Who shot Kamar al-Dawla Alwan? Was it a crime of passion? What was the role of the beautiful peasant girl called Rim? Is the mysterious Sheikh Asfur as crazy as he seems? First published in 1937, Tawfik al-Hakim's partly autobiographical novel is written as the journal of a young, stress-ridden prosecutor deployed by Cairo to investigate a number of serious crimes in a rural village. Imbued with the ideals of a European education, he encounters a world of poverty and disarray, where an imported legal system is both alien and incomprehensible. Both a comedy of errors and a trenchant social satire, Diary of a Country Prosecutor takes aim at wily peasants, clueless bureaucrats, a self-interested ruling class and, of course, our hapless public servant. Hilarious, wry and true, this classic of Egyptian literature has lost none of its bite.

A great bestseller in its hardcover edition, this magnificently illustrated, superbly written history is the companion volume to the award-winning PBS-TV series "Heritage", narrated by Abba Eban and viewed by some 50 million Americans.

"Few 20th century diplomats match Abba Eban in intelligence and experience, and none in wit; so his reflections on diplomatic challenges int he century to come are uncommonly perceptive, rewarding and readable". -- Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

"Abba Eban's book is part statecraft, part diplomatic history, part autobiography, and entirely absorbing. His insights are as lucid as they are elegant, reaffirming his place as one of the most knowledgeable, wise, and eloquent of modern diplomats". -- Henry A. Kissinger

"Diplomacy can only gain in public esteem by shaking off the intrinsically insoluble arguments about virtue and conscience and concentrating on more practical goals. Reciprocal self-interest is and should remain the central theme". -- from Diplomacy for the Next Century

In this wise and eloquent book, one of the world's preeminent senior statesmen presents his views on the challenges of diplomacy in the post-Cold War era. Abba Eban, who has been Israel's ambassador to the United Nations and to the United States as well as the foreign minister in several Israeli governments, draws on his years of experience and knowledge to offer an overview of diplomacy as practiced in today's world.

Interweaving historical data with personal reminiscences, Eban reviews the Cold War period and its end in 1989, praising the diplomatic restraint in the years that have followed; discusses the ethical confrontation between power and conscience in a wide range of international decisions and actions; and points out the difficulty of reconciling the promotion of universal human rights with respect for national sovereignty. Eban goes oil to deplore the lack of privacy in international negotiationsthat is the result of an increasingly intrusive media, shows that nuclear warfare is not a restraint against frequent military intervention, and warns against inflated views of what can be expected from the United Nations. He concludes with thoughts about the quest for peace in the Middle East.

Instructive, erudite, and witty, Eban's tour through diplomatic history vividly demonstrates that the wisdom of the past can be immensely valuable as we seek to negotiate and maintain peace in the future.