“Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man…“

Tea with Hezbollah

Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis

Is it really possible to love one’s enemies?

That’s the question that sparked a fascinating and, at times, terrifying journey into the heart of the Middle East during the summer of 2008. It was a trip that began in Egypt, passed beneath the steel and glass high rises of Saudi Arabia, then wound through the bullet- pocked alleyways of Beirut and dusty streets of Damascus, before ending at the cradle of the world’s three major religions: Jerusalem.

Tea with Hezbollah combines nail-biting narrative with the texture of rich historical background, as readers join novelist Ted Dekker and his co-author and Middle East expert, Carl Medearis, on a hair-raising journey. They are with them in every rocky cab ride, late-night border crossing, and back-room conversation as they sit down one-on-one with some of the most notorious leaders of the Arab world. These candid discussions with leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, with muftis, sheikhs, and ayatollahs, with Osama bin Laden’s brothers, reveal these men to be real people with emotions, fears, and hopes of their own. Along the way, Dekker and Medearis discover surprising answers and even more surprising questions that they could not have anticipated—questions that lead straight to the heart of Middle Eastern conflict.

Through powerful narrative Tea With Hezbollah will draw the West into a completely fresh understanding of those we call our enemies and the teaching that dares us to love them. A must read for all who see the looming threat rising in the Middle East.

I have long been a fan of Ted Dekker so I was excited to read this new book.  It sounded like an interesting endeavor to take on and I was curious as to how it would all fare out.

As a fan of Dekker’s novel I am able to know his characters but not him. In this book…you are able to learn a bit more of who Ted Dekker is as he describes his circumstances and reactions to those circumstances.

The book moved rather slow at first but with a humor in the writing that allowed me to overlook the pace. It was clear the background was being set for the rest of the book. You would need to know and understand the different personalities of Dekker and Medearis to comprehend their mindset while writing this book.

I was drawn to this book because I think at some point in our lives…we may all wonder what our “enemies” think.  You can define enemy by any translation you’d like but I believe we are curious by nature about the thoughts of others.

Dekker has a delightful way of creating the scene so that you feel as if you are there with them, in that moment. He does a great job of revealing his personality and t hose of his partners in this endeavor.

Tea with Hezbollah will definitely give you food for thought and ideas to ponder as you conteplate for yourself whether it is truly possible to “love our enemies”.

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Review Opportunity Provided by  Multnomah Books,
a division of Random House

Opinions are strictly those of the blog owner

Review Posted at Amazon.com