Middle East Books

For anyone interested in understanding the depth of the poetry of Hafiz, Clarke's translations are a must. His comprehensive knowledge of Sufism and the hidden meanings in Hafiz' poetry is superior to any renderings that have come before these translations or after. Well worth reading whether for pleasure or research.

This book is an excellent tool for learning Persian. What could be added, if anything, is the book in farsi of which the author speaks. But since one is supposed to study, is kind of fun to search through the web or with the help of Iranian friends, in libraries or wherever, the texts in persian.

One or two originals (texts in persian) are certainly enough for at least six month's study. So with a book like this all that one needs is to work with patience, pleasure, and with the hope that the spirit of Hafiz will come to whisper into the student's heart.

A fantastic book on the subject of animal mummies in ancient Egypt. It is written by some of the top Egyptologists in this field of study and can provide huge amounts of information on all that you would want to know about this ancient practice...from the reasons behind animal mummies (why they were scared etc.), the actual process of making them and the areas where these votive offerings were placed (i.e. holy sites such as Saqqara, Tuna al-Gebel and so fourth). It's a highly academic book and perfect for all Egyptologists out there or those who immerse themselves in the study of ancient Egypt. There are a number of beautiful picture within the book as well. Overall, it's a wonderful book!

An excellent book by a professor of Egyptology at the American University of Cairo. It deals with all the reasons why animals were mummified in ancient Egypt, why these mummies acccmpanied their masters into their tombs, and also the hoaxes that were sometimes perpetrated on unsuspecting pilgrims who thought that they were actually purchasing mummies of animals to offer to the gods. Salima Ikram is the leading authority on the subject of animal mummies. She has written widely on the subject, lectured on it at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and several other well-known institutes, and appears frequently on TV (I have seen her on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, etc, etc.) She has established a room for animal mummies in the Egyptian museum in Cairo, the first of its kind in the world.

Does the Land Remember Me?: A Memoir of Palestine (Arab American Writing)
This book is a heart-filled memoir of Mr. Aziz's trip to his homeland to visit his elderly mother after 4 decades of absense. His interaction with all of his relatives who were not able to leave Palestine provides a very personal glimpse of their lives and frustrations today. Unfortunately we lost this spokesman to cancer in October 2007.

Palestinian/American Aziz Shihab goes back to his occupied homeland to visit his aging mother and to connect with some land he still owns. While there, he offers us a painful look at this renowned political occurrence. Shihab's passages are full of distressingly endearing encounters with Arabs and Jews (friends, enemies, and in-betweens). Many of these encounters are like dreams where things don't add up, but are pursued for some vestige of logic. Nevertheless, Shihab manages to incorporate a sense of humor into the tidings. One is compelled to turn the page and go on to the next scenario. Who among us has not felt powerless as the political winds shift directions? Aziz Shihab's book produces a lasting impression of this global consternation.

Doing Business with Kuwait is almost an encyclopedia about Kuwait. I wonder if Mr. Kennedy has missed anything about Kuwait. It is a remarkable work as the book talks about the history, politics, economy, and society of Kuwait. It also provides detailed information about religion, weather, demography, and many more topics.

The book contains magnificent data represented in many charts. In addition, the "Visitor Tips" sections are most useful and helpful for foreign visitors to Kuwait, whether the purpose of the visit is business, leisure, or work.

Therefore, if that part of the world, particularly Kuwait, is of an interest to you, this book is of a great great value.

Doing Business with Kuwait is a wide-ranging comprehensive look at how businesspersons from the West and East need to modifify their approach to business in order to be successful in the Kuwaiti environment. A brief skim through this book shows that business rules and practices in Kuwait are in fact very different than they are in the USA and the rest of the world. Indeed, as a successful businessperson operating in Kuwait, I can agree wholeheartedly with the general thrust of Mr Kennedy's book, which accords with my own business experience in Kuwait. I only wish that I had it to hand when I was starting business in Kuwait myself several years ago. Doing Business with Kuwait is logically divided into seven neat sections. These cover the country, the economy, business laws, taxation, finance&industry,the market place, and behavioural aspects. Whether it is background infomation on country, a detailed look at rules and regulations, or tips and hints on how to be successful in the Kuwait market place, it is all to be found in Doing Business with Kuwait. The book puts into words things about Kuwait that I had learned intuitively over the years. One of the striking things about Doing Business with Kuwait is how its wealth of information is presented. The individual chapters are written in a simple flowing style that is a joy to read and in which the exposition opens out gradully and very understandably. But best of all, the text is intrespersed here and there with boxes cintaining advice on how to do certain things and warnings of potential pitfalls. A really great way to present the essentials. In conclusion, I can only heartily recopmmend Doing Business with Kuwait to anyone, whether an executive of an international corporation or a small time entrepreneur like myself, cosidering taking a chance in the Kuwaiti market which, belive me, is not for the faint-hearted. I only hope that this book will be recognised for what it is, the bible on doing business in Kuwait.

