{"product_id":"stranger-in-the-desert-a-family-story-9781646222667","title":"Stranger in the Desert: A Family Story","description":"\u003cb\u003eInspired by family lore, a young writer embarks on an epic quest through the Argentine Andes in search of a heritage spanning hemispheres and centuries, from the Jewish Levant to turn-of-the-century trade routes in South America\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne Thanksgiving afternoon at his grandparents' house, Jordan Salama discovers a large binder stuffed with yellowing papers and old photographs--a five-hundred-year wandering history of his Arab-Jewish family, from Moorish Spain to Ottoman Syria to Argentina and beyond. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne story in particular captures his attention: that of his great-grandfather, a Syrian-born, Arabic-speaking Jewish immigrant to Argentina who in the 1920s worked as a traveling salesman in the Andes--and may have left behind forgotten descendants along the way. Encouraged by his grandfather, Jordan goes in search of these \"Lost Salamas,\" traveling more than a thousand miles up the spine of South America's greatest mountain range. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCombining travelog, history, memoir, and reportage, \u003ci\u003eStranger in the Desert\u003c\/i\u003e transports readers from the lonely plains of Patagonia to the breathtaking altiplano of the high Andes; from the old Jewish quarter of Damascus to today's vibrant neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. It is also a fervent journey of self-discovery as Salama grapples with his own Jewish, Arab, and Latin American identities, interrogating the stories families tell themselves, and to what end.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Catapult\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/25\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781646222667\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs","brand":"Jordan Salama","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45000452767925,"sku":"9781646222667","price":14.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_c923ea49-e83d-4ebe-a15e-b1b9168c6127.jpg?v=1736264849","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/stranger-in-the-desert-a-family-story-9781646222667","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}