Rating: 
Summary: Leap of Faith
Review: I was looking forward to reading this book. I always viewed King Hussein as a ray of hope for peace in the Middle East. I had thought that his widow would write a piece that would enhance his vision. I was disappointed that Her Majesty simply rehearsed the same old anti-Jewish, anti-Israel sentiment that have been expressed for generations. Queen Noor had an opportunity to make a difference. In the end, she simply revealed her prejudices. Tis a pity.
Rating:
Summary: The book reflects a shallow author.
Review: I picked up the book in a book store, curious to know what kind of person and life the author had, given her unusual background. I began with curiosity; as I turned the pages, it gradually turned into questioning, then disbelief, and by the time I finished the book, I lost all my interest in the author. She seems to be, as her own book reveals, just another shallow woman, with self-aggrandizement and an agenda. In addition, it's not a talented writer that produced this book.So, after weeks of courtship, she did not sense what it could have meant when King Hussein expressed wish to see her father. (Sounds like a lovely innocent girl?) Once King Hussein has proposed marriage to her, her "only" concern was whether she would qualify to be Queen of Jordan and contribute to the country and its people. (We see a selfless lady.) What is the purpose to tell the reader that King Hussein told her that during his trip to America, virtually every young woman in the city he was came before him "hoping to be the next Grace Kelly"? To tell us that you were the winner? Or that you were the only one that didn't mean to be "the next Grace Kelly"? I found this part of extremely low taste. The author claimes that material advantage was never what her family was concerned. Thank you for confirming this. "I was shy," "I blushed..." The same words appear in the book numerous times, convincing me that this is probably the shyest lady I have ever read about. So, she told us that someone told her that when Hussein looked at her, his expression was that of as if light had suddenly come to him. Fine, how did she herself feel or repond to that comment? After getting married, she never thought of and never discussed with Hussein about having children, since Hussein already had a number of children from previous marriages. (So, here's a woman, who courted with King of Jordan and decided to marry him, without ever thinking she and he were to have children, possible heirs to the throne.) Her person and agenda became all the more explicit at the end of the book, when she repeatedly mentioned her eldest son, Hamzah, and hinted that HE was the one that's mostly like his father and should be the successor to his father, and that even though Hussein's eldest son, Abdullah, was chosen, she apparently wanted him to keep in mind that Hamzah should be treated as a critical partner of him. She quotes Hussein's glorious eulogy of herself toward the end of his life without self-inspection. I'm sorry the Jordanians had such a shallow woman as their queen. What about King Hussein? She says she loved and admired him dearly, yet I failed to be able to dig out either the basis or the credibility of such affections. I'll skip the political part since there have been enough reviews on this. In conclusion, the book was subtitled "Memoirs of an Unexpected Life", I found this "unexpected life" not worth a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Memoir, Lousy History
Review: Queen Noor is an interesting woman, and this book has generated a lot of interest here in the States, because of her storybook romance with the King of Jordan, Hussein, and because she has a good deal of influence as a result of her marriage. She has also garnered much attention, of course, because she's the former Lisa Halaby, of one quarter Arab descent, an American citizen who married a King. This book is basically a memoir of the two decades she spent with this man, and of his struggle for peace. Hussein was an interesting character, and that part of the book is its strength. He ascended to the throne at 17, and was married thrice before Noor, once to an Englishwoman. Hussein and Noor reigned over Jordan until his death from cancer in 1999. They had several children together, and she oversaw the household of his children from previous marriages. When she became Queen, she became a Muslim, also, and decided that she would take an active role in her country's infrastructure in addition to being Queen officially. We get a detailed account of her various dealings trying to change the economic structure of the country, empowering women and giving them jobs, that sort of thing. It's all very interesting if you're into that sort of thing. We also get a very one-sided, superficial version of the dispute between the Palestinians and Israel, replete with stereotypical silly arguments that are repeated as if they're true. Strangely, she recognizes a silly Israeli rumor (that the former Palestine was essentially empty when the first Zionist settlers arrived) but repeats several "truths" that are no such thing, but very favorable to the Arab cause. It's a bit much at times. Because of this, my review of the book is very mixed. If you wish to read the storybook romance part of things, this is a good book; if you wish to read a book on Middle East politics, I would recommend almost anything else.
Rating: 
Summary: Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life
Review: I loved this book. Great to hear an outside perspective of some of the modern history of the middle east. Should be read in high school history classes as an extra credit book.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative and Touching
Review: I wasn't sure, at first, that I was going to enjoy this book. But I became very interested in the story's progress because the author made me care for her family and her point of view. There was just enough history, personal perspective, and likeability of the characters that I wanted to see how they weathered the treacherous affairs of world politics. It was an eye-opening experience for me, and I support her efforts to improve the west's perception of Arabs and its understanding of Middle East affairs. I found it to be worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Not a true memoir
Review: Queen Noor is still a loyal wife to her husband. In a time when many other authors reveal in excrutiating detail what should be private, this is almost to be appreciated. However, with "memoir" in the title I expected more. I bought this book to find out how she really felt. We were told, for example, that the children presented a list of complaints to their parents. We do not know what a single one of those complaints were, nor how the parents responded. I have read the memoir of a very private person who wishes to remain so. Many reviewers have commented on the perspective Noor takes on Israel. Queen Noor is not impartial, nor should she be expected to be. I would have been more impressed if she had acknowledged that somewhere in the book.
Rating:
Summary: I Loved The Book!
Review: Cheers for Queen Noor! This book is both interesting and a fun book to read. She is honest and upfront on all points of interest. Hope Queen Noor will honor us with more books in the future.
Rating:
Summary: should have left well enough alone
Review: If Queen Noor had just written a book about her romance with the King of Jordan and their marriage this would've been a perfectly fine book but she had to get political and that ruins it. Noor's son is in line for the throne and one can assume that she wants him to get it so she tows the Middle East line. One would be tempted to believe the things she says about Jordan if it weren't for books like Lost Honor which tells about a recent so called "honor killing." There are a lot of unpleasant things about Jordan and the other Middle East countries that have nothing to do with Israel but you won't find any mention of them in the book. It's a completely sugar coated with whipped cream version of events.
Rating:
Summary: Anti-Semitic tripe
Review: This is nothing but an anti-Semitic revisionist view of Middle East history from someone who is essentially an irrelevant piece of property. To even suggest that Israel started the 1967 war is beyond offensive. Say what you will about Israel, they're not stupid enough to start a war with 5 of their neighbors. Regardless of who you side with -- Israel or the Arabs -- nonsense like Ms. Noor's book only serve to perpetuate the conflict. Then again, her husband has done nothing but foment discord in the region (it is an irrefutable fact that he helped attack Israel in 1973). King Hussein stands in stark contast to the true visionaries in the region, men like Sadat and Begin, and even (hopefully!) Abu Mazen and Ariel Sharon. Ms. Noor and her husband do not deserve to be in their company. They should stick with Khadafi and the other criminals. I honestly hope she goes the way of Marie Antoinette -- maybe then there will be freedom and equality for Arabs, and we can be spared this borderline hate speech from an educated woman who should know better. Shame on you, Ms. Noor -- you represent everything that is wrong with the Arab world today.
Rating: 
Summary: A differing view of the Mid-East crisis.
Review: 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?
| 
