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This list is intended to provide a well-rounded introduction to the
Middle East for those who are unfamiliar with it.
The list of 10 is meant to cover the
region generally. Suggested books about specific countries
will be included in supplementary lists below. Further suggestions
are welcome.
Ten books introducing the Middle East
HISTORY:
1.
History of the
Arabs, by Philip Hitti (1937)
Alternative suggestions:
A History of the Arab
Peoples
by Albert Hourani (1991)
A History of the Modern Middle East
by William Cleveland (2004)
The Modern Middle East: a
History
by James Gelvin (2005)
The
Arabs
by Eugene Rogan (2009)
Click here
for a discussion of the choices in
this section.
FICTION:
2.
The Yacoubian Building by
Alaa al
Aswany (2002)
3. The Consequences of Love
by Suleiman Addonia (2008)
Alternative suggestions:
Cairo Trilogy (1956-57)
Children of the Alley (also known as Children of Gebelawi)
Cities of Salt trilogy (1984)
by Abdelrahman Munif
Night & Horses & the
Desert Robert Irwin (ed) – classical anthology
Under the Naked Sky
(2004) Denys Johnson-Davies (ed/trans) – anothology of modern short
stories
Zaat
(1992) by Sonallah
Ibrahim
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits (2005) by
Laila Lalami
Click here for a discussion of the choices in
this section.
ISLAM:
4. The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global by Fawaz Gerges (2005).
5. Progressive Muslims: on Justice, Gender and Pluralism (2003), edited by Omid Safi.
Alternative suggestions:
A History of Islamic Spain
by W Montgomery Watt (1965)
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
by Amin Maalouf (1989)
Click here for a discussion of the choices in
this section.
SOCIETY AND POLITICS:
6. Over-stating the Arab State
by Nazih Ayubi (1995)
7. Imagined Masculinities edited by Mai Ghoussoub and Emma Sinclair-Webb (2000)
Alternative suggestions:
Neopatriarchy
by Hisham Sharabi (1988)
The Arab World: Society, Culture and State
by Halim Barakat (1993)
Click here for a discussion of the choices in
this section.
ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT:
8. The Iron Wall
by Avi Shlaim (2000)
Click here for discussion
MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD:
9. The New Book of Middle Eastern Food
(1985) by Claudia Roden
Alternative suggestion:
Middle Eastern Cookbook by Maria
Khalife (2007)
Click here for a discussion of the choices in
this section.
CULTURAL SENSIVITY:
10. Understanding the Arab Culture
by Jehad al-Omari (2008)
Click here for discussion
Yemen
Click here for a discussion of the choices in
this section.
Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of
Snakes by Victoria Clark (2010). Reviews: The
Guardian; The
Economist.
Yemen: Land and
People by Sarah Searight (2003)
A History of Modern
Yemen by Paul Dresch (2001)
Yemeni society:
Peripheral Visions: Publics, Power, and Performance in
Yemen by Lisa Wedeen (2008)
A Tribal Order: Politics and Law in the Mountains of
Yemen by Shelagh Weir (2007)
Yemen Chronicle: An Anthropology of War and
Mediation by Steven Caton (2006)
Civil Society in
Yemen by Sheila Carapico (1998)
Tribes, Government, and History in Yemen
by Paul Dresch (1994)
Travel writing:
Eating the Flowers of Paradise
by Kevin Rushby (2003)
Yemen: Travels in Dictionary
Land, by Tim Mackintosh-Smith (1999), published in the US under the title
Yemen: The Unknown
Arabia.
Motoring with
Mohammed by Eric Hansen (1992)
A Winter in
Arabia by Freya Stark (1940)
The Southern Gates of Arabia
by Freya Stark (1934)
Other:
The Despairing
Developer by Timothy Morris (1991)
(Lists for other countries in preparation)
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