The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah is the rare work of art that mixes cultural immersion with personal reflection--and actually gets it right. This book would be entertaining as a novel, but the fact that it's a true story should make it required reading for anyone who wants to learn about the world. I laughed, I cried, I preordered.--Chris Guillebeau, author of Side Hustle
[Valen] Levinson skillfully relates aspects of his destinations' histories alongside his journalist's observations and personal thoughts and emotions in this unique and illuminating travelogue.-- "Booklist"
Levinson is a gifted storyteller.-- "Library Journal"
Levinson manages to establish his own voice admirably, with an endearing mixture of ironic self-awareness, incisive sociological analysis, and simple humor....The author's linguistic riffs are a highlight and more insightful than the norm for travel writing.-- "Kirkus Reviews"
Overturning cliché to find a deeper humanity, the funny Valen Levinson is always fearless, and occasionally pantsless.--Henry Alford, author of Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?
A fabulously written primer on the darkest countries in the world--or not so dark, as Valen Levinson shows with his toolkit of sharp sociology and brilliant humor. This brave, humane, hilarious, and introspective account of his adventures is a must-read.--Peter Theroux, author of Sandstorm: Days and Nights in Arabia
A thrilling, riotous, sympathetic read that reminds us that little in the world is truly 'foreign, ' bringing the peoples and cultures of the Middle East nearer to us, and pushing hatred and fear farther away.--Reza Aslan, author of God: The Human Quest to Make Sense of the Divine
Adam Valen Levinson is too young to have written a book this good: eloquent, analytical, funny, sad. The Middle East is a wondrous and strange and supernatural place, hard to articulate in all the different shades and shadows. But Levinson absolutely nailed it in a brilliant first book.--Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights