I totally disagree with the Publisher's Weekly 2002 review of this book....the reviewer didn't get the point. Caesar did NOT attempt and therefore didn't fail to "extrapolate from her experiences...to a larger commentary on the Middle East."

On the contrary, what I liked about her essays was their disinterest in the "big ME conflict" issues and her focus on the sometimes bizarre but always thought provoking juxtapositions of traditional/local and modern/global aspects of life in a contemporary Arab capital. Millions of people in this region get up every morning, go to school and work, go shopping and come home or visit with friends without thinking about the Middle East conflict. This book witnesses that. As an American living and travelling in this region for more than 25 years, I found her insights as a teacher and observer rang true and articulated very well some complex aspects of relationships in these communities undergoing compressed social change.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares to go beyond the limitations of news headlines into the fascinating diverstiy of social relationships and aspirations in the Middle East today. I especially recommend it to academics planning to teach cross-culturally in the growing number of "American" universities sprouting up across the region.

I totally disagree with the Publisher's Weekly 2002 review of this book....the reviewer didn't get the point. Caesar did NOT attempt and therefore didn't fail to "extrapolate from her experiences...to a larger commentary on the Middle East."
On the contrary, what I liked about her essays was their disinterest in the "big ME conflict" issues and her focus on the sometimes bizarre but always thought provoking juxtapositions of traditional/local and modern/global aspects of life in a contemporary Arab capital. Millions of people in this region get up every morning, go to school and work, go shopping and come home or visit with friends without thinking about the Middle East conflict. This book witnesses that. As an American living and travelling in this region for more than 25 years, I found her insights as a teacher and observer rang true and articulated very well some complex aspects of relationships in these communities undergoing compressed social change.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares to go beyond the limitations of news headlines into the fascinating diverstiy of social relationships and aspirations in the Middle East today. I especially recommend it to academics planning to teach cross-culturally in the growing number of "American" universities sprouting up across the region.

Judith Caesar's Writing Off The Beaten Track: Reflections On The Meaning Of Travel And Culture In The Middle East reflects on the meaning of travel and culture in the Middle East as it surveys her journey through the Untied Arab Emirates and the flavors of Arabia. Cultural and social insights abound.