In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • An Arabian Utopia: The Western Discovery of Oman
  • J.E. Peterson (bio)
An Arabian Utopia: The Western Discovery of Oman, by Alistair Hamilton. London: Oxford University Press for the Arcadian Library, 2010.

This is a coffee table book with real heft, both in weight and price, and, almost as a bonus, it incorporates a comprehensive and substantive text that accompanies the copious illustrations. Although published by Oxford University Press, it is an inspiration of the Arcadian Library in London, which has produced another half-dozen volumes on Middle Eastern themes. The author, formerly a professor of history at several Dutch universities, is the Arcadian Visiting Research Professor at the School of Advanced Study of the University of London. He also acknowledges substantial cooperation from the Omani Ministry of Information.

The oversize volume has been expensively produced with an abundance of full-page illustrations, many in full color, that are woven in amongst a careful, finely written text. Most of the lavish artwork comes from the collection of the Arcadian Library, which undoubtedly accounts for its sponsorship of the volume. The book reproduces numerous, detailed, historical maps of Arabia, as well as an abundance of engravings, drawings, and paintings done by Western travelers over the course of the last five centuries. In addition, a large number of illustrations consist of reproductions of the title pages and other elements of many of the publications about which the author reports.

The text is not so much a history of Oman as seen through Western eyes, as stated in the introduction, but essentially serves as a chronologically arranged recitation of the details of Western travelers along with their descriptions of Oman and its people, often quoted at length. In this sense, the author does not differ substantially from his predecessors who have written on this subject. The book is most reminiscent of Xavier Billecocq Beguin's similarly presented volumes on Oman and the Gulf, particularly his Oman: Vingt [End Page 341] Cinq Siècles de Récits de Voyage [Twenty Five Centuries of Travel Writing]. But the author also draws upon works by Robin Bidwell, Philip Ward, Brian Marshall, Hilal al-Hajri, and others, which he duly acknowledges. Not until Chapter Eight does Professor Hamilton focus on more scholarly and scientific Western writing on the country, principally from the 19th century into the 20th century.

Hamilton is generally uncritical of his sources, whether they be passing travelers and/or scholars and more serious writers. For example, he discusses the activities of the amateur archaeologist and adventurer Wendell Phillips (pp. 219-220) but omits the means by which he acquired oil concessions in Oman and elsewhere, and he fails to mention the low esteem that many archaeologists hold of his team's work. Hamilton is similarly accepting of the account of the apparently pseudonymous Raymond O'Shea (p. 217). O'Shea's book, The Sand Kings of Oman, includes photographs purporting to be the ruins of a lost city deep in the Rub' al-Khali desert — presumably the mythical Ubar — when even a cursory glance reveals that one view is of Muscat, complete with people visible in the streets, while another shows the waters of Muscat harbor lapping at the foundations of Fort al-Mirani.

For the well-heeled collector who desires everything published about Oman or Arabia, An Arabian Utopia is a fine and substantial addition to the bookshelf. Most others with less-deep pockets may be reduced to perusing it in a library. That, however, should not discourage anyone from a careful examination of this beautifully produced volume.

J.E. Peterson

Dr. J.E. Peterson, Tucson, Arizona, www.JEPeterson.net.

...

pdf

Share