Cecil Hourani seeks to understand the complexities of Jordan through its cookery. After many years of residence and involvement in the public affairs of the Hashemite Kingdom, he has traveled to every corner and has sought out recipes from chance acquaintances, friends and family. These he has interspersed with portraits of people, places and ways of life: contrasting the way of the desert with that of the town; the camps with that of the settled bourgeoisie. Cecil Hourani is Lebanese by birth, but English by residence and education. His professional life has been devoted to North Africa and the Middle East.