Although he still carries a Dutch passport, Carool Kersten has mostly lived overseas for the last 15 years or so, and considers himself a citizen of the world. He is now making a sincere effort to stay put in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.

Over the years he has studied Arabic, Islam, International Relations, Philosophy and Southeast Asian Studies. After obtaining master's in Arabic Language & Culture, he embarked on a chequered international career that has taken him to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Thailand -- interrupted by short stints in his home country. Before returning to the world of academia, he has been a professional translator, management assistant, office manager, Arabic language instructor, Middle East consultant and human resourses manager. At present he is a lecturer in Asian history and resident director of a Study Abroad Program at a university in Thailand.

His eclectic research interests include Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian history, Islamic philosophy, comparative religion and travel writing. In the remaining time he likes to indulge in his addiction to reading, sometimes to the despair of his Thai wife Nida and children, Melanie and Christopher.

Carool welcomes reader reactions to his reviews at seekay2000@hotmail.com.

Reviews by Carool include:

Azam Ali
Portals of Grace

Animus
self-titled

Severin Browne
This Twisted Road

Bubba Mac Blues Band
Just Life

Buddhist Monks of Maitri Vihar Monastery
Tibetan Mantras & Chants

Cascade Folk Trio
Old Street

Richard Clayderman & Rahul Sharma
The Confluence

Gevorg Dabaghyan
Miniatures: Masterworks for Armenian Duduk

Darvish
self-titled

Dromedary
Artifact

Galina Durmushliyska
The Enchanting Voice of Bulgaria

Ensemble Karot
Vol. I

Mahmoud Fadl
The Drummers of the Nile in Town: CairoSonic

Raymond Fairchild
Plays the Classics

Pandit Kumar Gandharva
Nirguni Bhajans

Gigi, with Bill Laswell
Illuminated Audio

David Gogo
Bare Bones: The Acoustic Blues

Corey Harris
Mississippi to Mali

Jony Iliev Band
Ma Maren Ma

Sunny Jain Collective
As Is

Zohreh Jooya & Madjid Derakhshani
Music of the Persian Mystics

Salif Keita
Moffou

Shafqat Ali Khan
Sublime Sufi: New Perspectives on Ancient Sufi Roots
Sufi Songs

Habib Koite & Bamada
Foly! Live Around the World

Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur
Khayals

Metropolitan Klezmer
Yiddish for Travelers

Natraj
The Goat Also Gallops

Rick Neeley
General Merchandise

La Nef
Music for Joan the Mad: Spain 1479-1555

NuSound
World Moods

The Otis Brothers
Let's Go to Huntin'

Prasant Radhakrishnan
Swara Sudha

Raj Rangayyan & Utpal Mazumdar
If You Have the Time

Sarband
Ballads of the Sephardic Jews

Serah
Late Harvest

Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw, with Bill Laswell
Abyssinia Infinite: Zion Roots

James Coberly Smith
Cocomo

Merja Soria
Arctic Silence

Victor Spiegel
Evocation

Talisman
Music of Russian Princesses: From the Court of Catherine the Great

Tinariwen
The Radio Tisdas Sessions

various artists
Festival in the Desert
Music from Vietnam #5: Minorities from the Central Highlands & Coast
Reves d'Oasis: Desert Blues 2
The Rough Guide to Bellydance
The Rough Guide to the Music of the Himalayas
Smooth Africa II: Exploring the Soul
The Sounds of the Western Sahara: Mauritania

Willie & Lobo
Manana

Les Yeux Noirs
Live


Jack Cavanaugh
While Mortals Sleep

Scott C. Davis
The Road from Damascus: A Journey Through Syria

Amitav Ghosh
The Glass Palace

Bettye Hammer Givens
The Diaries of Emily Saidouili

Daisaku Ikeda
For the Sake of Peace -- Seven Paths to Global Harmony: A Buddhist Perspective

Richard Joseph
Transcend

Jamal Sleem Nuweihed
Abu Jmeel's Daughter & Other Stories: Arab Folk Tales from Palestine & Lebanon