What I'm reading:  Spring of 2004

 An Enduring Love, My Life with the Shah

by Farah Pahlavi

 
This is a beautifully written book that captures you from the first moment.  I lived in Saudi Arabia when the Shah was overthrown and saw firsthand how that incident affected so many lives in the area.  Yet I know less than I should about Iran, so I was entranced by Farah's descriptions of the land and of the people and of her personal life.  She was a much loved only child, adored by her father, who died young.  She goes on to tell what life was like in her love marriage with the Shah.  While I know that there was brutality shown by the Shah's security forces, which was horrible and needed to be stopped, I couldn't help but think how different the world would be had the Shah not been overthrown.  Certainly the horrific war with Saddam Hussein would not have occurred, and millions of innocent people now dead would be alive.  Certainly the Iranian government under the Shah would not have exported terrorism all over the world.  Who knows what the face of the Middle East would look like had the Shah remained in power?  While the book doesn't delve into the major problems that existed under the Shah, it's a book I recommend highly for anyone with the slightest interest in Iran.  I found myself liking the Shah a lot more than I could have ever realized.  And, I was disgusted with Jimmy Carter for turning his back on the Shah when the man was sick and dying.  Unfortunately, that's America for you... Governments of my beloved country have a terrible habit of disloyalty when someone is no longer of use.  I really hate it when we show this side of government policy.  It's just flat wrong.
 
 

Flyboys

by James Bradley

 My uncle Claude, a kind and gentle man, my father's only brother, fought the Japanese during World War II.  When I was a child, I desperately wanted to question Uncle Claude about his experiences, but he would leave the room if anyone brought up the subject.  Obviously, the experience had been searing.  Now Uncle Claude is dead and I'm so sorry I didn't press him, but I was only a child so its understandable that I did not.  Now, after reading Flyboys, I get an idea of why Uncle Claude never discussed his experiences.  Some experiences are just too horrible to reveal.
 
Flyboys is a well written book that was so compelling that once I started reading, I couldn't stop.  I sat up all night and finished it in one sitting!  This is the true story of some very brave young American men, pilots during World War II who were captured by the Japanese forces.  It's a heart-rending tale that will reinforce how horrific war can be.  If you don't weep for these young warriors, you have a heart of stone.
  

A Soldier's Story

The Memoirs of Jafar Pasha Al-Askari

 
My darling friend Mayada bought this book for me as a special gift when she traveled to the States last year.  This is such a special book.  It's the memoirs of Mayada's paternal grandfather, Jafar Al-Askari.  While I was writing Mayada, Daughter of Iraq, I learned a lot about Jafar, the man who fought alongside Lawrence of Arabia against the Ottoman Empire, and who was Commander of the Arab Army.  I did an entire chapter on him and while in the research/discovery period, fell in love with the man.  Unfortunately, my American editor felt that the chapter cut into the action of Mayada's prison experiences, thus that entire chapter was ultimately cut.  It broke my heart because Jafar Al-Askari lived the most amazing life and was one of the most admirable men ever to live and I so wanted the world to know about him.  Imagine my excitement and surprise when I discovered that a book had been published from Jafar's own diaries.  I was over the moon when Mayada put the book into my hands.
 
If you want to understand how modern Iraq came about, and the source of so many problems that still exist today, then I urge you to buy and read this book.  (I think you have to order it on-line, but it is worth the effort.)  It's a great companion book for my own book about his granddaughter, Mayada Al-Askari.  After "getting to know" Jafar, I understood so much more about Mayada's special character.  She took after her grandfather!  What a man!  What a a life!
          

 

The World's Most Dangerous Places

by Robert Young Pelton

 
For some odd reason, I'm drawn to dangerous places, so this book immediately caught my eye.  The author did amazing research--you learn a lot about the places you shouldn't go!  Of course, it made me want to pack my bags and head out...
       

 

Three books I'm going to read soon,

and will report back on them at a later date!

 
1)  Dresden by Frederick Taylor  (I'm a sucker for anything written about World War II)
2)  Conquerors' Road:  An Eyewitness Report of Germany 1945 by Omar White
3)  Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston

 

 

WHAT I’M READING During the months of January and February 2003

I’ve declared two months, January & February 2003 as Dr. Thomas A. Dooley reading months! I hope you get a chance to research his life story and perhaps read some of his books and come to know this wonderful human being and appreciate him as I do…

I know you are asking: Who is Dr. Tom Dooley and why is Jean Sasson making such a fuss over him?

