Selected English Letters of Ameen Rihani 1922-1940

The letters of Ameen Rihani in this second book of correspondence are a window into his rich life and into the world's happenings between 1922 and 1940. These letters offer the readers a new perspective on Ameen Rihani, who is considered by Arab scholars to be the founding father of Arab American literature.This fascinating correspondence is between the author and several American and European leaders, authors, historians, and philosophers, such as English philosopher Arnold Toynbee; one of the first orientalist Scottish Sir H.A.R. Gibb; French scholar in Islam and Catholicism, Louis Massignon; British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald; the U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; the President of the American University of Beirut Bayard Dodge; and an American artist and art critic Charmion von Wiegand. Of course, there are also personal letters from his brothers Joe and Albert, his wife Bertha, and his friends.It is interesting to note that while he corresponded in English with the Western leaders, he also corresponded in Arabic with the Arab leaders. What is fascinating about these letters is not just who he corresponded with but also what the topics of his correspondence were. A major topic discussed in the letters of this collection is: a detailed description of his travels in the Arab Peninsula which resulted in three books in Arabic and three in English regarding the emergence of new leadership in the Arab Gulf, the unification of the different territories of the Arab Peninsula and the emergence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Another major topic is his rejection of the Balfour Declaration and his support for the concept of self-determination for the Palestinians.The reader will discover many other fascinating subjects in these letters. It will be hard to put the book down. Read more