Olinda's Dream

About the Book

One part of the book covers the highlight history of the Middle East mainly from 1860 to the present time. The text, typed in italics, appears intermittently in the course of the book. It is well referenced. The second part, typed in plain (Roman) text, covers basically the story (semi-biographical) of four generations of my families. The centerpiece of the book is timely because it covers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the creation of Israel in 1948, the 1967 War, the 1973 War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the Intifada. The involvements of the neighboring countries, Britain, France, United States presidents and Nazi Germany in these conflicts are covered. The book could be considered the "Gone with the Wind" of the Middle East. The author’s thoughts, ideas, philosophy and experiences, both medical and non-medical, developed in the book could be construed as a follow-up to the thoughts of Kahlil Gibran. The book contains many literary and appealing quotations of famous people fittingly woven into its matrix.

About the Author

Dr. Farid I. Hourani was born in Gaza Palestine in 1928. His father, Iskander also a physician came from Judaidet Marjeyoun, Lebanon and worked for the British mandate government in Palestine. His mother, Olinda born in Jerusalem, descended from Lebanese parents. She too worked for the same government before marriage. Dr. Hourani attended the American Friends School of Ramallah for Boys. After high school, he attended the undergraduate and medical schools at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Vacation time was spent in Safad Palestine until 1948 when his family fled to Lebanon on mules under the Zionist terror. After graduating from the AUB, Dr. Hourani came to the United States. Most his training in Internal Medicine and Hematology was at Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. He spent his academic career at the same school. He worked also at Pasteur Institute in Paris and the Royal Free Hospital in London. Now as professor emeritus Dr. Hourani retired to the Poconos where he wrote most of this book.