America in an Arab mirror : images of America in Arabic travel literature : an anthology, 1895-1995

This distinguished anthology presents for the first time in English travel essays by Arabic writers who have visited America in the second half of the century. The view of America which emerges from these accounts is at once fascinating and illuminating, but never monolithic. The writers hail from a variety of viewpoints, regions, and backgrounds, so their descriptions of America differently engage and revise Arab pre-conceptions of Americans and the West. The country figures as everything from the unchanging Other, the very antithesis of the Arab self, to the seductive female, to the Other who is both praiseworthy and reprehensible. This Anthology Presents Travel Essays By Arabic Writers Who Have Visited America In The One Hundred Years Spanning 1895-1995. The View Of America Which Emerges From These Accounts Is At Once Fascinating And Illuminating, But Never Monolithic. The Writers Hail From A Variety Of Viewpoints, Regions, And Backgrounds, So Their Descriptions Of America Differently Engage With And Revise Arab Preconceptions Of Americans And The West. The Country Figures As Everything From The Unchanging Other, The Very Antithesis Of The Arab Self, To The Seductive Female, To The Other Who Is Both Praiseworthy And Reprehensible, Taken Together, These Well-written Pieces Constitute An Important Window Into Arab-american Relations.--jacket. List Of Accounts Of Arab Travelers To America According To Their Date Of Publication (1895-1995) -- A Stranger In The West : The Trip Of Mikhail Asad Rustum To America, 1885-1894 / Mikhail Asad Rustum -- The America I Have Seen : In The Scale Of Human Values / Sayyid Qutb -- A Love Tour / Mahmud Awad -- An American Immigrant / Ahmad Mustafa -- New York 80 / Yusuf Idris -- America : The Jeans And The Switchblade / Muhammad Hasan Al-alfi -- America For Sale / Mahmud Imara -- America In The Eyes Of The Easterner, Or Eight Years In The United States / Philip K. Hitti -- The World In America / Amir Boqtor -- The Trip To America / Muhammad Labib Al-batanuni -- The Flying Sphinx [in America] / Mahmud Taymur -- America Under The Microscope / Zaki Khalid -- My Days In America / Zaki Najib Mahmud -- The Land Of Magic / Shafiq Jabri -- America : Paradise And Hellfire / Adil Hammuda -- The Washington Memoirs / Yusuf Al-hasan -- America (top Secret) / Ahmad Haridi -- Embers And Ashes : Memoirs Of An Arab Intellectual / Hisham Sharabi -- America And I / Jadhibiyya Sidqi -- An Egyptian Girl In America / Karima Kamal -- The Trip : The Days Of An Egyptian Female Student In America / Radwa Ashur -- America's Other Face / Layla Abu Zayd -- America The Way It Is / Hala Sarhan -- Cheerful America Of The Past : Journal Of A Penniless Student In The United States / Mustafa Amin -- America, You Cheeky Devil / Mahmud Al-sadani -- My Story With Eva [ivana Trump] / Ali Salem -- The Sabeel In America / K Amal Abdel-malek. Translated And Edited By Kamal Abdel-malek. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Annotation This distinguished anthology presents for the first time in English travel essays by Arabic writers who have visited America in the second half of the century. The view of America which emerges from these accounts is at once fascinating and illuminating, but never monolithic. The writers hail from a variety of viewpoints, regions, and backgrounds, so their descriptions of America differently engage and revise Arab pre-conceptions of Americans and the West. The country figures as everythingfrom the unchanging Other, the very antithesis of the Arab self, to the seductive female, to the Other who is both praiseworthy and reprehensible MIKHAIL ASAD RUSTUM was born in Lebanon in the mid-nineteenth century and emigrated to the United States in the 1880s where he settled in Philadelphia.