Year of the Locust

Year of the Locust captures in page-turning detail the end of the Ottoman world and a pivotal moment in Palestinian history. In the diaries of Ihsan Hasan al-Turjman (1893-1917), the first ordinary recruit to describe World War I from the Arab side, we follow the misadventures of an Ottoman soldier stationed in Jerusalem. There he occupied himself by dreaming about his future and using family connections to avoid being sent to the Suez. His diaries draw a unique picture of daily life in the besieged city, bringing into sharp focus its communitarian alleys and obliterated neighborhoods, the ongoing political debates, and, most vividly, the voices from its streets - soldiers, peddlers, prostitutes, and vagabonds. Salim Tamari's indispensable introduction places the diary in its local, regional, and imperial contexts while deftly revising conventional wisdom on the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.

"A must-read for both researchers and the general reading public." This Week In Palestine "A major contribution to the field of social and cultural history of twentieth-century Palestine." Arab Studies Journal "Impressively thoughtful, layered, and well-documented... A precise and well-done history." -- Farid M. Al-Salim Middle East Journal "The value and significance of the volume ... is without question... The writing is compelling and engaging... [An] artful, smooth translation." -- Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University Jrnl Of Palestine Studies "An unparalleled window into everyday life in [Jerusalem during the First World War]." -- William Armstrong Hurriyet Daily News

Salim Tamari is Professor of Sociology at Birzeit University, Palestine, the Director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies, and the author of Mountain Against the Sea (UC Press).