Middle East Books
Rubbing Shoulders in Yemen (2012)
Yemen is a fascinating country . . . a country that Peter had the privilege of visiting several times over the past 35 years. Rubbing Shoulders in Yemen focuses on his unforgettable cross- cultural experiences and the extraordinary hospitality he received from friendly rifle wielding Yemenis and others while doing research there in 1987.
Rubbing Shoulders in Yemen is available at amazon.com (also .ca, .co.uk, .de, etc.) in both paperback or kindle e-book.
Iraq on Their Doorstep (2014)
The Gulf War of the early 1990's (aka Operation Desert Storm and the Mother of all Battles) had a monumental impact on much of our world. Iraq had been dragged into yet another conflict by its warmongering president, Saddam Hussein. Peter and Hazel were living in the neighboring country of Jordan before, during and after the Gulf War. Once the dust of the war had settled, Iraqis poured into Jordan by the tens of thousands. Iraq on Their Doorstep presents a compelling account of the fears, pains, and difficult decisions faced by Iraqis and others who got caught up in the conflict.
Iraq on Their Doorstep is available at amazon.com (also .ca, .co.uk, .de, etc.) in both paperback or kindle e-book.
Guilty by Association (2021)
Samir and I started writing his biography several years ago. He wrote down notes in Arabic, which I translated into English. Then we would sit for hours over coffee discussing how to present each segment of his life as we filled out the details.
Writing his story was very emotional for Samir. Growing up in Iraq, into his early 20s, was filled with pain, anxiety, torture, huge losses ... all of which still had a tendency to haunt him. But thankfully those experiences were also mingled with glimpses of hope . . . and that's want Samir wanted to dwell on.
Guilty by Association is available at amazon.com (also .ca, .co.uk, .de, etc.) in both paperback or kindle e-book.
Communication Among Arabic Varieties (2012)
Arabic, spoken in many countries, boasts hundreds of millions of speakers. However, spoken varieties differ from one Arab country to another, and even from one region to another within the same country. There also exists a prestigious literary form of Arabic which is the only variety sanctioned for education. This vast continuum of Arabic varieties often results in communication problems. Peter investigated how well speakers of rural Yemeni Arabic varieties understood three varieties other than their own. The research results of Peter's MA thesis, originally submitted to the University of Texas in Arlington in 1988, are reprinted in this book.
This book is available at amazon .com (also .ca, .co.uk, .de, etc.) in both paperback or kindle e-book.