King Abdullah II of Jordan

By Salma Tantawi from http://www.Cairo360.com

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.

Personal memories and family photographs seem to make Our Last Best Chance a walk down memory lane. Regardless of whether you subscribe to his political views or not, this book provides intriguing insight into the personal lives of the Hashemite family of Jordan and is an excellent PR tool in asserting King Abdullah’s Western-friendly image as a down-to-earth and up-to-date monarch.… (more)