Rare Books

East is West

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Description: Journalist, traveler, and writer Freya Stark wrote this book "as an armchair journey for the average reader" after discovering that contemporary knowledge of the Arab world in Europe and the United States was out of date. She gives an introductory history and political analysis of the region in the introduction, especially with respect to World War II, foreign presence in the region, and the region's future place in the world. This book, based on the author's travels, focuses particularly upon the Arabian Peninsula (specifically Aden in Yemen, where she was stationed by the British government as a diplomat), Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Stark does not attempt to keep the narrative falsely impersonal; her status as a foreign woman traveling by herself was wildly uncommon, and the way her informants responded to her reflects that fact.
Type: Rare Books(Opens in new tab)
Publication date: [1945]
Call number: 626169

Seen in the Hadhramaut

Rare Books

Stark published this collection of her photographs in 1939. She intended the book for the popular reader to admire the sights and people of the historical region Hadhramaut, now in modern Yemen. The book contains black-and-white photographs of good quality, generally full page, with Stark's commentary on the opposite page.

626176

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The valleys of the Assassins and other Persian travels

Rare Books

"Inspired by the tales of adventure in Arabian Nights, worldwide explorer Freya Stark set off for the Northwest coast of Syria in 1927. She was a woman alone in a country where few men dared to venture, in a culture governed by seldom-kept laws. By camel, horse, foot, and caravan, she crossed Iraq's desert, impassable mountain ranges, and the colorful cities of Baghdad, Larti, and Teheran to her final destination: the Throne of Solomon. Accompanied by the opium-entranced Keram Khan, one-eyed Alidad, quiltmaker Shah Riza, and the sullen Hajji, she sought out ancient castles, a buried treasure, and prehistoric graves in the Valleys of the Assassins, the hidden home of a Persian sect of murderers. Along the way, she befriended the philosophers, shahs, robbers, child-brides, and holy men who populate the countryside. Originally published in 1936, The Valley of the Assassins is a remarkable travel odyssey. This is its first American publication"--back cover.

635933

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The Minaret of Djam : an excursion in Afghanistan

Rare Books

The author recalls the people and scenery of her journey from Kabul, through Afghanistan to Herat and Kandahar.

636001

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East-West San Fernando Valley Line

Manuscripts

This collection contains the papers of Gloria Molina, who was a Los Angeles County Supervisor of the First Supervisorial District from 1991 to 2014. This collection is mainly comprised of records created and accumulated during her years on the Board of Supervisors. These materials -- including correspondence, agenda, motions, reports, press clippings, notes, ephemera, site plans, photographs, audiovisual and electronic resources -- document a wide range of activities performed by Molina and her staff, such as project planning, legislation, lawsuits, redistricting, campaigning, and budget planning.

mssMolina

S.S. Lurline

Visual Materials

This image depicts the Lurline as she was after her wartime service as a troopship and subsequent conversion back into a passenger liner. The Lurline operated from 1932 to 1941, and then, after World War II service as a transport, from 1948 to 1963 for the Matson Navigation Company; she was the third vessel so named. Title supplied by cataloger. Focus of item: Lurline (1932-1963).

priJHK 00766

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West coast travel diary of a woman

Manuscripts

A western train trip diary of a young woman as she traveled from Chicago to the west coast in 1915. On the front page it is written "For Neva from Carrie." On the cover of the leather diaries, "My Travels" is lettered in gold gilt. The author traveled from Chicago to southern California with a stopover at the Grand Canyon, Los Angeles and San Diego where she celebrated her 32nd birthday. Then it was up the coast to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Oregon and Washington, and then it was over to Yellowstone National Park and back home to Salina, Kansas. There is a photo which accompanies the diary of a young woman in a hammock, which could be either Carrie or Neva. Also at the rear of the diary are a number of people listed with their addresses.

mssHM 83415

East is West

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Seen in the Hadhramaut

The valleys of the Assassins and other Persian travels

The Minaret of Djam : an excursion in Afghanistan

East-West San Fernando Valley Line

S.S. Lurline

West coast travel diary of a woman