In this book, professor Crawford provides an excellent, up-to-date report on what is presently known about the ancient society of Dilmun and others in the Persian Gulf area. Three areas are reported upon: North-western Arabia, Bahrain (Dilmun), and Oman (Magan). The author exhaustively reports on archaeological findings (including architecture, burial items, pottery, and more), analyzing their significance, but avoiding any broad speculation.

I can't say enough about this book. If you want to know what is presently known about Dilmun and Magan, but wish to avoid the extreme speculation (if not outright guesswork) of many books, then this book is for you!

This book, first published in 1997, brings the reader almost completely up to date on what is known about ancient Dilmun. It begins with a chapter describing what is known about Dilmun in general, and Saar in particular. Then the book reports on the temple itself, followed by chapters dealing with what was found within the temple. Along the way, there is a great deal of information on stamp seals and sealing, including a catalogue of seals and sealings, and information on a whole host of other topics. Included are many excellent black-and-white and color(!) photographs, illustrations and maps.

This book is an example of publishing excellence! It is highly informative, wonderfully laid out, and beautifully illustrated. I found the catalogue of seals and sealing, which often included photographs and clear renderings, to be absolutely fascinating, something I have not seen anywhere else. So, if you are interested in ancient Dilmun, or even Mesopotamia, then you must get this book! I give it my highest rating.

history Sheik Isa Bin Sulman Al-Khalif

Can you imagine leaving behind everything you had ever known, and settling in Arabia to do nursing? Cornelia "Sharifa" Dalenberg did it. Her work was difficult, and much of what she saw was not pretty, but she persevered, as any ambassador of Jesus Christ can. Her expeditions took her into the desert, villages, the marshes of Iraq, where people live on huge rafts; and even into the palace of the Arab king. Once she treated a man who had his hand cut off as punishment for stealing. To read this book is a great blessing. You can learn about Dalenberg's experience, as well as get her own perspective on it, which makes the book an inspiring testimony. Whether you are a Christian with a definite interest in going into missions, or a non-sectarian who just wants something to read, this book is for you.

I have a weakness for cats, I admit that freely, and it leaves me predisposed to a book like "Dancing with Cats," which is crammed with photographs of cats (and their humans) leaping, stretching and "dancing" with abandon.

Is the dancing real? Well, I don't knowm and judging by some of the other reviews, there is room for doubt...but I defy any cat to resist some of the visual stimuli directed towards the cats in this book (a swishing faux-"tail," scarves, etc.).

Some of the new age psycho-babble spouted by the human subjects made my eyes glaze, so I ultimately chose to largely ignore the text and instead focus on the pictures themselves. Since the pictures, and not the text, are what made me buy the book in the first place, this was probably a wise move.

"Dancing with Cats" is a very enjoyable book, full of delightful photos that are sure to appeal to cat lovers everywhere.

The photographs of these cats are absolutely stunning and at the same time familiar to anyone who has ever been allowed by a cat to share its home. While the photography is the main draw of this book, don't stop by just looking at the pictures. To truly enjoy the genius of the book, one has to read the comments and interviews with the cat-dancers. From spiritual connection to psycho-babble to childish perceptions, the narration is a delight and a hoot to read. The book is an absolutely perfect parody, leaving the reader just enough convinced to scratch her head and think, "Is this for real?"

Dancing With Cats is hilarious! The claim that the cats were tortured is kind of pushing it, especially considering that of the 4 cats I've had as pets in my life, 3 of them were prone to leaping out of 2nd story windows in hot pursuit of squirrels! I learned when I was still quite young that my cat loved it when I held her in my arms and twirled in circles. It was only a short while before we were actually dancing together-cheek to whisker-just like Fred and Ginger.

I didn't think it could get any better than Why Cats Paint, but when I saw that this book was on its way, I danced for joy!

Thank you Burton Silver and Heather Busch, for the wonderful photographs and the incredibly entertaining text!

