Home :: Books :: Audiocassettes  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes

Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life (Audio Editions)

Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life (Audio Editions)

List Price: $39.95
Your Price: $27.96
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 .. 18 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Intelligent and thoughtful memoir
Review: I am amazed at the number of "reviewers" who trashed this book and Queen Noor.

I found it absolutely fascinating and could not put it down. She shares a TIMELINE of her life before she met King Hussein and after along with bits of informative history re Jordan and the mess in the Middle East.

As to her conversion to Islam, it was, as she states, HER choice and a deeply personal one, not something she did out of necessity or convenience. As Queen she was not required to be a Muslim, just someone who believed in monotheism.

Those who have condemned her and this book have not shown any great insights into the history of the Middle East or current events there, just their own shallow preconceived notions of what they THINK is the truth.

Queen Noor's book is a MEMOIR, not a history text. It is her perspective on her life. Taken as such it is a thoroughly enjoyable book and one that will challenge your world views.

I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Politics-from a woman's point of view
Review: Autobiographies are always written in the author's point of view. This book is no different. I wanted to know more about Palace life and the Jordanian Royal family, but I was disappointed. There is no depth in the book as I feel the author really censored what she wrote so the book ends up being very superficial.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Queen Noor's 'Leap of Faith'--EXCELLENT
Review: This is a very entertaining and informative book on the Queen's life with King Hussein. She wishes to set the record straight on the peace initiatives as well, and everything she and the King had gone through during this on-going process. Queen Noor shared every aspect of her husband's life, including his interests and concerns of the region. She continues to remind people that peace and stability of the region is still very much a 'hot' issue today. The Queen is a very 'touchable' and real woman who is very easy to relate to. This book further keeps the King's legacy alive and I highly recommend it to people who want to know what this truly magnificent 'power couple' were like as well people who want to learn about the Arabic culture.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Other Door Opens
Review: Queen Noor's book was an eye-opener. Jordan to me has always been somewhat of a neutral country in the middle east, nothing really came to mind when I thought of Jordan, now I have a clearer picture.

QN does a good job of shedding light on her life and that of the King as well as the political issues of the day. The other thing she does was enlighten the reader on the challenges facing her as a woman in the Jordanian society as well as being a wife to the King.

All in all, this book gave me a new perspective on Jordan and I am looking forward to visiting that lovely country.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A timely book on behalf of ordinary Muslim people.
Review: I have been deeply moved by this book. Those who are expecting a fairy tale book, about a rosy love story between an American woman and an Arabian King, will be disappointed.

But those who have been wondering when a writer would enlighten the outside world, about the Middle-East, with a serious, factual and well thought out writing, have their prayers answered in this inspiring book which is for those who are open-minded enough to want to look beyond the Western clichés at Jordan and the Middle-East from a Jordanian and Middle-Eastern viewpoints.

I liked its style based on factual data -NO FICTION- given not in a cold manner but with a warm and loving heart. Out of this book, flows mutual respect, understanding and love for (wo)mankind.

Queen Noor, in this book, has spoken on behalf of ordinary Muslim people, like me, who have no access to the powerful Western media. Thank you for that!

Regards to you all in Amazon.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I liked it!
Review: I gave it four stars, because I thought it jumped around a little & there were 2 or 3 comments ,I didnt like, BUT other than that I found it ENJOYABLE & (embarassingly)INFORMATIVE. I kind of agree with the "reader from santa clara" I feel like all these years I've only been told one side of the story, & now have a totally different perspective & admiration for the palestinian people. I recommend this book & to younger women especially, who have heard all the names over & over on the news, but have no idea really, what going on in the middle east.Its a nice romance with some important history.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Leap of Sophistry
Review: To say that this is the worst book I've read this year would be a vast understatement of monumental proportions. Two words: ghost writer. Two more: political diatribe. Two more: blatant anti-semitism. Furthermore, Lisa, who purportedly never liked her birth name anyway, runs on like a broken record about how idyllic and utopian her patrician marriage to King Hussein was on every page - it was all peaches and cream - sans any spats or problems in over 20 years of marriage - yeah, right.