A wonderful wonderful book.Although the book was written some 150 year ago, Mary Eliza Rogers takes you into the intimacies of daily life in Palestine in the 1850's as if it was occurring today. She writes from her heart with honesty,integrity and a clear mind. And although written at a time of Victorian prejudicies and colonialism she writes without bias or judgement. From her beautiful and colourful descriptions one can envisage the Holy Land as it was before undergoing the process of modernisation and change. For anyone who has any attachment to this land it is a truly wonderful and personal experience to read this book.

A wonderful wonderful book.Although the book was written some 150 year ago, Mary Eliza Rogers takes you into the intimacies of daily life in Palestine in the 1850's as if it was occurring today. She writes from her heart with honesty,integrity and a clear mind. And although written at a time of Victorian prejudicies and colonialism she writes without bias or judgement. From her beautiful and colourful descriptions one can envisage the Holy Land as it was before undergoing the process of modernisation and change. For anyone who has any attachment to this land it is a truly wonderful and personal experience to read this book.

This book is an incredibly charming read, made even better by the beautiful pictures. I enjoyed it so much that I have given several copies of this book to friends and family. When I grow up (?), I want to be an archaeologist!!

Thank you, Naomi Miller, for giving me many evenings of pleasure.

Amazon.com had a mistake in the listing (since corrected) which prompted me to write and take the opportunity to transmit what my friends say about the book (I, of course, would be too prejudiced to write my own review):

One of the people pictured in the book wrote to me: "Thanks a million for your wonderful book. I've just spent a while taking refuge from a grumpy evening by flipping through it, pausing to read about the parts of your life I don't know. How wonderfully generous of you to enshrine us like this, with such precise evocation of time, space, foolishness & purpose."

Another friend wrote:"Your lovely book of drawings and watercolors arrived yeaterday. [We] were immediately entranced by the images and text--such an amusing, informative down-to-earth description life on the dig. The watercolors are really wonderful, but I've always known that.... I had never seen the Shiraz bazaar or Malyan village scenes. Then there are all the pals: ...--they evoke such memories! Is that Dash, the Wonder Dog, on the back cover? Remember, he had a "thing' for you, invading your bedroom with his cargo of fleas! And there he is, wagging his tail at your photograph. Plate 16 is a sweet rendering of my favorite view of Yassihöyük. The Euphrates views are as close as I ever need to get to that old river. Finally, I love all the little sketches scattered throughout--especially the birds and animals. Thanks again for the originals, which I treasure, and thanks for the book. ..."

And another friend wrote: "...Your book is wonderful: your narrative is a delight to read and you know how much I admire your watercolors--each is exquisite w/ great sureness of line, balance of composition pacing & repetition that makes a whole of the multi-paneled ones, and of course great use of colors to die for. I love them! I am lucky to have seen many in incomparable person but there were some that were new to me--the luminosity of the originals and your wonderful backlighting were undiminished in reproduction. Of course we love best of all discovering new things in the plates with each reading.
Congratulations in getting your book out. I am so happy that everyone else will get to share in the pleasure of looking at them.
Thank you again, I am most proud to possess a copy so wonderfully inscribed!"

I won't bore you with the rest of the rave reviews!

Although written by an academic authority on the subject this book was very readable, and in places I had to remind myself this was non-fiction, such is the scale and pace of Dubai's development. I ordered this quite some time ago, as a pre-release, and only received it this month, so there must have been some delays, but it was worth it. The history is fascinating and it is clear that the origins of the city still have a major influence on its current activities. I never understood before how the UAE and Dubai fitted together, along with many other questions I used to have in mind, but I now found explanations to this normally hidden and secretive part of the world. The information on the ruling families is incredible. Although it would have been good to have some color to the maps included, this book is absolutely invaluable and seems to be written by a genuinely neutral and construcitvely critical author, unlike most other books on the Persian Gulf.

This highly polished and painstakingly researched book is the first serious study of Dubai - one of the world's fastest growing and most headline-grabbing cities. There are eight chapters, beginning with a substantial historical background before turning to the present day development of the economy and the survival of the ruling family. Although respectful and dispassionate throughout, no punches are pulled and the book builds up to a strong climax with a discussion of security and terror threats. In some ways, the author himself is of equal interest as the book, with englishman Dr.Davidson considered to be as influential as a sheikh in some parts of this oil rich region.

