Sojourner in Islamic Lands

"Most of the names of places, legendary people, and historic events in Sojourner In Islamic Lands, Russell Fraser's new book, were as unknown to me as why God created joy and evil, but it didn't take Fraser very long to convince me to pay attention. He knows the Islamic culture, secret and not so secret, innocent and not so innocent, and he knows how to make his travels, observations, and judgments an amazing lens for discovery. This is a travel narrative through the mysteries and histories of Islamic peoples as he felt them on the pulse of his traveling. The book is a wonderful guide to what's happened in the last fifty years of interaction between the West and Islam and, so, a necessary read for what lies ahead for all of us. But the real reason I love this book is its spicy, saucy, smart way of saying. Fraser has bite and the best kind of common sense, a way of rewarding readers with sentences so alive they have blood pressure. You may read this book happily without a fig's care for geopolitics. It's a delight, truly."—Dave Smith, Writer-in-Residence, University of Mississippi