Lines in the Sand: The Pursuit of Peace in the Middle East

Created by Peter Bakogeorge and produced by Tiger Media Inc., Calgary, Alberta, 1995. List: $49.95; AET: $39.95.

Reviewed by Shawn L. Twing

With the "information age" upon us, the newest technology now has penetrated into Middle Eastern studies. Lines in the Sand: the Pursuit of Peace in the Middle East is a recently released computer program that, with the aid of a personal computer, takes the viewer on a "virtual tour" of the region, its history, geography and peoples. Complete with digitized video footage of experts of differing views discussing the region, maps of individual countries with photographs of important sites, and volumes of text covering everything from highlights of 4,000 years of Middle Eastern history to pertinent United Nations resolutions, Lines in the Sand provides a wealth of information in a readily accessible and enjoyable format.

For those unfamiliar with the jargon of the computer age, there are a few terms that need to be explained before this review continues. First, Lines in the Sand is a computer CD-ROM (compact disc-read only memory), a small thin disc containing an enormous amount of information that a properly equipped personal computer (PC) displays as brilliant images, vibrant sounds and readable text—all appearing on an individual computer screen. Using a point-and-click interface (a device that moves a pointer around a computer screen), the viewer is able to scan documents, hear leading Middle East experts discuss their opinions on topics ranging from the Arab-Israeli peace process to the influence of Islam in the contemporary Middle East, and a select variety of other options at his or her own pace. There is no tour guide or set speed at which to view the information.

Lines in the Sand begins with a breathtaking view of Jerusalem before it loads a main menu of options, the starting point for the journey into the disc's contents. From this main menu there are six different possibilities: points of view, discussions, time line, tour, documents and on-line. Points of view has a list of countries on the left that may be chosen one at a time, then paired at the bottom of the screen with population, economy, government, religion, friends (i.e., allies) and "journalist's view" (a chance to see and hear the author, Peter Bakogeorge, discuss his own experiences in the selected country). This section allows the viewer to research up-to-date demographic information about several Middle Eastern countries as well as listen to and/or read the author's first-hand impressions.

"Discussions" is perhaps the most interesting part of the tour. At the top of the screen are displayed seven questions asked by the creators of the disc to 10 experts on the Middle East. They are Mark Bruzonsky, John Esposito, Muhammad Hallaj, Eric Hooglund, Clovis Maksoud, Robert Neumann, Soli Ozel, Hasan Abdel Rahman, Bernard Reich and Washington Report executive editor Richard H. Curtiss. At the bottom are photographs of the ten discussants. As the viewer chooses one of the questions, a red highlight appears around the pictures of the individuals who answer that question. Simply pointing and clicking on the chosen individual brings up a digitized video segment where the viewer sees and hears that person answering the question under discussion. This gives the viewer the opportunity to hear the answers. For those seeking pertinent quotations, the full text of each discussant's comments also is available in the documents section.

"Time line" is a history of the region from Abraham's immigration to Canaan (c. 1900 BCE) to June 1995. Along the time line are significant political, religious and cultural events in the history of the Middle East, embellished with artwork and photographs. This section is an excellent tool for the viewer who is unfamiliar or only slightly familiar with the region. More detail, particularly about the later years, would have improved this section, especially for those already knowledgeable about the region. Overall, however, the time line provides an excellent context for examining major events in the Middle East's history.

The tour section leads the viewer to a map of the Middle East where the flags of the individual countries serve as links to a map of that country. Once in the individual country's map, certain places (e.g., Petra in Jordan) have links that load pictures from the designated city, landscape, or archeological site. The viewer can marvel at a variety of images from the pyramids of Egypt to the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem without ever leaving the comfort of his or her own home. Although the selection of sites to visit is relatively limited, the images are stunning.

Perhaps the only problem with the CD-ROM, which becomes quite noticeable during the tour section, is the creators' decision to omit the seven countries of the Arabian peninsula from inclusion in the majority of the disc's contents. There is brief mention of some of the Arab Gulf countries in other sections of the CD-ROM, but the tour does not include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The decision to exclude these countries is unfortunate, as they are vitally important to the region's history, culture, religion, and political and economic development.

The documents section is particularly useful for research purposes, especially for students at the college or high school level. Included in this section are maps, the full texts of letters, agreements, treaties and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, essays from representatives of each of the countries included in the disc's contents, a guide to further reading and transcripts of the videotaped interviews with the 10 Middle East experts in the discussions section. With very little effort the viewer can read the Balfour Declaration, study the Camp David Accords, and even read the text of the Declaration of Principles signed by Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, without hours of searching in a library large enough to contain any or all of these documents. The ease with which these items can be retrieved is invaluable for anyone interested in the Middle East.

The final section, on-line, contains information about the disc's contents as they appear on the World Wide Web. Corresponding to the CD-ROM is a website (the term for a small part of the Internet reserved for a particular group of information, in this case the contents of Lines in the Sand) where individuals can access the disc's contents (without the video imagery or the pictures) as well as up-to-date information (e.g., news releases) related to the Middle East. Anyone interested in purchasing Lines in the Sand should take a look at its website first to get a better feel for the disc's contents (the World Wide Web address is: http://www.tiger.ab.ca/mideast/). The benefit of accessing the Internet version first is that it allows the potential user to try it before purchasing the disc. Since Lines in the Sand speaks for itself, making the program's contents available on the World Wide Web is possibly the best advertising for it.

Psychologists long have maintained that the quantity and quality of learning is increased exponentially with every sense that is employed beyond one. For example, reading aloud is thought to improve an individual's ability to memorize and retain information because it combines sight and sound in the learning process. Computer technology, including that used in displaying Lines in the Sand, benefits from this research and attempts to combine as much as possible in the learning process. Instead of just reading about possible outcomes of the Arab-Israeli peace process, viewers of Lines in the Sand see text and vibrant images, hear opinions in the voices of experts in the field, and best of all, tour this vast accumulation of information at their own pace and with their own particular needs in mind. This creates not only a powerful reference tool, but also an enjoyable method for learning about a widely misunderstood yet vitally important region of the world.

Author's note: The system requirements for running Lines in the Sand successfully are as follows—Macintosh: 68030-25mhz, 4 mb free RAM, double-speed CD-ROM drive, 256-color monitor, System 7.x, Sound Manager 3.x, Quick Time 2.x, and Multimedia Tuner 2.x. IBM-compatible: 386-33mhz, 8 mb RAM, double-speed CD-ROM drive, sound card, graphics card set to 640x480 256 colors, and Windows 3.1 or Windows 95.

Although few CD-ROMs have made the transition to Windows 95 with complete success, Lines in the Sand is a happy exception. The disc ran flawlessly both in Windows 3.1 and in Windows 95. Further technical questions can be directed to Tiger Multimedia, (800) 531-9333.

Shawn L. Twing is the news editor of the Washington Report.