Belle Dorman Rugh has told the story of an American family in the Near East in a delightfully warm and humorous manner. With the vivid memory of her own childhood in Lebanon to draw upon, she writes with an intimate knowledge of the country and a rare insight into the ways of young people. The boys, whose ages range from three to thirteen, and ten-year-old Boadie are completely at home in this Arab country and accept the manners and customs of its people with poise and understanding. Belle Dorman Rugh's first novel is based on her own childhood experiences as the daughter of an American missionary doctor in the Lebanon mountains north of Palestine. There is a real Crystal Mountain and a real little ruined house. The boys are grown up now. Gerald and Danny are doctors. John lives in the mountains of Ethiopia, but Harry still spends his summers in Shemlan, and his children play on Crystal Mountain. - Jacket flap