From San Francisco to Yemen, the gripping true story of a young American immigrant and his quest to resurrect the ancient art of Yemeni coffee - while escaping a terrifying civil war.
Mokhtar grew up in San Francisco, one of seven siblings in a tiny apartment, raised by Yemeni immigrant parents. As a young man he learned of the true origins of coffee making - an ancient art born in Yemen, the secret stolen by European colonisers - and became determined to resurrect the ancient art of Yemeni coffee.
Mokhtar dedicated himself to coffee, quickly becoming one of the world's leading experts, the first Arab in the world to qualify as a 'Q Grader'. But while visiting Yemen on a research trip, he was caught in the maelstrom of sudden civil war. The US Embassy closed its doors, and so Mokhtar embarked on a nail-biting adventure - to escape the country with his precious coffee samples intact.
The Monk of Mokha is heart-pounding adventure story, a tale of underdog entrepreneurship and true passion, and a fascinating modern take on the great American dream.
About the Author
Dave Eggers is the author of ten books, including most recently Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever?, The Circle and A Hologram for the King, which was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award. He is the founder of McSweeney's, an independent publishing company based in San Francisco that produces books, a quarterly journal of new writing (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern), and a monthly magazine, The Believer. McSweeney's also publishes Voice of Witness, a nonprofit book series that uses oral history to illuminate human rights crises around the world. Eggers is the co-founder of 826 National, a network of eight tutoring centers around the country and ScholarMatch, a nonprofit organization designed to connect students with resources, schools and donors to make college possible. He lives in Northern California with his family.
Industry Reviews
Readers will never take coffee for granted or overlook the struggles of Yemen after ingesting Eggers's phenomenally well-written, juggernaut tale of an intrepid and irresistible entrepreneur on a complex and meaningful mission, a highly caffeinated adventure story * Booklist *
A most improbable and uplifting success story... Eggers offers an appealing hybrid: a biography of a charming, industrious Muslim man who has more ambition than direction; a capsule history of coffee and its origins, growth, and development as a mass commodity and then as a niche product; the story of Blue Bottle, the elite coffee chain in San Francisco that some suspect (and some fear) could turn into the next Starbucks; an adventure story of civil war in a foreign country... It is hard to resist the derring-do of the Horatio Alger of Yemenite coffee * Kirkus *
The remarkable true story of a Yemeni coffee farmer... A vibrant depiction of courage and passion, interwoven with a detailed history of Yemeni coffee and a timely exploration of Muslim American identity * Entertainment Weekly *
Works as both a heart-warming success story with a winning central character and an account of real-life adventures that read with the vividness of fiction * Publishers Weekly *
It'll open your eyes - very wide - to the singular origins of your single origin * Esquire (UK) *
Definitely one for book club * Elle (UK) *
Eggers's narrative is guaranteed to be every bit as compelling as that of any novel * The Observer *
Dave Eggers returns to his "factional" mode with The Monk Of Mokha, in which a Yemeni immigrant to the US discovers an obsession with coffee, returns home, and is caught in a war. Given his previous form with What Is The What and Zeitoun I have high hopes of this book * The Scostman *
This is a book that celebrates ethnic diversity and the exuberance of the human spirit * Mail on Sunday *
[Dave Eggers] is on a mission to use the platform he has created as a writer/activist to give direct voice to the marginalised or unheard... No story is more urgent * Observer *
Bridgemakers such as Mokhtar courageously embody America's reason for being - as a place of radical opportunity and ceaseless welcome... a blended people united not by stasis and cowardice and fear, but by irrational exuberance, by global enterprise on a human scale * The Guardian *
It's hard to imagine ALkhanshali's story being told with more pace, scope or sensitivity. An extraordinary adventure * The Times *
Mokhtar's story is a remarkable one, full of derring-do, tenacity and exceptional luck * Metro *
It is impossible not to root for Mokhtar. And as with all good bildungsromans, it is as much the reader as the hero who receives an education * The Daily Telegraph *
