4.5 stars

The outdated cover doesn't do this book justice. It was one of the more interesting memoirs I've read as of late.

Fernea details her time living with a rural tribe in Iraq in the late 1950s. Her husband is studying for a doctorate as an anthropologist, and she helps him by relating the stories of the tribe's women and their customs.

I enjoyed learning of the cultural differences between this tribe and my own society. It was also nice to see some similarities. I do wonder how much has changed in Iraqi culture in the 60 years since the events in the book took place.

Worth a read! ( )

I read this as a freshman in college and it has never been more relevant. It is an ethnography of the women of an Iraqi village named El Nahra. At the time it was written, the author was not an anthropologist but the wife of one of the men in the village. In fact, she was a newlywed!

I wish I knew where my copy of this book was. I'd like to read it again. ( )

This book looks at what rural Iraqi village life was like in 1956-1958, through the eyes of an American woman. As a newlywed, she accompanied her husband to Iraq and lived there with him for two years as he conducted his ethnographic research. For a detailed review, see my web site at http://www.shira.net/books/breviews/fernea-guestsofsheik.htm ( )

http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2007/07/guests-of-sheik.html ( )

I've recommended this book to tons of people. Warnock's book was a text for a modern Middle East class I took a few years ago. It is a classic and fascinating. After reading this book I wanted to read everying by Warnock that I could find. ( )