Our Last Best Chance

King Abdullah's engaging memoir is the story of the recent history of the Middle East from his unique elite point of view. His life has taken him from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts to Sandhurst in England and to the Palace in Amman. Nadim Sawalha, an accomplished Anglo-Jordanian actor, offers a clear delivery, drama without histrionics, and a wonderful accent. Occasionally, the narrative shifts back and forth in time in a way that may confuse an inattentive listener. Although it was published only months ago, this book has been rendered slightly out of date by the emergence of democracy movements in the Arab world. Still, it's a good introduction to the palace politics of the Middle East. The stories about fishing with Saddam Hussein's sons and flying Sean Connery's helicopter are worth the price of the audiobook. F.C. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine