House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East
Feb 2012 · HarperCollins
3.3star
57 reviews
Ebook
337
Pages
family_home
Eligible
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About this ebook
“Wonderful . . . One of the finest memoirs I’ve read.” — Philip Caputo, Washington Post
In the summer of 2006, racing through Lebanon to report on the Israeli invasion, Anthony Shadid found himself in his family’s ancestral hometown of Marjayoun. There, he discovered his great-grandfather’s once magnificent estate in near ruins, devastated by war. One year later, Shadid returned to Marjayoun, not to chronicle the violence, but to rebuild in its wake.
So begins the story of a battle-scarred home and a journalist’s wounded spirit, and of how reconstructing the one came to fortify the other. In this bittersweet and resonant memoir, Shadid creates a mosaic of past and present, tracing the house’s renewal alongside the history of his family’s flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America around the turn of the twentieth century. In the process, he memorializes a lost world and provides profound insights into a shifting Middle East. This paperback edition includes an afterword by the journalist Nada Bakri, Anthony Shadid’s wife, reflecting on his legacy.
“A poignant dedication to family, to home, and to history . . . Breathtaking.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“Entertaining, informative, and deeply moving . . . House of Stone will stand a long time, for those fortunate enough to read it.” — Telegraph (London)
In the summer of 2006, racing through Lebanon to report on the Israeli invasion, Anthony Shadid found himself in his family’s ancestral hometown of Marjayoun. There, he discovered his great-grandfather’s once magnificent estate in near ruins, devastated by war. One year later, Shadid returned to Marjayoun, not to chronicle the violence, but to rebuild in its wake.
So begins the story of a battle-scarred home and a journalist’s wounded spirit, and of how reconstructing the one came to fortify the other. In this bittersweet and resonant memoir, Shadid creates a mosaic of past and present, tracing the house’s renewal alongside the history of his family’s flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America around the turn of the twentieth century. In the process, he memorializes a lost world and provides profound insights into a shifting Middle East. This paperback edition includes an afterword by the journalist Nada Bakri, Anthony Shadid’s wife, reflecting on his legacy.
“A poignant dedication to family, to home, and to history . . . Breathtaking.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“Entertaining, informative, and deeply moving . . . House of Stone will stand a long time, for those fortunate enough to read it.” — Telegraph (London)
Ratings and reviews
3.3
57 reviews
A Google user
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November 19, 2012
This memoir will bring any reader into the world and mindset of a Lebanese expatriate. The struggles in dealing with the culture of Lebanon (from an American perspective) can be extraordinarily challenging and Anthony Shadid really describes it well. The book also enunciates clearly the sectarian divide in Lebanon and how that has shaped the culture there. Finally, it gives a healthy background of the area and it's peoples which provides a clearer understanding for some of the problems facing the region today.
2 people found this review helpful
A Google user
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November 24, 2012
Would have never expected to take my own journey while reading Anthony's story. I traveled with him through time to finally understand my grandparent's immigration from Lebanon. I also clearly see the Lebanon of today. This is a must read for anyone seeking to understand why the region is under the threat of constant turmoil.
A Google user
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November 21, 2012
If your trying to kill time great game to play
About the author
ANTHONY SHADID(1968-2012), author of Night Draws Near, was an unparalleled chronicler of the human stories behind the news. He gained attention and awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, for his front-page reports in the Washington Post from Iraq. As Middle East correspondent for the New York Times, he covered the Arab Spring from Egypt to Libya (where he was held captive in March, 2011) to Syria. In 2010, he earned his second Pulitzer. Tragically, on February 16, 2012, he died while on assignment in Syria.
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