The Haj

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Summary: excellent storytelling......vintage uris
Review: This was my first uris book. I must say i'm impressed. Historical insight molds this tale with fictional characters into a bloom of amazing grip. If you know nothing of the middle east and its past this will be an eye opener. It explains the ways of the arab and his thinking.

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Summary: Leon Uris; One of the Great Historical Novelists
Review: THE HAJ provides possibly the only way for a layman to understand what is currently going on in the Middle East and why it all came to the attack on the WTC and the Pentagon. Uris is the ultimate research persona on the problems of Israel, the Jewish people, the Arabs and the Islams, as well as Ireland. His research is meticulous. Part of his genius is the ability to weave the facts of history into a page turning novel. THE HAJ a must read book if one is to understand this time in the world.

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Summary: Growing up Arab
Review: This book provided insight into some of the cultural aspects of life, trials, and tribulations of growing up as an Arab in Palestine in turmoil. The ending was a bummer, but then a happy ending wasn't expected.

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Summary: Timely cultural background info should be read by all
Review: TO THE PUBLISHERS OF 'HAJ': If there is someone at Bantam Books, who published this book in June of l985, reading these messages, you should aggressively promote this book NOW. I started reading it before 9-11-01 and the insight it gives to the historical and cultural background to the Middle East in light of the attacks on the United States would be so important to all Americans. They could get some handle, some understanding, of the core of all this hatred and how it has been encouraged internally to boil throught the years. Some of the predications contained in the book regarding what will be faced before the turn of the century, and explaining why, raised goose bumps. Written in the Mitchner style with fictional characters interwoven with historical data, it makes a very easy read and lends to retention of information. Please, please, re-issue it with much advertising in all the major USA papers. It gives a eye-opening insight into the mindset of those instigating this madness, and their followers. It would be a disservice to the public not to.

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Summary: The Haj, by Leon Uris (a non-Jew).
Review: This is a fast paced historical page-turner on the Middle East. It is an intimate and detailed revelation of ancient and current Israeli and Arab values and cultures. It takes you to another world and a greater understanding of the actions and motives of both anncient and current day Jews and Arabs.
This fascinating fiction is based closely on historical incidents and is more fact than fiction. I would recommend this book, particularly at this time in our history, as necessary reading for anyone over the age of 12 who wants to express an informed opinion on the Middle East.

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Summary: The Haj, by Leon Uris!
Review: This is a fast paced historical page-turner on the Middle East. It is an intimate revlation of ancient and current Israeli and Arab values and cultures. It takes you to another world and a greater understanding of the actions and motives of both anncient and current day Jews and Arabs.
This fascinating fiction is based closely on historical incidents and is more fact than fiction. I would recommend this book, particularly at this time in our history, as necessary reading for anyone over the age of 12 who wants to express an informed opinion on the Middle East.

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Summary: Entertaining, but hateful
Review: Without being a historian and a researcher, I cannot know if what is portrayed in this book is based on truth. Then again, he openly admits it is a work of fiction. But It does seem to be very biased against Arabs, even though the main characters in it are Arabs. Seems to focus mainly on the negative aspects of Muslim/Arab culture, such as the lack of rights of women, the honor killings of women if they have sex before marriage. There is a supposed character of wisdom in the book, a Dr. Mudhil, who constantly talks of the 'shortcomings' of arabs, of how they (he is one also) are doomed to failure because only hate drives them, that they cannot get along with each other, that they only know warfare, etc. In short, the book is quite politically incorrect, but I have eyes, and I watch the news, and nothing Uris has written is too farfetched to be completely unbelievable. Except maybe the part where Uris mentions that young arabs, to show bravery, strangle puppies and drink their blood. I don't want to believe that, and perhaps one person might have done that, just like Ozzy Osbourne bit a chicken's head off on stage, but we don't say that all christians bite the heads off of live chickens, do we? But still read it, it was interesting.

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Summary: The Haj - Superb!
Review: This book is by far the most intriguing book I've ever read. I was very interested to read the opinion that was written by the gentleman from Toronto, who was preterbed by the bias perspective of the book. The description of Islamic culture was backed by factual historical events that made sense to why things are the way they are in the Middle East. I look at people like Saddam Hussein and countries like Afghanistan and after reading this book the picture is so much clearer. And by the way, this book would never be subject to any type of hate laws in Canada because it doesn't even come close to the type of material that the government is looking for. Absurdity!!

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Summary: I enjoyed this book immensely!
Review: I found the book fascinating! A lot of historical accuracy. I learned a lot from this book and enjoyed it to boot!

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Summary: An Opinion,A saga!!
Review: I had read this book some years ago and suddenly when I read so much about it again I thought that I should write a review. The book first of all is not racist because I beleieve everybody is a racist in his or her own way. We can't stamp Leon as a racist though the book might sound that way. The "Arab cannon of Life" etc etc that has been branded by Uris doesn't seem to be a lie. The tampered, tarnished and disturbed middle east has been there since ages. It has given the world some of its best leaders and some of its worst leaders. The present day world seems to support Leon's views. The Arab-Israeli war, Gulf war,Iran-Iraq war and the problems in Syria,Jordan,Lebanon,Yemen go on to prove that the Arab world is never content with itself. The book definitely sounds an opinion in some of its last pages wherein Leon Uris has tried to force his perception of Arab life to the readers which might not be all correct.The book is a well written narrative which demands the readers attention and it should be treated more as a fiction than as reality.