Jordan

In the book, Cultures of the World Jordan, author Coleman South provides some interesting insights into the country of Jordan. Like other works in this series Cultures of the World, the book provides glimpses of various aspects of Jordan ranging as widely as geography to food. Since Jordan lacks the diversity of many other Middle East countries, the writer faced a greater challenge to engage the reader's interest, particularly the younger reader, for whom the series is officially designated. he succeeds admirably. In the chapter Government, which can sometimes be dehydrated, South, after stating the official government functions for the constitutional monarchy, proceeds to discuss how the government perceives its citizens and its responsibilities to them as well as how the people see their king and government. He continues to explain how these perceptions allow society and government to integrate and build stability rather than standoff holding an 'us and them' mentality. The example of the Camel Corps (desert police) illustrates this relationship. It stands as not very functional in modern times, but it symbolizes the responsibility of government to protect the unwary traveller from the natural hazards of the desert, as well as from any potential wrongdoers. The author also uses this probing analysis technique in the chapter on Language. After noting the signicant vocabulary and grammar differences between Arabic and English, he explains further socio-cultural differences in use of language. Arabic speakers use overstatement much more often and for a much wider range of circumstances than do English speakers. Consequently even after meticulous translation between languages, the full meanings of the speaker/writer has not been fully carried over to the listener/reader. This level of analysis is unusual for a book officially intended for young readers and it is frequently lacking in many officially 'adult works'. The photos in this book are excellent as in many other books in this series and one can gain further knowledge by studying them with care. overall the author gives the impression that he enjoyed writing this book which has, in turn, produced a very interesting book for any person, younger or adult, to read.