I wanted to read a very detailed account of 1st and 2nd century Egyptian Christianity, and this book did not disappoint. Unfortunately, the early history of Egyptian Christianity is extremely obscure, but the author gives us the best possible picture based on the extant manuscripts and archaeological evidence. However, because the full picture of early Egyptian Christianity encompassed so many diverse and heterodox sects and beliefs, the author posits that the form of Christianity we know as Catholic/Orthodox may never have existed until the late 100s or even that the so-called heretical (he dislikes the word as biased) sects may have represented the original form of Jesus' religion. Leaving aside the author's naturalistic speculations, this is certainly an excellent source for the early history of the Faith in Egypt.

"The obscurity that veils the early history of the Church in Egypt and that does not lift until the beginning of the third century constitutes a conspicious challenge to the historian of primitive Christianity." Prominent Papyrologist: Colin Roberts, Early Christian Egypt (Schweich Lectures, British Academy,1977)



Early Christianity in Egypt:
The history of early Christianity, being their own confessed belief, should be of continuing significance or at least of some personal interest to Christians, a sizable portion of the world's population. Since Egyptians have played an important role in the early development of Christian life, Egyptian Christianity has been linked closely with Ancient Christian Orthodoxy. Nothing is more likely than Alexandrian Christianity gained adherents among the Therapeutae, Jewish Coenobetics, and that their institutions were adapted to the new religion, just as Jews seem to have been influenced by Egyptian Wisdom. Many of the oldest surviving texts of the New Testament, as Rylands P52, a scrap of papyrus dating to Ca 125 AD, roughly the size of a business card, was discovered in Egypt in 1920, bears parts of John 18:31-33 on one side and John 18:37-38 on the other. Other texts dating from early third century, have been preserved in its dry sands, as texts of apocryphal and Gnostic codices.

Struggling Egyptian Christianity:
Christianity in Egypt is described as, "was locked in an often deadly struggle against the Pagan religions of the Greco-Roman culture as well as the Gnostic movement that peaked in Alexandria spreading to other large cities." To counter Hellenistic philosophy that often criticized the young religion, Christian leaders in Egypt established a catechetical school in Alexandria, the Didascalia, founded in the late second century AD. This school became the mind of Christian philosophy, and great teachers and orators such as Clement and Origen were able to battle the Hellenistic philosophers on their own ground and advocate Christianity in an orderly and intellectual manner. It was also in this great university of Christian learning that Christianity first underwent rigorous studies that created its first theology and doctrines, making the new faith accessible to the elite as well as the publicans. Pantaenus, the founder and first dean of the Didascalia, helped the Alexandrines to bridge the gap between Dynastic Egypt and the new era by promoting the use of the Greek alphabet instead of the Demotic in the translations of the Bible as well as the writing of Christian apolgetics and letters. The Catechetical school instructed everyone, availing to as many people as possible instruction in Christian faith in one to three years. The advanced Didascalia taught also in Greek helping to advance the faith in elite Egyptian and Hellenistic spheres.

Alexandrine Orthodoxy:
For more than four centuries, Alexandria has been the intellectual center of the Roman Empire, and later the Pharos of Oriental Christianity. Its Bishop Athanasius played a vigorous part in defining basic Christian belief, while Cyril was the bench mark of Orthodox Christology. One of the most remarkable mystical traditions of early Christianity, monastic life, began in Egypt in the third and into the fourth centuries. For the first six centuries, until the advent of Islam, Alexandria was the leader in Christian thought, theological doctrine, and liturgical innovation. In mid fifth century, after the schismatic council of chalcedon, became then partially isolated by Byzantine- Roman church politics, even before the Arab conquest. The Christian Church in Egypt has preserved many early features down to the present day Coptic Orthodox Church.

Griggs Milestone Study:
This study, published in the prestigeous series, Coptic Studies, edited by the towering scholar M. Krause (with A. Guillaumont, R. Kassar, Pahor Labib, et. al.) has contributed in the last few decades to an increased understanding of the early history of Egyptian Christian, and the manner in which that nascent faith developed and overflew into other ancient Mediterranean countries, as well as to the general history of Paleo-Christianity. This compelling study, thorough and captivating, focuses on the history of Christianity in Egypt from its earliest recorded conception to the second half of the sixth century, in the aftermath of the Council of Chalcedon, when the Egyptian Church due to its separation from the Catholic University, became the only national (Coptic) religious institution. Within this time period, eminent researchers observe the development of features unique to Egyptian Christianity, imposition of ecclesiastical orthodoxy of Alexandria and its dominance southward, and the surge of monastic forces, which Chalcedon tried to curtail, leading to the establishment of the Coptic-Jacobite national churches in Egypt and Syria, in communion with the unbending Orthodox Armenian Church.

