our world.

Revue de presse

Unusually engaging...a compelling read (Sunday Telegraph)

A welcome addition to the short list of books on Abu Dhabi...Engagingly written and sympathetic (Guardian)

This is a place we need to know more about, and Tatchell here provides a smart, well-informed and flavorsome guide...the best thing I've read on the Gulf Coast boom town to date...it leaves you feeling you have come to grips with the realities of a land steeped in fable. The contradictions of its Islamic culture emerge starkly. (George Walden, Bloomberg News)

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
• Date d'édition: 2010
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 080217079X
• ISBN 13: 9780802170798
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 304
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible