audiobooks

Queen Noor obviously meant this book to be a tribute to her late husband, King Hussein of Jordan. It is equally obvious that because she willingly changed her religious affiliation to that of Islam, and embraced the Arab ways, she views the Western world very differently.

She was a child of privilege but sounds very down to earth, a loving mother to her own biological offspring, as well as to Hussein's children by his previous three marriages. Queen Noor describes her total immersion into the Arab ways, an appreciation for its customs, culture, history, its people, their craftsmanship, art, architecture and their political hardships.

She sought to improve the rights of women, collaborated with international non-governmental organizations to improve the health of Jordan's children and to highlight the artistic capabilities of local women weavers. The Queen even found start-up monies for some women so that they could assist in the financial support of their own families via their own small businesses.

The first part of the book is bland and is fundamentally story telling. The writing is simply meant to be informative. It is when Hussein's exhausting efforts to mediate a Middle East peace plan that her own unique perspectives take on a more interesting tone. She claims that the US perspective and sympathies are always with what is described as the beleaguered and battered Israelis. The Queen speaks of the Israeli transgressions against the Palestinian people and the Israelis' persistent usurping of still further lands, in direct opposition to United Nations agreements.

The book grows all the more emotional as a number of Hussein's endeavours fail, even when various factions pledge their cooperation; all these elements seem to lead to the king's decline in health (he apparently substantially increased his smoking), the discovery of cancer and his eventual death. This is a narrative that's told by a devoted wife who both loved and greatly admired her husband and his advocacy efforts in behalf of his country and of the Palestinian people.

The Queen also engages in a great deal of name dropping, naming royalty, politicians, presidents and their wives and their receptivity or coolness toward her in their varying associations. Although she treats Libyan dictator Quadaffi as a quirky person, Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat as increasingly recalcitrant men, she describes the US as definite contributors to the conflagrations in the Middle East.

If the Queen was attempting to humanize the Arabs and to sympathetically treat their plight with the many injustices done to them, she has succeeded. As an aside, I think the reader would like to have known how Noor's own life changed subsequent to her husband's death. Seeing Prince Abdullah, Hussein's eldest son and the offspring of his first wife, became the king, Noor would no longer be queen. How did that affect her works with and for the people of Jordan?

What a wonderful book! Since reading it I have been interested in learning more Middle East history especially as it relates to Jordan and King Hussein. I've read other historical articles online and it mostly backs up and elaborates further on Queen Noor's version of things. I realize that she had to be sensitive to her Muslim readers as well as Americans who are used to much more lurid details. I'm sure most Americans would like to know more superficial aspects of her life and also all about her sex life, etc but many Middle Easterners will be interested in the book and would be offended if she told these things. She very wisely refrained. I loved reading the insider information about events in that area. Interesting that Barbara Bush wrote her a letter calling her a traitor since Noor was a citizen of another country at the time. I'd like to know more about how she is doing since Hussein died, though. I know from her web site she is still involved in her many causes. But I still have questions since she is so interesting.

Little did I know that the autobiography of an American who married an Arab monarch would be a lesson in enduring love and ceaseless diplomacy in the Middle East. Queen Noor's Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life provided another window in which to view the internecine politics that have embroiled the region for over sixty years. I now more fully understand why King Hussein of Jordan was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize after reading about his untiring and unremitting efforts to obtain peace in the region and just treatment for Palestinians. Queen Noor, his third wife with whom he shared twenty years of marriage, also has been a formidable leader in the world, principally for her cultural and humanitarian contributions globally. Born Lisa Halaby in the United States, Queen Noor assumed her position of royalty at the age of twenty-six. She developed a superb work ethic that blended her excellent educational background, her work experience as architect, and diplomacy learned as she matured as the wife of a head of state in a volatile time. Leap of Faith provides balance in our understanding of the multinational conflict which continues to rage.