From Publishers Weekly
Anyone who loved The King and I will readily warm to the love story of Queen Noor and the late King Hussein of Jordan. Born in America in 1951 as Lisa Halaby, Noor came from a wealthy, well-connected family and was part of Princeton's first co-ed class. Her father's aviation business produced a chance meeting with King Hussein in 1976, and a year or two later Noor realized the king was courting her. He was 41, she was 26. The rumor mills buzzed: was she the next Grace Kelly? Before long, the king renamed her Noor (light in Arabic), and she converted to Islam. They were married in the summer of 1978. From this point on, her story is mostly his, mainly covering his attempts to broker peace in the Middle East. There are meetings with Arafat, Saddam Hussein, American presidents and other leaders. Noor details Hussein's struggles to create Arab unity and his vision of peaceful coexistence with Israel. Her own activities developing village-based economic self-sufficiency projects and improving Jordan's medical, educational and cultural facilities take second place to her husband's struggles on the world stage. And while she occasionally acknowledges her domestic difficulties, Noor is careful not to allow personal problems to become any more than asides. Her pleasing memoir ends with the king's death after his struggle with cancer, although readers may suspect that this smart, courageous woman will remain a world presence for years to come.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
American-born Queen Noor of Jordan is a woman of uncommon intelligence, education, and emotional grace. Very few are born that way, and this story of how she grew into the job, and role, of queen of a country of such importance to us all makes for riveting reading. It is a story of love and family, growth and loss, well told and beautifully read by Suzanne Toren, and remarkably moving. Noor gives you a view of a world you thought you knew, that will never look the same, and she paints a loving and memorable portrait of her husband, King Hussein, that will make you sorry all over again that he is no longer with us. Queen Noor reads the preface herself, setting the tone. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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