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I thought this was a very well researched historical novel, both entertaining and informative. It made the history in the region between the 1920s and 1950s easier to understand. The story was terribly tragic and sad.

I was aware of the author’s obvious bias while reading it, but had a feeling that what he was saying about Arab and Jewish character was probably based mostly on reality. It seems that the Arab culture, which formed the religion of Islam, was summed up early in the book when Ishmael learned by the age of eight that it was father against son, brother against brother, family against family, clan against clan, tribe against tribe, and most of all, all Islamic Arabs against the infidel. It seems that even now, most of the Middle East is stubbornly stuck in the attitudes of past centuries, and is just waiting for the 7 paradises. I was very interested to see that an Arab reviewed and liked this book, on Feb. 21, 2010, and said that it gives a great description of Arab character.