Her self-aggrandizement and flatulent self-importance of how she was a dynamic pioneer as the first Queen to be a social reformer is self-serving at best. Her less than subtle pervasive ant-semitism proves most disturbing: "The Arabs feared, and it turned out rightly, that some of the Zionist Jews beginning to arrive in Palestine had no intention of sharing the land but wanted it all for their own." Her continual reference to "the powerful Zionist lobby" in America and how it controls America & has blinded Americans from the plight of the poor suicide bombers is unsettling to digest. Her constant harping on how Hussein's supposed sole mission in life was his unwavering quest for peace in the Middle East on every page made me nauseous. Her inclusion of "The Prophet Muhammad, May Peace be Upon Him" whenever mentioning Muhammad was the icing on the cake. Recommended to those philistine degenerates who savor fallacious political propaganda written by a ghost writer. Good stuff.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great story and alternative perspective on Mid-East issues
Review: This book is highly enjoyable and difficult to put down at times. Queen Noor's life is fascinating and she tells her life story in a very concise well-written way. Her book also provides a unique perspective on the evolving Israel/Palestine crisis that few in the US have been exposed to. Among other things, Leap of Faith exposes US propaganda and brings a healthy critique of the press, media and politicians in nations around the world. This book is a must-read for anyone who desires a new perspective on the Middle East or is just interested in reading about a unique life story. I'd put this book on my top 10 list of the most interesting non-fiction books I've ever read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A terrific book to read!
Review: I received this book 4 days ago and am already finished with it, I have not been able to put it down! She includes her biography and also her political views. I don't believe she wrote this book seeking the general public's approval of her political views. The information she provides in this book gives the reader insight as to the happy times and the particular crisies she and her husband faced together during their marriage. And it is great to learn the other side of the story regarding the crisis with the Israeli's and Palestinians. I dont believe there are any hidden agendas associated with this book. If the reader has an open mind, there is no reason to believe this book is anything but simply the memoires of a Queen who loved her adopted country and husband, her own story told her way without trying to tone it down to please people with different views. Everyone is entitled to tell their life story as they see fit.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Troubling...
Review: I eagerly anticipated reading this book. Maybe I am too much a romantic, but I assumed the tale of how Lisa Halaby became Queen Noor and accounts of her marriage with King Hussein would be both enchanting and gripping. Instead, the reader is served a very dry political dish, with only sparse morsels of personal detail sprinkled here and there.

Things I found particularly troubling: It seems the queen goes out of her way to equate herself with "average" people, but at the same time her upbringing was obviously one of privilege and wealth. She claims she empathizes and identifies with the plight of poor Jordanians - how? In one of the most amusing accounts, she strives to appear a thifty, practical woman by going around turning off lights in the palace. Oh my goodness - stop the presses - the queen is conserving energy just like a good little housewife!

I wanted very much to like Queen Noor. But I found her writing (or that of her ghost writer's) style stilted, unemotional, about as exciting as day-old bread. This reader doesn't sympathize or identify with her - indeed, I find I know little or nothing about her by the end of the book. And it's an unnecessarily huge book.

I was deeply troubled by the queen's blatant anti-Semitism, as accounted by previous reviewers. There is nothing subtle about it. There are plenty of political books already out there - I chose to read this book hoping to learn more about a woman and royal family who has intrigued me and doubtless others over the years.

By all means, read this book if you are interested in a lengthy, rambling account of the history of the Middle East, or a bland travelogue of places most of us will likely never visit. But if you are seeking heartfelt emotion, or a genuine glimpse into a woman's mind, heart or soul, look elsewhere. Princess Diana she is not.


<< 1 .. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 .. 18 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates