Year of the Locust

Year of the Locust

A Soldier's Diary and the Erasure of Palestine's Ottoman Past

$24.95

Publication Date: 18th August 2015

Year of the Locust captures in page-turning detail the end of the Ottoman world and a pivotal moment in Palestinian history. In the diaries of Ihsan Hasan al-Turjman (1893–1917), the first ordinary... Read More
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Year of the Locust captures in page-turning detail the end of the Ottoman world and a pivotal moment in Palestinian history. In the diaries of Ihsan Hasan al-Turjman (1893–1917), the first ordinary... Read More
Description
Year of the Locust captures in page-turning detail the end of the Ottoman world and a pivotal moment in Palestinian history. In the diaries of Ihsan Hasan al-Turjman (1893–1917), the first ordinary recruit to describe World War I from the Arab side, we follow the misadventures of an Ottoman soldier stationed in Jerusalem. There he occupied himself by dreaming about his future and using family connections to avoid being sent to the Suez. His diaries draw a unique picture of daily life in the besieged city, bringing into sharp focus its communitarian alleys and obliterated neighborhoods, the ongoing political debates, and, most vividly, the voices from its streets—soldiers, peddlers, prostitutes, and vagabonds. Salim Tamari’s indispensable introduction places the diary in its local, regional, and imperial contexts while deftly revising conventional wisdom on the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.
Details
  • Price: $24.95
  • Pages: 208
  • Carton Quantity: 34
  • Publisher: University of California Press
  • Imprint: University of California Press
  • Publication Date: 18th August 2015
  • Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.25 in
  • Illustration Note: 16 b-w photographs
  • ISBN: 9780520287501
  • Format: Paperback
  • BISACs:
    HISTORY / Middle East / General
    HISTORY / Military / General
Reviews
"An unparalleled window into everyday life in [Jerusalem during the First World War]."
- William Armstrong, Hurriyet Daily News
“The value and significance of the volume . . . is without question. . . . The writing is compelling and engaging. . . . [An] artful, smooth translation.”
- Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University, Jrnl Of Palestine Studies
“A must-read for both researchers and the general reading public.”
- This Week In Palestine
“Impressively thoughtful, layered, and well-documented. . . . A precise and well-done history.”
- Farid M. Al-Salim, Middle East Journal
“A major contribution to the field of social and cultural history of twentieth-century Palestine.”
- Arab Studies Journal
Author Bio
Salim Tamari is Professor of Sociology at Birzeit University, Palestine, the Director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies, and the author of Mountain Against the Sea (UC Press).
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgments

1. The Erasure of Ottoman Palestine
2. The Diary of Ihsan Turjman

Notes
Index
Year of the Locust captures in page-turning detail the end of the Ottoman world and a pivotal moment in Palestinian history. In the diaries of Ihsan Hasan al-Turjman (1893–1917), the first ordinary recruit to describe World War I from the Arab side, we follow the misadventures of an Ottoman soldier stationed in Jerusalem. There he occupied himself by dreaming about his future and using family connections to avoid being sent to the Suez. His diaries draw a unique picture of daily life in the besieged city, bringing into sharp focus its communitarian alleys and obliterated neighborhoods, the ongoing political debates, and, most vividly, the voices from its streets—soldiers, peddlers, prostitutes, and vagabonds. Salim Tamari’s indispensable introduction places the diary in its local, regional, and imperial contexts while deftly revising conventional wisdom on the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.
  • Price: $24.95
  • Pages: 208
  • Carton Quantity: 34
  • Publisher: University of California Press
  • Imprint: University of California Press
  • Publication Date: 18th August 2015
  • Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.25 in
  • Illustrations Note: 16 b-w photographs
  • ISBN: 9780520287501
  • Format: Paperback
  • BISACs:
    HISTORY / Middle East / General
    HISTORY / Military / General
"An unparalleled window into everyday life in [Jerusalem during the First World War]."
– William Armstrong, Hurriyet Daily News
“The value and significance of the volume . . . is without question. . . . The writing is compelling and engaging. . . . [An] artful, smooth translation.”
– Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University, Jrnl Of Palestine Studies
“A must-read for both researchers and the general reading public.”
– This Week In Palestine
“Impressively thoughtful, layered, and well-documented. . . . A precise and well-done history.”
– Farid M. Al-Salim, Middle East Journal
“A major contribution to the field of social and cultural history of twentieth-century Palestine.”
– Arab Studies Journal
Salim Tamari is Professor of Sociology at Birzeit University, Palestine, the Director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies, and the author of Mountain Against the Sea (UC Press).
List of Figures
Acknowledgments

1. The Erasure of Ottoman Palestine
2. The Diary of Ihsan Turjman

Notes
Index