Rating: 
Summary: An American woman who lived in the Middle East
Review: I found this book inspiring as it talks about the warmth of the Middle Eastern people, not the rhetoric we hear about the region in these terrifying times. I visited Jordan and found the people to be warm and welcoming as described by Queen Noor. If you enjoyed her book another new book about the Middle East is a humorous and intimate memoir of a single American womans account of her life in Saudi Arabia. It is called "Single in Saudi" by Genia ISBN 1-4033-6836-8. Avery different perspective on the Middle East.
Rating: 
Summary: A Political Wife
Review: I truly looked forward to reading this book to experience the viewpoint of a person raised in the American culture, but transported to the Arab world with a very unique vantage point. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in this regard. With the exception of some personal naratives, I have come away with the impression that the book was definitely a party-line narative, with personal naratives added to entice readers. Keeping this in mind, it is interesting reading.
Queen Noor describes a meeting she had with Barbara Bush during the Gulf War: "I tried to explain the mounting concern in the Arab world about Iraqi civilian losses and desperate conditions. Mrs. Bush was unmoved. She was a political wife, and she was going to believe what she needed to believe." As was Queen Noor.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiring story
Review: In her book, "Leap of Faith," Queen Noor describes her life as an independent, well educated American woman, and later her life as the pro-active, compassionate Queen of Jordan. The majority of the book focuses on her life as the Queen of Jordan and as such the Arab-Israeli conflict is discussed at great length. What makes this part of the book so fascinating is that it is an account of history as seen through the eyes of an individual who played a major part in the events of that day. Queen Noor was always by King Hussein's side during peace negotiations and often acted as his sounding board during difficult political and social times. In fact, it was Queen Noor who encouraged the King to hold fair and open parliamentary elections in Jordan - the country's first general elections in over 20 years. In her book, Queen Noor describes how she re-defined the role of Queen and actively tried to better Jordanian government and society in any way possible. She was a champion of many causes - peace in the Middle East, the advancement of Jordanian women, the preservation of the environment, and the development of the Jordanian tourist industry. She was also a staunch supporter of the arts in Jordan. On a more personal level, I was inspired by the Queen's grace and strength. Reading "Leap of Faith," one gets the sense that Queen Noor handled the many difficult political, social, and personal problems life presented her with thoughtfulness, compassion, and humility. In short, I highly recommend this book to those who wish to read about a remarkable woman who lived through and impacted remarkable times.
Rating: 
Summary: Romance...with a healthy dose of anti-Israeli propaganda
Review: If, say, Pat Buchanan or David Duke were to set out to write a charming little romance novel set in the Middle East, this is how it might well turn out. The love story between the King and his Queen is, indeed, quite charming. That's what makes the thinly veiled (and often completely unveiled) chunks of revisionist history in this book all the more insidious. The Queen's "historical" references all basically boil down to "well, the Middle East was such a nice, peaceful place until those pesky, irritating, imperialist Jews showed up and founded their own country" or some slight variation thereof. Does she say this in the vicious and crass way that, say, a newspaper editorial in Saudi Arabia might say it? Nope, the Queen (or her ghost writer) has better political (and commercial) instincts than to do that. But, the message is pretty much the same thing you'll hear in many of the more extreme media outlets throughtout the Arab/Muslim world...i.e. in the Queen's version of history, those clever and devious (or choose whatever other negative adjectives you want to use) Jews/Israelis are the cause of all the problems which currently afflict us peace-loving Muslims. King Hussein was, in many ways, an admirable man, and I'm sure Queen Noor has some equally admirable traits, but this book makes think that she's been just as thoroughly brainwashed by the anti-Israeli/anti-Semitic material that shows up in school books throughout the region as many of her subjects have been.
Rating:
Summary: Easily disproved and refuted propaganda
Review: Basically the fact that queen noor is nice looking and has paid lipservice to peace gives her a license to spew lies and less than subtle hatred of Jewish people. According to her, they control the world. According to her, Israel's wars were offensive rather than defensive even though her late hubby admitted otherwise. According to her Qadafi is a charmer! Of course she leaves out black september when her late hubby invoked martial law and slaughtered expelled thousands of the PLO. It's a joke of a book. If you want to see photos of the cute Queen, look on the web, not here.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Perspective on the Middle East
Review: The book is very informative, well written and presents another perspective on the many problems in the Middle East.Easy to read and very well organized I found myself making notes and looking up places, events and people she referred to in the book. I would highly recommend the book to everyone; for those who claim it is onesided: This is one person's perspective, that she expresses with great consideration and sensitivity for all.....
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Summary: Simply Brilliant
Review: HM Queen Noor al Hussein was born Lisa Halaby to a Syrian father and Sweedish mother. After graduation from the first co ed class at Princeton with a B.A. in Urban Planning Lisa worked for a firm in Tehran that was contracted to redesign the capital city. Her father was due to be in the Jordanian capitol of Amman to celebrate Royal Jordanian Airlines taking delivery of their first Boeing 747 and asked his daughter to join him. This was the day that changed her life and world forever. During the reception Lisa'a father asked her to take his picture with HM King Hussein, and so was their first meeting. I have seen it written that "Leap of Faith" is a bit one sided. I think it more fair to say it's "the other side". In the "west" we are treated to what the media and the government deem acceptable. What Her Majesty has done is show us the Jordanian or Arab view of some of the 20th centuries most important milestones. HM Queen Noor was born an American but is totally devoted to Jordan and her people. Above all else she IS devoted to her late husband HM King Hussein and their children. "Leap of Faith" is the story of a King and Queen, father and mother, and most of all, husband and wife.
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Summary: LEAP OF UNDERSTANDING
Review: I think a better title would have been Leap of Understanding. Queen Noor presents the history and viewpoints of a culture that WAS part of her ancestry, and that she became immersed in when she married King Hussein. Her book brillantly provides the answer to the question of why there is anti-American feeling in the Eastern world. I think it is important to remember that ALL cultures and countries tend to slant history in their favour, even America (as any Native American can attest to!). Queen Noor presents enough information to make you search out the actual UN documents to read what was the basis for today's conflict. I was not diappointed that there wasn't more 'personal' info-I came away with a good sense of the Queen's personality and perseverence. I had not realized all that she had accomplished in Jordan, and the vast changes made for the Jordanian youth. While others may have wanted the "hollywood" version of their married life to be told in the book, I came away with respect for the admiration and great love the Husseins had for each other. The letters from King Hussein that are printed in the book attest to this. i would greatly recommend this book to anyone who loves history, and wishes to learn more about a culture that is often ignored in Western thinking.
Rating:
Summary: Truthful and entertaining, super!
Review: This book was better than I had expected. I had read reviews which called this book anti-semetic IT IS NOT! It is a truthful account of the middle east history, I should know I am a history teacher. Sometimes the truth is not pretty. Queen Nohr's journey is amazing and entertaining and you learn a bit about the middle east along the way!!! Give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read. Entertaining and educating.
Review: It is unfortunate how we cannot seem to tolerate the other side's point of view any more. Calling her Majesty an anti-semite is shameful.
This book is an excellent piece of work and deserves its current great standing.
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