Review of Dubai - The Story of the World's Fastest City by Jim Krane
Now, this recommendation might seem a little weird, especially coming from an Israeli writer. But if you are interested in the middle east, in Dubai in particular or in economics and business, then this is definitely a book you should read, its absolutely fascinating! Dubai is a very strange and interesting place.
It looks like some future colony on the moon. It's an important commercial hub in many areas such as tourism, aviation, diamond trade and the list is too long for this short text. Almost everyone here is a foreigner - locals account for maybe 10% of the population. It's a Muslim city considered a top employment place for east European hookers. It's rich, but basically went bankrupt a few years ago and again, this text is too limited to list the numerous reasons for it being such an interesting place. I have never been there (guess why?) and maybe that's one of the reasons this book made me so curious.
The point I am trying to make is I guess- When such an interesting subject meets such a talented writer the result is very good and Jim Krane is a very talented writer. In this book he writes about the place's history (surprising huh? looking at pictures of Dubai one might get the impression it has no history) and mostly tells the story of Dubai's rise and a little bit about it's fall in the wake of the big subprime crises that turned into a global crises. And it's one of the most interesting non fiction books I have ever read.
Other reviews by Hovav you may want to read:
- Review of Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan >>
- Review of Ring by Koji Suzuki >>
- Back to to full book reviews list >>