During the early 1960’s, most of America’s young girls were in love with singing and movie idols such as Bobby Darin, Bobby Vee, and Elvis Presley. But I was in love with Dr. Tom Dooley.

Unfortunately, I was never privileged to meet Dr. Dooley, but I felt as though I knew him very well indeed. From an early age I was an avid reader. Although I couldn’t afford to buy books of my own, I did take full advantage of the small library in the Louisville, Alabama school system. Over the years I discovered and became acquainted with many people and places far away from my own small town reality. None quickened my imagination quite like Dr. Tom Dooley.

Please allow me to share some facts with you about this brilliant and compassionate man and then you’ll understand.

Thomas A. Dooley, M.D., was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was educated at the University of Notre Dame and the Sorbonne, in Paris. He received his medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1953 and served a military internship at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, California. From Camp Pendleton he was sent to Japan and then to Indo-China. He was so touched by the wretched conditions of war refugees in the area that after resigning from the Navy, he returned and established a hospital in Laos, in the village of Nam Tha, turning it over to the natives whom he had trained to carry on. He then returned to American to help in launching MEDICO, a non-profit organization which raises money to send doctors and medical help to underdeveloped countries. Having done this, Tom Dooley returned to Laos again to found another hospital, and another, and another….

Indeed, Tom Dooley was a special man. He gave up his own dreams so that he could make the lives of those less fortunate less agonizing. He was a young Naval Doctor when he became involved with the wretched poor of Indo-China. He was also the author of three books about his experiences.

After discovering his books, I read, and read, and read again the three non-fiction books Tom Dooley had written about his life of selfless service. It was through his book, Deliver Us From Evil, that I grew to know and respect the young Navy doctor who assisted in the epic “passage to freedom,” which occurred in Haiphong, North Vietnam in the Spring of 1955. (I was only 7 years old at the time and had no clue that my own country would become involved in a vicious war in Vietnam.)

(Excuse me but a small sidebar about Southeast Asia is necessary here: In May 1954, after eight years of shattering colonial and civil war, the French were defeated by the North Vietnamese Communists. On July 21, 1954, a peace treaty divided Vietnam into North and South Vietnam.

An important clause in the treaty set a ten-month time period through May 18, 1955, so that the Vietnamese who were so inclined could move from one zone to the other. More than 600,000 North Vietnamese refugees chose to give up their homes and villages and travel to South Vietnam to make a new start rather than submit to Communist rule in the North.)

Through the sensitive eyes of Tom Dooley, the individual stories of the wretched, sick, and maimed lives of those refugees shaped immutably a young girl from rural Alabama.

While reading The Edge of Tomorrow, the second book by Tom Dooley, I discovered that he had been so inspired by “those miserable and diseased people who in the depths of anguish had hearts so splendid,” that he resigned from the U.S. Navy. He turned away from the very real probability of a high society life and a highly lucrative medical practice in the United States. Instead, my hero devoted his life to combating the formidable diseases and horrific injuries affecting the people living a dark and dangerous jungle life in the Kingdom of Laos.

While Dr. Dooley had fallen in love with the Asian people, a young girl from Alabama had fallen in love with Tom Dooley.

In The Night They Burned the Mountain, also written by Tom Dooley, I learned that I could send donations to MEDICO, the non-profit organization that Tom Dooley helped to launch. How I longed to help! My own family was so poor that we barely had the necessities of life, but in desperation, I pleaded my case to my beloved Grandfather Parks. Despite our own poverty, when I explained my frenetic desire to donate twenty dollars to Dr. Tom Dooley’s cause, my wonderful grandfather didn’t hesitate a moment. He gave me a sweet smile as he placed the twenty-dollar bill into my hands.

Even today, over 40 years later, I have an indelible vision of small white trembling hands, carefully folding that twenty-dollar bill into an envelope. With a sense of tremendous pride, I ran to the small local post office to drop the envelope into the afternoon mail-bag bound for Montgomery, Alabama. The rosy glow of that day stayed with me for weeks to come.

I was delighted when I discovered the April 19, 1960 issue of LIFE Magazine that ran an article featuring Tom Dooley and his work. (I still have the magazine and just re-read the article.) The LIFE Magazine correspondent who wrote the article compared Tom Dooley’s work to that of Dr. Albert Schweitzer. The article also reported that Tom Dooley was ranked seventh on the list of the ten most-admired Americans. The article also noted that Dr. Dooley was ill, but was expected to recover.