I bought this book for a recent business trip to Qatar, and was dissapointed to find quite a number of things that were very out of date. The phone system has been updated since publishing, and now all numbers are 7 instead of 6 digits. you can fix most by adding a 4 at the beginning of most listed numbers, or a 5 for cell phones. Also, some crucial info, like the address to the US Embassy, was wrong. The Embassy moved several years ago. I found most of the societal and historical info to be very handy in preparing for the trip, however, so it was worth it for that.

I have spent time in all three countries and can say that this book will be invaluable for first time vistors and seasoned traveller alike.

Bahrain with its charming city of Manama, is a Gulf delight, with so many things to see and do. Qatar and espcially Doha is a gem, and Kuwait is exotic, enchanting and modern all at the same time.

There are some great places to eat in all of these places and at good prices (has anyone had a bad meal in the Gulf?) and gives sound advice for people touring the area on a wide range of subjects.

If you are planning to go to Bahrain I would recommend the Mishal Gardens for a Shisha (apple or mixed fruit hubbly bubbly) and the Diplomat Hotel for its great floor show, amongst many things. Also, don't forget to visit the siouk (old shopping markets and shops including gold and real pearls).

Great book! Great destinations!

regards,

martyn_jones@iniciativas.com

First of all this Iranian guy is correct. The official name of this body of water is PERSIAN Gulf. The term Arabian Gulf was invented in 1970s by some Pan Arabists who failed to show up at their geography classes. The author's use of this term shows simply his arrogance and fact that he does not know the region nor its people. By using "Arabian Gulf" he simply wants to impress ignorant Arabs into buying his book.

Other than that his book is useless as it does not touch on the cultural aspects on the region.

The book makes repeated references to the "Arabian Gulf" - but there is no such thing. There is an Arabian Sea, and a Gulf of Oman, and the PERSIAN Gulf, but no "Arabian Gulf" exists. The Persian Gulf is the official name of that body of water, and has been known by that name since ancient times. Even the ancient Greeks referred to it by its correct name. One has to wonder, if Lonely Planet is so willing to pander to the Arab governments of the PERSIAN gulf in this manner by renaming the PERSIAN Gulf, then how accurate can their travelogues really be?

Having just returned from a 5 week trip through Oman, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain I can say that Lonely Planet has again produced an accurate and useful guide. And despite the fact that it is several years old, prices and descriptions were still right. The guide's advice to try to get to the Musandem Peninsula in Oman was a fine piece of advice--it is amazingly beautiful.

And to the person who gave one star to this guide because of it's reference to the "Arabian Gulf": relax. If you say "Persian Gulf" to anyone in the Arab Gulf states they will have no idea what body of water you are talking about. I suppose you would be equally upset if 25 years ago a guidebook to China refered to the capital as "Beijing" instead of the Western imposed name "Peking"?

This book is part of a series, all by the same author, which altogether covers the military situation of the Arabian peninsula (excluding Yemen). This particular volume is divided in sections by country, and covers history, the current military situation, and internal security issues (i.e., police, internal intelligence agencies, and likelihood of domestic unrest). It's in the style of a technical report; few people would find it to be "fun reading," nor was it intended to be. I was disappointed that on the topic of UAE internal security, the seven emirates of the UAE were lumped together; it would have been interesting to learn more about the differences in policing and internal security among the various UAE jurisdictions. Nevertheless, this volume covers the minor countries of the Gulf Region with a thoroughness and degree of detail that is not equaled by anything else that's in print.

This book, which "grew out of" the author's 1983-86 dissertation, presents some hard-to-find demographic data about working women in Bahrain (although the data are a little dated at this point). The author begins by describing how Bahrain came to import foreign labor. She then suggests that one way to decrease the number of foreign workers in the country would be to bring more Bahraini women into the workforce to replace foreign workers. The latter part of the book, chapters 4-7, present the outline of a plan how this could be accomplished through developing day care systems and improving education and vocational training for women. Personally, I wasn't completely convinced that the system of day care development that she advocates would be appropriate for the situation in the Gulf. The book was written before Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, so it is mildly interesting in a historical aspect in that a reader can garner a flavor of pre-invasion attitudes within Gulf society concerning gender and the role of government.