Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life

In her book, "Leap of Faith," Queen Noor describes her life as an independent, well educated American woman, and later her life as the pro-active, compassionate Queen of Jordan. The majority of the book focuses on her life as the Queen of Jordan and as such the Arab-Israeli conflict is discussed at great length. What makes this part of the book so fascinating is that it is an account of history as seen through the eyes of an individual who played a major part in the events of that day. Queen Noor was always by King Hussein's side during peace negotiations and often acted as his sounding board during difficult political and social times. In fact, it was Queen Noor who encouraged the King to hold fair and open parliamentary elections in Jordan - the country's first general elections in over 20 years. In her book, Queen Noor describes how she re-defined the role of Queen and actively tried to better Jordanian government and society in any way possible. She was a champion of many causes - peace in the Middle East, the advancement of Jordanian women, the preservation of the environment, and the development of the Jordanian tourist industry. She was also a staunch supporter of the arts in Jordan. On a more personal level, I was inspired by the Queen's grace and strength. Reading "Leap of Faith," one gets the sense that Queen Noor handled the many difficult political, social, and personal problems life presented her with thoughtfulness, compassion, and humility. In short, I highly recommend this book to those who wish to read about a remarkable woman who lived through and impacted remarkable times.

This book was better than I had expected. I had read reviews which called this book anti-semetic IT IS NOT! It is a truthful account of the middle east history, I should know I am a history teacher. Sometimes the truth is not pretty. Queen Nohr's journey is amazing and entertaining and you learn a bit about the middle east along the way!!! Give it a try.

This is an extremely well thought out, intriguing book. If you are thinking you are getting some book about a fluff queen in a little country - you are mistaken. This is a book about an unbelieveably strong, brilliant woman married to a man who happened to be king of a country undergoing tremendous strife for the entire time of their marriage. It made me realize my poor knowledge of the region and of the strength and values of the Jordanian people. A great book.

Once in awhile a book comes along that does make change. This book is a true enlightenment for many. We have ideas as to what goes on in the Arab world, but this clearly sets the record straight. I cannot emphasize the importance of needing to read this if you are one who has any interest or concern covering this huge reality. From King Hussien's vision as to what a womans role is to the rest of the region, to what this woman was able to move forward with. This gives us insight as to what is in fact possible with proper diplomacy and extreme diligence. What I cannot convey more of is how this book seriously applies to all of us and especially in this current time of war in Iraq. There is application in this book which is of incredible intellect and insight. Women are in fact a huge influence in the area if these women know how to get into position and pass the message continually. I highly recommend this along with another book which covers this same exact effort in the Arab world and how women are desperately needed to get fearlessly involved, title is SB 1 or God by Karl Maddox.