Crossing the Jordan River

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Jacob Rosen writes in this fascinating and illuminating book about his experiences in both Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan as an Israeli Diplomat. He has learned a great deal about Egyptian and Jordanian societies and also more about the Israeli character. Time and again, Mr. Rosen witnessed how Arabs and Western Cultures simply do not understand each other. The vignettes assembled in this book are based on real events. Mr. Rosen makes each of these stories stand on its own merit. The approach is anthropological, rather than political, and maybe through sharing these stories, this book can explain why and how the Arabs and the Israelis (and perhaps the West) fail to understand one another. They also show that after all is said and done, we are human beings who share the same concerns and inspirations.

Customer Reviews ::

Crossing the Jordan River - Rita Wassink - The Netherlands
Hello Jacob, I loved your book. I understand now that the problems in the Middle East are not so easy to solve. But the world needs people like you, who have understanding for other meanings and believes. Your stories are short but do have a deeper meening and are somethimes very sad. I hope that a new book of you will soon be ready. I will again order it a.s.a.p. at Amazon.com.
best regards and greetings to your family.

Crossing Guadalupe Street: Growing up Hispanic and Protestant

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To grow up as a Mexican-American Methodist in a small town in south central Texas in the 1940s and 1950s was to be a minority within a minority. This account of a boyhood in Seguin, Texas, broadens our understanding of Latino culture by evoking a time when Catholics and Protestants had nothing to do with each other and the word Chicano was not yet in use. But in spite of ethnic and religious segregation, the Maldonado family and their neighbors flourished in the rich Mejicano culture of their barrio west of Guadalupe Street, a world totally separate from the Anglo world. The language spoken in schools, churches, restaurants, bars, and beauty parlors was predominantly Spanish. The sounds and smells were Mexican. School teachers were the most successful and respected members of the community.

Guadalupe Street separated Protestant families like the Maldonados from the Anglo and Catholic communities. But it did not keep them from attaining success in the Anglo world. David Maldonado’s memoir of how he crossed Guadalupe Street is the story of a man who became bilingual, bicultural, and successful, but it is also a tribute to the traditions in which he grew up.

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