I read this book over 25 years ago, and was pleased to find a nice clean copy second-hand. Guests of the Sheik is an ethnographic classic on the lives of women in pre-Saddam Iraq, in the small Shi'ite village of El Nahra. As a narrative work, it lacks the dryness of most such studies, and is an engaging snapshot of village life in the 1950's and early 1960's. One gets a feel for the deep inner lives of these women, and the hidden and essential roles they played in the life of the village.

http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2007/07... ( )

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. ( )

Bought at Powell's in June. Started 7/5/08 finished 7/13/08. I read most of this while in SD for Grandma Schuldt's funeral. I liked this book for the honest light it cast on the lives of women in Iraq 50 years ago. I wonder if anything has changed since this was written? It takes place in a small, secluded village outside of Baghdad. The most interesting thing was the realization by the author that her relationship w/her husband, the typical American marriage, appears to Iraqi women as one of loneliness. ( )

Positively outstanding! I felt like I was right there with "Bee Ja". I actually cried at the end and hated that the story was over. ;) ( )