The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

For any
Arab leader who seeks to maintain a good relationship with his people and
an acceptable public image; now would be a good time to step up. Although Jordan hasn’t been part of the wave of widespread discontent in the region per se, a reminder and proof of good
intention never hurts.

Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril by King
Abdullah II of Jordan carries an important message on the Arab/Israeli
relations while thinly veiled as the king’s autobiography.

King Abdullah’s
views are sharp and blunt, such as his clear disappointment in other Arab
leaders and his belief that Israel has killed any possibility of peace with Palestine; he insists that peace
negotiations should urgently start in US President Obama’s reign as he ‘speaks
the language of peace’.

For half of
the book, the author focuses on his family, his childhood and
adolescence, his education and his marriage. Down to the smallest details, the
monarch recounts his life abroad, his memories of trying to escape from his
college dorms for a night out without his protective security guards, and how
he met his wife, Queen Rania. His anecdotes are
insightful and intriguing; after all, it’s not every day that a king writes
about how he used to live on canned macaroni.

Every few
chapters include photo galleries of archived images that document the private
side of King Abdullah’s upbringing. Among the pictures, he is shown undertaking an
exercise at the British military Academy, personally driving President Obama to
the airport after a visit to Amman, and as a crown baby prince held by his
father King Hussein.