Middle East Books

"Sandstorm," by Ted Simmons, is a page-turning adventure that should be taught in schools across the country. Besides being a classic coming-of-age story, "Sandstorm" gives insight into the different cultures and classes of society in Kuwait.

The novel is set against the backdrop of Saddaam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The protagonist is Jeff Connors, an American teen whose father works for an oil company in Kuwait. Through a series of errors, the boy is left behind during evacuation. Intelligent, resourceful, and fortunate enough to have some loyal Kuwaiti friends, Jeff makes his own way out of the country. On his journey, he witnesses the violence and brutality of the invaders, dodges gunfire and border patrols, faces certain death in the desert if he can't find water, and must come to terms with the death of a friend who tried to help him.

The boy's uneasy relationship with his father is explored in the novel as well. Jeff rebels against and yet struggles to win the respect of his father, an age-old dilemma that teens will relate to.

Highly recommended reading. We all need to better understand the Middle East today.

How many of us can say that we know much of anything about what it was like in Kuwait during the time period after Iraq invaded and before the Gulf War? Sandstorm is a look at this moment in history through the eyes of a typical American teenager, refreshingly naive, who ends up separated from his family when the troops reach Kuwait City.
This book is much more than an exciting adventure story, though it is certainly that. It is also a look at the event that started the American involvement in the Middle East after 1990. I think every young person, and frankly adults as well, should read this tale of survival and personal growth set in a vitally important backdrop.

I thorougly enjoyed reading this well-written book! It is clearly a culmination of a lifetime of learning, and succeeds in documenting the whole history of the Jewish left movement from Joseph in Genesis to even the current 2008 Presidential election. I would highly recommend this book to students of philosophy, politics, and history.

This book offers a political, psychological and moral history of the Jewish people from biblical times to the present. Each assertion is well documented and presented with objectivity. Some of the facts presented here will be new to some readers, for example, the role played by Jews in the Russian revolution, Stalinist purges and the torture, starvation and murder of tens of millions of Ukrainians in the 1930's. The breadth of research is astounding. Jewish scholars will find this title indispensable.

The Search for God in Ancient Egypt by Jan Assmann (Cornell University Press) (PAPERBACK) provides a fresh synthesis of the main characteristics of Egyptian religion. Unlike the more hermetically minded scholars, Assmann sticks to the records as preserved and seamlessly draws on current religious theories about how cults function and the divine presence is ritualized to reveal the strangeness and beauty of Egyptian religion in a coherence misplaced from earlier accounts.

First published in 1984, this book is finally available in English. The author offers his views on Ancient Egyptian religion, theology and piety. In the various chapters (The Cosmos, Myth, The New Gods, Theodicy and Theology), he explains the difficulties when discussing Ancient Egyptian thought, rituals and cultic beliefs. This book attempts to compare religions based on what is known about the Ancient Egyptian religion. Well researched, this is most definitely a serious book for scholars and students interested in the subject. Recommended reading for all.

Like the way an Ottoman poet owns an inheritance of literary and cultural intertextualiy based on Turkish, Persian, Greek and other literary sources, Hilmi Yavuz owns this gorgeous inheritance, adds up it world poetry, and reflects it in "Seasons of the Word". His poetry is a very rich literary source in many ways especially when we think of Eastern-Western dialectics that has penetrated his poems. In the introduction part of the book, the translator presents a panaroma of Turkey's cultural history and discusses the results of radical political changes along with the revolution on literature and poetry. In the notes to the poems which come after extensive afterword by Barry Tharaud at the end of the book, he reads between the lines and deciphers the significant allusions and metaphors hidden in the poems, and thus helps readers to understand Yavuz's poetry better. These notes also open up new horizons for the inquisitive reader who wants to learn more about Turkish literary tradition which is full of brilliant poets and writers that grew up in the cultural mosaic of modern Turkey and Ottoman heritage. Within the context of world literature, "Seasons of the Word" will place Hilmi Yavuz in the company of the world's strong poets as Walter G. Andrews suggests, too. I strongly recommend this profound book to everybody who likes poetry.
Didem Gamze Erdinç (MA candidate)

Hilmi Yavuz's "Seasons Of The Word" is a very remarkable book because it produces high-value aesthetics. These poems contain of metaphors (and images) that belong to both Western and Middle-Eastern poetry; in other words, "Seasons Of the Word" is based on a very deep intellectual heritage. If you are not afraid of puzzling metaphors, images and if you like very insightful poetic journey, you must read this book. Ambiguity of Language is displayed with fascinating tropes and it is in harmony with gorgeous Sound. Moreover, this book is translated from Turkish into English by Walter G. Andrews who is one of the most celebrated scholars in Middle-Eastern studies. Barry Tharaud, who is another distinguished scholar, penetrates into Yavuz's work with a comprehensive article.
Alphan Akgül (phd candidate)

I looked at a number of books on mummy-making before settling on this one, and I made a very good choice! The pages are VERY colorful, the see-though sections neat, and the text clear, informative, and interesting.