After reading that article, I made a decision that the moment I graduated from Louisville High School, I would travel to Laos and volunteer to assist Tom Dooley in whatever manner possible. I daydreamed for hours, envisioning myself comforting the sick, delivering medicines, running errands for Dr. Dooley, or perhaps tending to the medical crew’s pets, Fang the dog, and Dammit the black gibbon.

A year later I became sick with grief when I heard over the news that the man to whom I had given my youthful and feverish affection, had died. In the book, Before I Sleep, I learned that Tom Dooley had suffered greatly with malignant melanoma before dying on January 18, 1961. He was only 34 years old.

Since those idealistic youthful days, no man or woman has ever completely measured up to Dr. Tom Dooley, in terms of gaining my respect and admiration. Not only to me, but to thousands of other people in America, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, Dr. Tom Dooley was the embodiment of goodness. He had a special power of love for the diseased and poor. From 1954 until his premature death in 1961, he devoted himself to others.

Even though MEDICO is still a functioning organization, I fear that few people know about Dr. Tom Dooley. I can’t bear the thought of that lovely man being forgotten. And so once I year I take his books and I re-read them, bringing him back to life, if only for a brief moment in time. At least he lives in my own mind.

I hope that you might locate these books and read them and think about a man who brought only goodness to the world. And if you feel touched, you might want to contribute a small sum to the organization that carries on his ideals.

Books Written by or about Dr. Tom Dooley:

1) Delivery Us From Evil: The Fantastic Experiences of a Navy Doctor Among the Terrorized Vietnamese Victims of the Communists (Published by Farrar, Straus, and Cudahy in 1956.)

2) The Edge of Tomorrow (Same publisher, published in 1958.)

3) The Night They Burned the Mountain (Same Publisher, published in 1960.)

4) Dr. Tom Dooley, My Story (I don’t have a copy of this book although I am looking for it!)

5) Before I sleep: The Last Days of Dr. Tom Dooley, Edited by James Monahan (Same publisher as above, published in 1961.)

To make a contribution to MEDICO:

Contact:

Dr. Verne Chaney

The Dooley Foundation-INTERMED, INC.

420 Lexington Avenue Suite 2331

New York, NY 10170-0143

I feel very humble when I think about this man and doubly determined to make a good difference in this world for the short time I am blessed to inhabit it.

 

 

 

What I’m reading:  The Month of December, 2002

     Here’s the seven books stacked by my bed that I’m reading this month.  I’d like to give you a            brief  description of each book.

1)     Voyages Around the World, by Alain Rustenholz and Sabine Arque and published by:  Friedman/Fairfax. 

As an avid traveler and lover of adventure, the jacket description says it all:  “All abroad!  Luxury liners and exotic ports…great trains and grand hotels…The palaces and monuments of fabled cities in five continents spring into vibrant life as we visit a vanished world, captured in compelling narrative, historic photographs, and nostalgic memorabilia.  Our guides include Scott Fitzgerald and Henry Miller; Thomas Mann and Stafan Zweig; and Chateaubriand, Lamartine, Loti and Morand—whose many observations sparkled with insight and interest.”

I’m enjoying every minute of this book!  I recommend it highly for everyone on your Christmas list who enjoys travel and adventure.  And, the book is a real beauty for your coffee table display as well.

2)     Alexandria, City of the Western Mind by Theodore Vrettos and published by Free Press.

Like many people, I fell in love with Egypt and the Egyptian people from the first moment I visited that utterly compelling country in 1979.  Bustling Cairo caught my interest, but the shining port of Alexandria won my heart.  Not only was the city founded by Alexander the Great, a great warrior who has had my attention since I was a teenager, but Peter Sasson, my boyfriend at the time, and later husband and then ex-husband, was born there and lucky enough to have lived in Alexandria until the Suez Crisis.  Peter and I used to take weekend trips from Riyadh at every possible chance.  Every trip was a wonderful discovery. 

This one volume reveals so much about Alexandria from early travelers—Greek scholars, Roman emperors, Jewish leaders, as well as fathers of the Christian Church.

The jacket says, “No reader will ever forget walking with him (the author) down this lost city’s beautiful, dazzling streets.”  I agree completely!

3)     Alexandria:  In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Unfolds by Nick Bantock and published by Chronicle Books.

This is one of the most unique little books I’ve seen in a long time. 

The correspondence between Matthew Sedon of Alexandria and Isabella de Reims of Paris will give you a tingle of suspense…

4)     WARRIOR:  Ariel Sharon with David Chanof, published by Touchstone.

