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A Crazy Occupation by Jamie TarabayJamie Tarabay spent her childhood moving around the world, but spent formative parts of it here in Australia and—for a sharp contrast—in her family’s homeland of Lebanon, where there was a civil war going on.Published 16 October, 2005 A Crazy Occupation (Jamie Tarabay, A&U, $26.95 pb, ISBN 174114650X, September) *** Jamie Tarabay spent her childhood moving around the world, but spent formative parts of it here in Australia and—for a sharp contrast—in her family’s homeland of Lebanon, where there was a civil war going on. In an example of life going full circle, she returned to the troubled turf of the Middle East as an adult, working as a correspondent for Associated Press, based in Israel. A Crazy Occupation covers the years from 2000 to 2005 when Tarabay worked the Middle East, hunting for bodies in the wreckage of Jenin, interviewing the survivors of suicide bombers, watching (and reporting) as the political dramas of Israel made things increasingly violent and frightening around her. It is a book that (broadly) treads pretty familiar ground in the ‘modern women, life crisis, followed by dramatic change, all set on foreign soil’ subset of biography. You will have readers that love this stuff. The difference in A Crazy Occupation is that it’s written by a professional journo and it’s written well. It also chronicles the experiences of an Australian woman journalist in the Middle East, something not seen (to my memory) since Nine Parts of Desire. Eliza Metcalfe is the assistant editor of AB&P This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2004, Thorpe-Bowker More from Travel Book Reviews
A book to appeal to animal lovers, Stanley and Sophie is about one woman’s journey after the death of her husband and the two dogs that join her along the way. Australian-born Kate Jennings, the author, lives in New York and after her husband dies, she ends up giving a terrier called Stanley a home.18 March, 2008 
Weiss is marriage-less, childless and of Czech origin, so decides to abandon her life in Sydney and spend a year in Prague. She goes because there is nothing to stop her, but finds it isn’t as easy as she first thought.23 February, 2008
Daytripper by Simon Webster
Daytripper could be the epitome of ‘a fun read’. It’s not a book you sit down and read cover-to=cover—the bite-sized entries and cross-referencing throughout make that clear—but as a weekend reference and something to leaf through with a grin, it’s hard to imagine how it could be better.10 January, 2008
A Venetian Bestiary by Jan Morris
This small, slim book about animals is not as insubstantial as it looks. Jan Morris's writing is as rich and colourful as ever, and her knowledge of the history and the little-known sights of Venice provides her with a rich source of material.6 December, 2007 
What if everyone travelled through life without an ‘us and them’ mentality? The author of The People Next Door is a Walkley and Human Rights Commission award-winner who has lived and worked in Indonesia for many years.2 February, 2007 
This is a book to read and savour slowly. Ibn Battutah, set off on his travels from Tangier in 1303, at the age of twenty-one. He was as full of curiosity and as attracted by novel situations and characters as any modern travel-writer, and perhaps he had a witty and ironical turn of phrase which kept those who later listened to his travel stories enthralled.2 February, 2007 
First the facts: the dog fence starts near the Western Australia-South Australia border and runs 5600 kilometres across three states to end near the coast in southern Queensland, where an enterprising dingo can just walk around the end of the fence.2 February, 2007
Spain by the Horns by Tim Elliott
An encounter with a bullfighter in Sydney leads Tim Elliott to Spain, hot on the trail of Jesulin, a young, charismatic and talented bullfighter dubbed ‘the Beckham of bullfighting.’ Elliott already has a passion for Spain and the Spanish and, through Jesulin, he hopes to uncover even more about this flamboyant country and perhaps even get to the heart of its colourful people.19 December, 2005
The Perfect Glass of Wine by Ben Canaider
It sounds like a good life to me—being paid to travel the world, drink wine and write about it in a witty and iconoclastic way. Ben Canaider has carved a nice niche for himself as the groovy, unpretentious, tell-it-like-it-is guy in a field that is all too often pompous and opaque.11 December, 2005 |
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