In the early 1990s, I arrived in what would soon become one of my favorite places in the world — the scorching hot and unbelievably humid port city of Aden, at southernmost tip of the Arabian peninsula. It was almost the only unequivocally positive thing I’d gotten out of three years math-heavy coursework for which I had been woefully unprepared. My background in Arabic, and a creative dissertation proposal got me a Fulbright, one of whose purposes was to draw American academics’ attention to Yemen’s economic challenges.
I am swimming right along with you in Yemen’s waters. You have the gift of carrying a reader on your shoulders, a refreshing relish in the moment that powers above naïveté and seasons the dish at hand with a skillful historian’s objectivity. When I first learned that you had been in Yemen, I knew that one day I would read the story. Worth the wait.
It’s as gripping as a great novel, Ethan! I’m ashamed to say I know next to nothing about Yemen. Now I want to know more. I hope you continue the story.
This reads like it could be excerpted from a book on the subject! Your narrative of colorful details actually reminded me of the visuals in The Last Post. I caught it on Prime Video or Netflix and thought it was a shame that they didn't renew the show for a second season... Very interesting anecdote I was unaware of about the presence of Iraqi oil tankers and crews, which makes sense. With Yemeni unification taking place a couple months before Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, Saddam Hussein claimed the former as inspiration for the latter, both in public and private. Ali Abdullah Saleh was one of the view regional leaders who defied the U.S.-led coalition and stood with Iraq. Thanks for this fascinating essay and the reading recommendations. I also highly recommend my friend Asher Orkaby's "Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International History of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-1968" and "Yemen: What Everyone Needs to Know."
I am swimming right along with you in Yemen’s waters. You have the gift of carrying a reader on your shoulders, a refreshing relish in the moment that powers above naïveté and seasons the dish at hand with a skillful historian’s objectivity. When I first learned that you had been in Yemen, I knew that one day I would read the story. Worth the wait.
So kind of you to say, Judy… I’d love to tell the story of which this is a piece, sometime.
It’s as gripping as a great novel, Ethan! I’m ashamed to say I know next to nothing about Yemen. Now I want to know more. I hope you continue the story.
This reads like it could be excerpted from a book on the subject! Your narrative of colorful details actually reminded me of the visuals in The Last Post. I caught it on Prime Video or Netflix and thought it was a shame that they didn't renew the show for a second season... Very interesting anecdote I was unaware of about the presence of Iraqi oil tankers and crews, which makes sense. With Yemeni unification taking place a couple months before Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, Saddam Hussein claimed the former as inspiration for the latter, both in public and private. Ali Abdullah Saleh was one of the view regional leaders who defied the U.S.-led coalition and stood with Iraq. Thanks for this fascinating essay and the reading recommendations. I also highly recommend my friend Asher Orkaby's "Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International History of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-1968" and "Yemen: What Everyone Needs to Know."
Indeed I loved the Last Post, a stand-out period show with amazing visuals ... and thank you Michael for the additional reads!