much better. I was hoping for more about her life as Queen and living with a King. Instead, I found there was too much about the controvsy in the middle east and policitcal ramifications. Not exactly what I was hoping for, especially the negative remarks about the United States and our leaders.

I found the book very interesting. The Queen's life has been remarkable. I was particularly pleased with the depth provided, into the life of King Hussein - as a person, a world leader, and often frustrated peace initiator. This book would be a great read for anyone with the open mind to begin exploring the middle east as explained by middle easterners. It is an eye opener.

A fascinating account of the life of American born Queen Noor of Jordan. Provides an interesting insight to the Jordanian people and the region's position in Middle East politics.

Very disappointing. More praise for the king than daily life information about herself.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Queen Noor. It gave me quite a different perspective of Jordan's King Hussein and his family. Honest and sincere, perhaps a bit guarded at times, it was a true love story, albeit with a sad ending! If you enjoy reading biographies, then you will like this one about a modern woman, an American woman of firsts whose poignant love story will touch your heart!

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This was not what I had expected at all. Queen Noor spent most of the book explaining the political history and current events in the middle east. It was very interesting to have her perspective but I expected it to be more personal. While she did talk about her husband and children, and I grew to admire her husband more than I already did, she was notvery revealing about her feelings and personal relationships.

An inspiration and a modern day fairy tale, reminiscent of Grace Kelly.

From Our Editors
The dramatic story of an emancipated young woman who became the fourth wife of a powerful Arab monarch, Leap of Faith is the intriguing autobiography of Jordan’s American-born Queen Noor. In it, the former Lisa Halaby discusses her late husband, King Hussein I (1935–99), and his tireless quest for peace in the Middle East; her conversion to Islam and her love for the people of Jordan; her difficult adjustment to royal life and her evolving role as a humanitarian activist; and her political and personal views on Islam and the West. This fascinating memoir provides a unique perspective on three eventful decades of world history and on relations between the United States and the Arab world.

Annotation
Sharing a personal perspective on the past three decades of world history, Queen Noor talks frankly of the many challenges of her life as wife and partner to the monarch, providing both an intimate portrait of the late King Hussein and a moving account of their public role.

From the Publisher
Born in 1951 to a distinguished Arab-American family, Lisa Najeeb Halaby became the fourth wife of King Hussein at age 27. With her husband being not only Jordan's monarch but the spiritual leader of all Muslims, Lisa was unsure what her role would be. This moving memoir provides a timely look at one woman's story against a backdrop of 30 turbulent years: the displacement of over 1 million Palestinians by the creation of Israel, King Hussein's frustrated efforts for peace, and the effect of Saddam Hussein and the Gulf War on Jordan and the royal family. Queen Noor offers intimate new glimpses of King Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Queen Elizabeth, Arafat, and many other world leaders.

From The Critics
Houston Chronicle
Queen Noor has led a more interesting, committed life than the majority of authors writing their memoirs...it's hard to imagine a better story.

New York Times Book Review
Candid...an affecting wifely portrait of King Hussein.

USA Today
The book's ending has real power. Hussein's death from lymphoma was a painful ordeal for him, his wife, his family and his small grieving country.
Yet he conducted himself with kindness and concern for others to the end. If Queen Noor's object was to make the Arab world more human and understandable, she has succeeded. — Deirdre Donahue


The New York Times
Leap of Faith will not dispel its author's impression that she has often been misunderstood. On one hand, this is a glossy and decorous account of the queen's unusual experiences, with a polite tendency to accentuate the positive. ("I urged everyone I worked with to speak freely and offer honest, constructive criticism.") On the other, it is a fiery account of her husband's frustrations in dealing with international diplomacy in general and the United States and Israel in particular. — Janet Maslin

Very moving. I first learned of this book when I saw Queen Noor on Larry King Live.

Very inspirational!

Good biography with a brief history of the Middle East. Very enjoyable.

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