Dubai Dreams: Inside the Kingdom of Bling
Raymond Barrett's portrait of the rhinestone emirate is beautifully observed, packed with surprises, epigrams and sage analysis. Dubai, as much state of mind as city-state, has long been crying out for such a psychogeography as this. (Tim Mackintosh-Smith, author of Yemen:  Travels in a Dictionary Land and visiting lecturer at the Royal Geographical Society and Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies)