Fear and Faith in Paradise: Exploring Conflict and Religion in the Middle East

Karber, a travel writer whose previous books have explored Africa and Indochina, now turns his focus to the Middle East and parts of Muslim North Africa, chronicling for the reader his travels through Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, and Tunisia, where he attempts to understand the history and the culture of the region as a lens through which to view the turbulent political climate of the past decade. Karber is intrepid and inquisitive, with a lyrical prose style and a commendable eye for detail, and he has done copious background research, which makes the book rich with historical context. . . . The book is well worth reading, since it offers a fascinating glimpse into some underexplored countries and adds valuable color and context to the headlines. ― Publishers Weekly

It will be a huge mistake if Karber’s Fear and Faith in Paradise gets labeled merely a travel book. While his vivid and entertaining descriptions of his travels among the people of the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond paint for us a clear understanding of their communities, cultures, politics (or lack thereof), and beliefs, the book’s real strength is the insight it provides into the lack of understanding and trust our leaders and we, as Americans, have of the Muslim world―and theirs of the United States. In this turbulent and uncertain Arab Spring and post-9/11 era, it is a must read for our leaders and policy makers and all of us who put them in power. — John Lancaster, board of directors of the United States Institute of Peace

Phil Karber is part scholar, part seeker and full-on adventurer, a boots-on-the-ground writer who has regularly been drawn to some of the world’s most complex and turbulent places. He began exploring North Africa and the Middle East years ago―sleeping rough, eating local, hitching rides. And now, with Fear and Faith in Paradise, he has delivered a riveting, poignant and up-to-the-minute account of the region, from its history, peoples and cultures to its modern politics and recent upheavals. This book is a guide, a compass, a marvel. — Mark McDonald, foreign correspondent for the International Herald Tribune and New York Times

Fear and Faith in Paradise comes to us from Phil Karber as everyman . . . on the road. Not a historian, nor a development worker. Not a sociologue, nor a novelist. But rather, he invites, ‘Come with me, America, and sit by my side,’ as this incorrigible native son moves among foreign people. — David Holdridge, founder and president, Bridging the Divide