A Diamond in the Desert: Behind the Scenes in Abu Dhabi, the World's Richest City

Get a closer look at this glittering, oil-rich city in a "revealing travelogue through the capital of the United Arab Emirates" (Publishers Weekly). Jo Tatchell first arrived in the city of Abu Dhabi as a child in 1974, when the discovery of oil was quickly turning a small fishing town into a growing international community. Decades later, this Middle Eastern capital is a dizzying metropolis of ten-lane highways and overlapping languages, and its riches and emphasis on cultural development have thrust it into the international spotlight. Here, Tatchell returns to Abu Dhabi and explores the city and its contradictions: It is a tolerant melting-pot of cultures and faiths, but only a tiny percentage of its native residents are deemed eligible to vote by the ruling class, and the nation's president holds absolute veto power over his advisory boards and councils. The Emirates boast one of the world's highest GDP per capita, but the wealth inequality in its cities is staggering. Abu Dhabi's royal family, worth an estimated $500 billion, lives off the sweat of the city's migrant workers, who subject themselves to danger and poverty under barely observed labor laws. But now, the city is making an international splash with a showy investment in tourism, arts, and culture--perhaps signaling a change to a more open, tolerant state. As this sparkling city surges into the future, it devotes just as much energy to concealing its past. Tatchell looks not only at history and social issues--the ancient system of tribal organization, the condition of the city's million foreign workers, the emergence of women in Emirati society, but also her own experiences as both a child and adult in this fascinating city that has radically changed--and in other ways, stayed the same.

About the Author :
Jo Tatchell is the author of The Poet of Baghdad, which was nominated for the Costa Biography Award, among other prizes. She writes on Middle Eastern culture for a variety of US and UK media, including the Guardian, the BBC, and NPRs "All Things Considered." Tatchell lives in London.

Review :
"Tatchell excavates the region's gritty history from the perspective of a foreigner who goes back to study its glimmering present and ambitious future...[displays] an impressive breadth of research into the region's centuries-old tribal lineage, rocky political evolution and steep recent economic trajectory as a destination for opulent tourism and high culture...a commendable survey of Abu Dhabi's origins, intricacies, achievements and vision."--"Kirkus" "[A] revealing travelogue...A teeming, sharply etched portrait...Tatchell's keen powers of observation and personal connections enable her to convey the hidden reality of this mirage-like city."--"Publishers Weekly" "Tatchell weaves a bit of danger in this part-memoir, part-travelogue, part-cultural study. . .an alluring read. If you're curious about Middle Eastern culture or if you want an inside peek at an oil-rich economy, you'll want this book."--Terri Schlichenmeyer, "Bluffton Today" (S.C.) ""A Diamond in the Desert" is a welcome addition to the short list of books on Abu Dhabi...[tells] the fascinating story of how Abu Dhabi reached the current crossroad. Engagingly written and sympathetic to [its] subjects."--Eugene Rogan, "The Guardian" "This is a place we need to know more about, and Tatchell here provides a small, well-informed and flavorsome guide to an El Dorado of the dunes...hers is the best thing I've read on the Gulf Coast boom to date. Part history, part reporting, part autobiography, it leaves you feeling you have come to grips with the realities of a land steeped in fable. The contradictions of its Islamic culture emerge starkly...vivid yet balanced."--George Walden, Bloomberg News "Offers acute insights on the identity crisis gripping the Emiratis...Tatchell pieces together Abu Dhabi's rotten underbelly from a kaleidoscope of disquieting impressions."--Rachel Aspden, "The Telegraph" "Tatchell explores the different faces of this shimmering prism o