Outstanding Author:
Prof. C. Wilfred Griggs is professor of Ancient Scripture, Brigham Young University, Utah. He directed the Brigham Young University excavations at the Coptic cemetery at Seila, in the Fayum. Educated in BYU, Stanford, UC Berkeley, he authored various publications and acquired honors, his areas of expertise & research are in: Ancient history, religion, and languages.

You don't have to be in an Archeology class (like me) to appreciate this book. It is a quick-reader full of well flowing information. Its not too technical though, so its great for those with minor understandings of the period, or the field of study in general. So many people focus on Ancient Egypt or Babylon, but what about BEFORE then. Its an increadibley important time period, and what sorts of things happened may surprise you!!

I bought this book along with two others because of a major gap in my knowledge in the period of Mesopotamia before the 1st Dynasty of Babylon, and because I wanted to have much better understanding of how the earliest civilizations developed from the simple humble settlements. This book provides and excellent and detailed review of the subject. The author, Hans J Nissen, describes the development of the early settlements in ancient Mesopotamia, and the reasons why it was here rather than elsewhere in the ancient Near East that these settlements first became City States, and then into the larger regional and national states of Sargon of Akkad and the 1st Babylonian dynasty of which Hammurabi is the best known ruler.

The reason, according to Nissen, is the dramatic effect of climate change in Mesopotamia during the second half of the third millennium BC, and the need for inter-community cooperation. As the effects became more threatening and pervasive, (along with a change in the course of the Euphrates River) increased competition between cities changed this from a voluntary co-operation to one which was compulsory. Hence the development of organised labour to build canals and other infrastructures in order to maintain the basic amenities for survival, as well as for ensuring the continuation of trade which was particularly important for the acquisition of natural resources which are generally not locally available in Mesopotamia.

There is very little speculative opinion in this book and Nissen is very careful to identify what are the limits of our knowledge, and what we can interpret from the archaeological record. His approach is to identify what has been found, what can be deduced from the findings. He is very firm in explaining what should not be deduced and the reasons why..

The time frame, as the title indicates, is for the period 9000-2000BC, with a focus on the earliest Mesopotamian states, and most specifically Babylonia which was the area most affected by the climate change. This includes a thorough description and analysis of their relationships with their immediate neighbours to the west and north in Syria, Anatolia, and Kurdistan, as well as those with the regions of Elam, and the Zagros Mountains of Iran to the east. Nissen uses the generally accepted chronology, which is no great relevance in view of the general theme of his book.

The book is well structured in six chapters:

1: Sources and Problems
2: The Time of Settlement c 9000-6000BC (Neololithic, Hassuna, Halaf periods)
3: From Isolated Settlement to Town c 6000-3200BC (Ubaid and early Uruk periods)
4: Early High civilization c 3200-2800BC (Late Uruk, Jamdet Nasr, Early Dynastic I periods)
5: Rival City States c 2800-2350BC (Historical - Early Dynastic 2, 3 periods)
6: First Territorial States c 2350-2000BC (Akkad & immediate post-Akkad period)

There are some 70 charts, diagrams, illustrations, photographs, and maps which are of great help to the understanding, and a 7 page bibliography organized on a chapter by chapter basis.

I have to admit that at times I found the book extremely difficult to read . I am not sure whether it was due to the translation from the German, or because of the particular emphasis in the book on the need to be careful about what can be deduced from the evidence. There were numerous instances where I found it necessary to read a particularly long sentence several times to ensure that I had properly understood what was being said. Apart from that slight difficulty I found this book to be extremely informative and balanced in its treatment of the subject.

In summary, the best part of the book for me are the first four chapters, primarily because it explained the development of the technical innovations in writing, pottery, buildings, and other artefacts which occurred during this early period. Although the book didn't explicitly say so, it seems that the earliest governments were originally created by the wealthy and powerful primarily to protect themselves against the loss of their wealth. Some things never seem to change.

I purchased "East Fishkill" as a birthday present for my aunt who just turned ninety. At her party (filled with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren), this book was the most popular gift she received. People loved looking at the Fishkill Plains section, especially the family photo showing the six "uncles," including my aunt's husband. But, in addition to the personally relevant photos, people also really enjoyed looking at all the photos of the way East Fishkill used to be. It's a great gift for anyone with any ties to that area or with a curiosity about New York State history.
Sincerely,
Edie

I guess I always had a connection with Hopewell jct. because my Mom was raised in Hopewell Jct. she and her older twin brothers were very fond of Hopewell and shared alot of fond memeries as they were growing up in this small Railroad town.This book is rich with old photos and history.Places where my relatives spent a bit of there day.A must for anyone interested in local history.