Like most people, I’ve read a lot ABOUT Ariel Sharon, but have not yet read his autobiography.  Since I’ve had a lot of stuff written about myself that is simply not true, I wanted to know for myself Sharon’s own thoughts on the historic moments he has lived.  At this moment I’m reading about Sharon’s childhood and the personal tidbits regarding his parents and childhood are extremely compelling.

5)     Behind the Burqa:  Our Life in Afghanistan and How We Escaped to Freedom by “Sulima” and “Hala” as told to Batya Swift Yasgur.  Published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

If an Afghani woman tells her story, I will support her in every way I can.  (I’ve always thought women need to support each other more—the most deadly enemies I’ve seen are often women against women—a real pity as I believe we should help each other in every way we can.)  Therefore, I’ve read all the books written by or for these brave women and I recommend that every woman and man who values life with dignity, do the same. 

“Behind the Burqa” is the story of two sisters who are courageous and defiant in the face of the world’s most brutal regime, the Taliban.  Although they can’t reveal their true identities for fear of reprisal, the detail in the book is remarkable.  Through the eyes of these two brave women we witness the unspeakable brutality of life for women in Afghanistan.

 6)     Dearest Friend:  A Life of Abigail Adams by Lynne Withey and published by Simon and Schuster.

After finishing the marvelous “John Adams” I felt compelled to read this book about his wife.  I just finished the book a few days ago and I was a tad disappointed.  Had I read it prior to reading the tome on John Adams, I would not have felt this way, I am sure.  But, much of the same information is revealed in both books so I felt I was treading the same territory.  Having said that, “Dearest Friend” is a fine book and well written and I do recommend it.  Perhaps you should give yourself a few months break between the two if you read both books about this remarkable couple.

7)     Marie Antoinette:  The Journey by Antonia Fraser published by Anchor Books.

French history comes alive in this wonderfully researched and well-written book.   Since I knew the outcome of this tragic tale, realizing what was in store for this French queen, I could barely enjoy the stories of her childhood and early marriage.  And, no matter how many times I read the details of what happened to this royal family, I’m always saddened and wish I could re-write history so the family could go into exile rather than meet cruel death!  (It’s sad that it takes so much anguish and blood-letting to bring change to governments.  It makes me wonder what’s in store for several Middle Eastern royal houses and/or dictators.  Although change needs to come to many countries, I’m not wishing for a blood-bath!)

 Anyhow, I hope you enjoy some of these books!  If you do, let me know…

Until next month!

Jean Sasson

          What I'm reading now:  September 2002

1)  SAUDI ARABIA (Caught in Time) by Badr El-Hage published by Garnet  (I don't know if you can find this book or not.  But, it's a great look at the early days of Saudi Arabia when Saudi Arabia was still a poor nation.  The photos are marvelous.)

2)  THE PERSONAL MEMOIRS of ULYSSES S. GRANT by Grant and published by Konecky & Konecky  (Talk about taking someone back in time!  As a Southern, I grew up on civil war stories and to read Grant's personal account of the civil war, of meeting with President Lincoln, etc., is breath-taking.  Grant's humor was a surprise for me. There's a story about Bragg on page 388 that was so funny I called up friends and had them listen while I read it aloud.  There's a few other personal accounts dealing with Lincoln that are worth buying the book for.)

3)  SADDAM HUSSEIN by Said K. Aburish published by Bloomsbury  (Mr. Aburish seems to know his stuff.  In July 1998, I traveled alone into Iraq and stayed there for 3 weeks.  I'll tell you all about that experience in my next book which should be out next year.  What an exciting journey!  Frankly speaking, I was expecting everyone to be hostile to me, an American, but I was shocked to meet some of the nicest people.  I remembered that the Kuwaitis kept telling me (during the Gulf war experiences) that the Iraqi people were lovely and their gripe was with the Iraqi government.  The Kuwaitis were right.  I was most impressed but sad at the same time.  Seeing the personal poverty and suffering made me hate the sanctions... but I won't go into all that now.  Hopefully you'll read my book and hear all my  journey to Baghdad!)   

4)  IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT by Michael Wood, published by the University of California   (I've been fascinated by Alexander the Great since I first heard about him when a young girl.  I just wish I had been on this journey with Michael Wood.  Perfectly marvelous experience!)

5)  MASADA by Yicael Yadin  (I read anything I can get my hands on about Masada and plan to write a book about it myself one day soon.)