Milton Public Library

A young Palestinian's diary, 1941-1945, the life of Sāmī ʻAmr

eng

no index present

non fiction

A young Palestinian's diary, 1941-1945

electronic resource

dictionaries

Jamal and Rania Daniel series in contemporary history, politics, culture, and religion of the Levant

the life of Sāmī ʻAmr

Writing in his late teens and early twenties, Sami cAmr gave his diary an apt subtitle: The Battle of Life, encapsulating both the political climate of Palestine in the waning years of the British Mandate as well as the contrasting joys and troubles of family life. Now translated from the Arabic, Sami's diary represents a rare artifact of turbulent change in the Middle East. Written over four years, these ruminations of a young man from Hebron brim with revelations about daily life against a backdrop of tremendous transition. Describing the public and the private, the modern and the traditional, Sami muses on relationships, his station in life, and other universal experiences while sharing numerous details about a pivotal moment in Palestine's modern history. Making these never-before-published reflections available in translation, Kimberly Katz also provides illuminating context for Sami's words, laying out biographical details of Sami, who kept his diary private for close to sixty years. One of a limited number of Palestinian diaries available to English-language readers, the diary of Sami cAmr bridges significant chasms in our understanding of Middle Eastern, and particularly Palestinian, history

adult