In Dining with al-Qaeda , Hugh Pope guides the reader on an enlightening, unexpected and often tragicomic journey through more than a dozen countries, from Afghanistan to Turkey and from Sudan to Iraq. This new paperback edition was created for Kindle Direct Publishing in November 2021. The text is from the successful first hardback edition published in the United States by Thomas Dunne Books/St Martins Press in March 2010, and has been slightly updated, changed to British English spelling and given a larger font that is easier to read. There are also now more than 90 black-and-white illustrations (double the number in the original edition, described as "exquisite photos" by Publishers' Weekly ), many of them enlarged to full page size. The book is based on Hugh Pope's experiences as a reporter over three decades in the Middle East. Speaking Arabic, Persian and Turkish, his first-hand experiences give the reader an insider’s feel for warfronts and sieges, Persian poetry and Islamic revolution , and, not least, what to do when an al-Qaeda missionary threatens to kill you. Read this account of what the Middle East is really like, and you will learn how much of the story is left out by media catering to far-away Western audiences . The latest news will suddenly seem much easier to understand. Excerpted in Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines and translated into French, Dining with al-Qaeda has been widely praised as “ a very good book ” (the Economist ), “ terrific ” ( Ian Black in The Guardian ), and a “ an enjoyable chronicle of a rich life's work ” ( Kirkus Reviews ). The new 2021 edition was welcomed as " one of the best journalistic memoirs I have read " (tweet by Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper ). “Hugh Pope’s deftly told account of 30 years in the Middle East recounts the region’s troubles with bracing honesty, and its charms with genuine affection . Often a page-turner, populated by a colourful cast of deeply human characters, Dining with Al-Qaeda goes beyond the day’s headlines to offer a nuanced and compelling portrait of the region.” – Azadeh Moaveni , author of Honeymoon in Tehran and Lipstick Jihad - “ What a great book! … His anecdotes, probing, curiosity, humour (yes, sometimes there is humour in the Middle East), idealism, and sometimes naïvité, all give a soul and face to what is too often treated as distant, abstract and hostile.” – David Byrne , lead singer of the Talking Heads - “Takes the reader from Cairo to Islamabad, from Istanbul to Jeddah, on the trail of crises and reporting trips. Pope tempers … contradictions with a humour that is deceptively innocent [and] seeks out the blind spots of Western curiosity .” – Jean-Pierre Filiu , Le Monde Diplomatique - “ An exceptional overview [which] by example sets a noble standard: learn to communicate with ‘the other’ on the same level and eye-to-eye.” – Adam Holm , Weekendadvisen , Denmark - “ Unique … Hugh Pope takes readers beyond the customary impressions of Arabs and Islam.” – Mohammed Elshinnawi , Voice of America - “Manages to create what most educators aspire to do in a class: teach and inspire, without having their students notice… [a] moving and unique perspective .” – Al-Majalla - “ Really good fun … do pick up this book, especially if you have an interest in foreign correspondents in the Middle East.” – Issandr El Amrani, arabist.net - " Danger is often present ... Pope’s ... daring stories reflect his determination to break out from templates in which Middle East news, in his view, is presented in America..” – Booklist , March 2010