I highly recommend it.

I purchased "See-Through Mummies" for my grandson, aged 8, hoping to stimulate an interest in Egyptology. The book is very readable and has many beautiful and colourful illustrations. The scene is set with the telling of the Osiris story, leading to a very interesting and accurate account of the process of mummification and subsequent burial. The religious beliefs of this fascinating people are also featured - as well as many little insights which bring this ancient culture to life. This may be a book for children but I think all ages will appreciate its story and its sheer beauty.

A detailed and fascinating study of international trade and Safavid politics in the seventeenth century. I found it to be extremely well researched, drawing together evidence from Armenian and Persian documents, as well as European archival collections. The book chiefly focuses on the Armenian merchants who managed the export of silk from Iran to Europe, and the import of European silver back to Iran and India. It successfully demonstrates the crucial financial role these merchants played in the consolidation of the Safavid state in Iran, with comparisons to other outsiders financing the formation of absolutist states in Europe.

I found this book to be an excellent analysis of the a part of the Iranian economy during the Safavi period. Although it is slanted toward the Armenian minority and does not cover the whole economy, it provides a unique and preceptive view of a section of the economy that has been ignored. Aside from bringing to light the power of the Armenian minority in a hypothetically theocratic state, it will change the reader's preception of the economic, political and social sophistication of Iran and, in fact, the Middle East at the time of European expansion. The book is very well written and the analysis excellent. The absence of tables in the discussion of the volume of exports as given in different sources and and conversions of currency is sorely missed. Such tables would have made it considerably easier to compare the various references. However, this is minor in the general context of the book.

Richard Critchfield wrote an absorbing book about two years in the life of an Egyptian "fellah" or peasant. This subject may not be appealing to everyone, but imagine poking around in all but the most intimate details of an extended family--as we're seeing more and more on TV-and think of all the insights to be had. That what Critchfield's great interest, learning about the ordinary lives of ordinary people, recording everything and shining a light on otherwise unknown lives for the rest of us to see.

Shahhat and his family are forced to face severe changes in the way they live their lives, thanks to the arrival of technology. For thousands of years, the Egyptians of the Upper Nile had lived unchanging lives. But the damming of the Nile to stop the flooding brought unexpected changes; how Shahhat and his village cope forms the basic outline of this story. We get to see a young man growing up, dealing with the pressures his Islamic culture put on him.

Critchfield produced anthropology for the layman-he simply writes about everything he sees, and allows his subjects to do the talking. He didn't bury what he found in academic lingo; the book is simply well done writing put onto the page for our own examination.

I recommend this book to anyone who wats a realistic look at another culture, minus stereotypes.

Richard Critchfield wrote an absorbing book about two years in the life of an Egyptian "fellah" or peasant. This subject may not be appealing to everyone, but imagine poking around in all but the most intimate details of an extended family--as we're seeing more and more on TV-and think of all the insights to be had. That what Critchfield's great interest, learning about the ordinary lives of ordinary people, recording everything and shining a light on otherwise unknown lives for the rest of us to see.

Shahhat and his family are forced to face severe changes in the way they live their lives, thanks to the arrival of technology. For thousands of years, the Egyptians of the Upper Nile had lived unchanging lives. But the damming of the Nile to stop the flooding brought unexpected changes; how Shahhat and his village cope forms the basic outline of this story. We get to see a young man growing up, dealing with the pressures his Islamic culture put on him.

Critchfield produced anthropology for the layman-he simply writes about everything he sees, and allows his subjects to do the talking. He didn't bury what he found in academic lingo; the book is simply well done writing put onto the page for our own examination.

I recommend this book to anyone who wats a realistic look at another culture, minus stereotypes.

Thank you so much for the super fast shipping, and plus, the book looks so new!!! Great deal...Will definitely shop with you again! :)

"Shared Histories" is a bold experiment that has achieved notable success. It has begun the process of producing a common understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If we cannot all agree on the interpretation, we must at least all be cognizant of the interpretations of different sides, and we must be able to agree on the bare facts. The authors initiated what is essentially a dialogue project between Israeli and Palestinian historians. This book is the result of that dialogue.

If you have read more than one account of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, you know that it is virtually impossible to get an impartial account of any event or an impartial jury regarding any question in that conflict. The making of history is skewed not only by the inevitable honest personal biases, but often by conscious attempts to "spin" events in order to satisfy preconceived ideological notions. Two narratives inevitably were generated among two peoples, and an "industry" supporting and amplifying each of those narratives was generated to perpetuate and enlarge the differences. This situation does not aid in our understanding. More important, it is intended to vindicate one or the other side, and is not conducive to the convergence toward elements of a common perception needed as the basis for peace.

