{"product_id":"rock-in-a-hard-place-music-and-mayhem-in-the-middle-east-9781786990150","title":"Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East","description":"A muggy night in Abu Dhabi in 2011. Under the stadium lights a 30,000-strong sea of Libyans, Palestinians, Syrians, and Egyptians wait in anticipation. Alongside them are Saudis, Iranians, and Israelis. Defiance and excitement course through the crowd like electricity. Standing together, they are waiting for Metallica's first-ever show in the Middle East. Many of the people in the audience have faced untold violence in their lives, but for tonight, all that is put aside, and \u003ci\u003enothing else matters\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJournalist and lifelong heavy metal fan Orlando Crowcroft spent six years penetrating the rock and metal scene in the Middle East, reporting on it and interviewing bands for \u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Esquire\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eAtlantic. \u003c\/i\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eRock in a Hard Place, \u003c\/i\u003e we meet young men and women making music in the back rooms of shabby houses in al-Zarqa and al-Qatif, Nazareth and Cairo. Alongside Crowcroft, we rock out at illegal shows in Tehran and Riyadh, and we listen to the songs that helped oust a dictator in Cairo. \u003ci\u003eRock in a Hard Place \u003c\/i\u003epays tribute to these courageous and determined musicians, who are willing to risk everything--even their lives--for music. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith this book, Crowcroft offers a different voice, one that is at odds with the view of the Middle East mired in violence, extremism, and war. It is a voice recognizable to anyone who has ever turned up a speaker or an amp to drown out the din of the everyday, and a voice that may help unite us when we need it most. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Crowcroft, Orlando\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/15\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Zed Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781786990150\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.62lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.70h x 5.00w x 0.90d","brand":"Orlando Crowcroft","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":33052715352139,"sku":"9781786990150","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0021\/1697\/6715\/products\/img_bc47f1d4-1dc3-44e3-b686-3eb6fd3f4171.jpg?v=1612228023","url":"https:\/\/blackbookstore.com\/products\/rock-in-a-hard-place-music-and-mayhem-in-the-middle-east-9781786990150","provider":"Black Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}