Gerard Russell has written a well-crafted and readable book in which an acute observer tells an intriguing and significant story, drawing heavily on personal observation. Yet the bookâ??s subject matter makes it difficult to read.
A hundred years ago, travelers regularly reported their travels among the religious and ethnic minorities of the Middle East, endlessly fascinated by the wonders they encountered. Today, though, most of those groups are on the verge of extinction in the region, and in some cases Russell may be describing the last of their kind. The elegiac quality of his account makes it heartrending and often infuriating.
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