Marrakech Express

February 1, 2015

The title for this excellent travelog on Morocco almost does a disservice to its content. Not a book about hippies or hashish, it's a well-experienced, well-written account of one of the few remaining stable countries in the Arab world. There was no "Arab Spring" there and don't even get Millar started on that. Rather, the country comes off as a well-run constitutional monarchy, with everyone basically getting along (Arabs, Berbers, European ex-pats; Jews and Muslims; conservatives and liberals). This may not be true in every aspect, but Morocco is moving forward better than most of its sister states. Millar, who's lived in and written about such hot spots as Cuba (Slow Train to Guantanamo) and the old Soviet empire, travels via car, bus, taxi, and rail, experiencing small towns and large. He encounters French-speaking Moroccan versions of hipsters, old-timers, new-timers, and a few in between. A bit obsessed about always finding alcohol in these haunts (not easy in a Muslim country), Millar also takes in the history (from Roman to about last week) and places it in context with Morocco's religious and linguistic realities (besides Arabic and French, there is also a smattering of Spanish and at least three Berber tongues). VERDICT For anyone interested in traveling to Morocco or simply wanting some good news out of that part of the troubled world.--Lee Arnold, Historical Soc. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

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