Americana Update

The initial fundraising drive for the Global Americana Institute has been extremely rewarding. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us.

We have noted that the great works of American political philosophy-- Ben Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jeffers, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, etc., etc. just are not available in Arabic editions. There are a large number of Arab intellectuals who do not know English or French, or do not know them well enough to understand these works, and who therefore have no access to the founding texts of American thought. We are determined to do something about this, and have found that it is perfectly possible and also not that expensive.

Just to let you know, I have been corresponding with a press in Beirut and am setting up a meeting, either between me or a GAI representative there, to go forward.

I'm also doing grant writing for the project.

Obviously, the more we have in the kitty, the better position we are in to negotiate a good deal for the series with the press, and get going! So, if you have been thinking of contributing, but don't know if this is the right time, the answer is, yes.