This book, and the process it has initiated, can go a long way to remedying the problem. Most of the major issues separating Israel Zionist and Arab Palestinian percepts of the genesis of the conflict are covered. Participants from both sides present and discuss their views of demographic changes and immigration, the evolution of Zionism and of the Palestinian Arab movement, the 1948 War of Independence, refugee question and more. They have created a genuine intellectual document in which working historians present their views and are challenged by their peers.

If you are seriously interested in understanding the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and are not afraid of slaughtering some ideological pet roosters and sacred cows, you need to read this book.

This is the best brief book on Iraq and its history as it tells the story of this country starting with its pre-Islamic times of the Sessanids and going well into modern day. The brilliance of this book is based on two factors. First, its choice of what to highlight and what to leave out was extremely successful and relevant for those who want to read history to understand modern day Iraq, and second, its dependency on the bottom lines of reliable secondary sources instead of amassing a big number of quotes from primary sources in order to make a point or two.
The choice of what to cover and how to cover events from Iraq's history yielded this extremely helpful book that brings 5000 years of history into this concise and brief book.
Abdullah's style is extremely catching and flows with practically no repetition. Unlike most history books on the subject, Abdullah economizes with the number of names and dates that he included in the book in order not to distract the reader's attention by bombarding him/her with an unlimited number of often irrelevant names.
Furthermore, Abdullah maintains much needed objectivity when telling Iraq's story at the time most of history books on the Middle East are loaded with prejudice and either explicit or hidden propaganda.
Other valuable insights include Abdullah's tracing of the regional influence on Iraq, both from the Sunni Arab West and the Shiite Persian East. Abdullah also writes with the current internal Iraqi divisions in mind and as you finish the book, you will certainly end up with the impression that history repeats itself.

Grasping to make some sense of the chaos that is today's Iraq, I found A Short History of Iraq by T.A.J. Abdullah to be a throroughly engaging and enlightening read. Concise and with no apparent ax to grind Abdullah helps the inquiring reader gain some clarity to questions like "Who are these people of the Garden of Eden, caught betwen the Persians and the Turks?" What is the attraction of the poor of Baghdad to figures like Muqtada al-Sadr? What are the roles of Imams and shaykhs? How do the lingering shadows of the Ottoman Empire give a modern basis to the strife between Shi'i and Sunni. What is so important about Najaf and Karbala, why does everyone seem so contentious and why were the British so anxious to move back into Basra as the invasion wound down. After reading Professor Abdullah's book, today's chaos will seem no less chaotic. Taking account of two thousand years of turbulent history, however, gives one a feeling of empathy for the people civilizaton's oldest melting pot, and maybe a grain of hope.

I would recommend A Short History of Iraq to anyone who longs for a better understanding or feels compelled to offer an opinion on what he sees on the evening news, not the least of whom might be the commentators. I would like to say "Thank you" to Professor Abudllah for his timely work.

Ranelagh does a fantastic job of condensing a couple thousand years of history into a readable couple hundred pages. This book is a first-rate shortened version of Irish history.

At times, one thinks more and deeper connections could have been drawn (such as the resurrection, by twentieth century hunger-strikers, of Brehon Law-era practices like fasting for the redress of grievances) and more discussion fostered on particularly hard-hitting aspects of Ireland's past and present. But this is, after all, a SHORT history, and a remarkable one at that.

There is good coverage of Ireland before the arrival of the English, in a way that touches on both historical developments and cultural ones. Likewise, the era of Cromwell and the disastrous run-up to and aftermath of Black 1847 are given good detail. One comes away feeling a bit as though more recent history (say, 1916 and on) has been slighted, but this feeling is probably just the product of years of weighted emphasis on the twentieth century; Ranelagh does well to bring a historical balance to the overall sweep of Ireland's development into what it is today.

And what it is today is, for Ranelagh, closely invested as well in the question of what England is and no longer is. "A Short History of Ireland" may disturb those who view England as a still-unwelcome visitor into Irish history and culture, but Ranelagh concludes convincingly that the story of Ireland from the 13th century on is intimately related to its evolving relationship with its slightly larger neighbor and one-time persecutor/antagonist. Ranelagh quite usefully and realistically departs from other histories of the Emerald Isle in asserting that the England/Ireland relationship can, for a slew of reasons that he points to, only ever be one of co-dependence.

For anyone who wants to understand the war on terror and its Irish formulation, this is essential and fascinating reading. Ranelagh is remarkably balanced and fair-minded, while at the same time providing the necessary information and facts without burdening the reader with excessive and obfuscatory detail. He deals with Irish prehistory quickly and interestingly, giving more space to the modern age and its complex of idealism, heroism, nationalism, murder and terror, explaining the motivations and historical prisons so many people in Ireland have endured, coming right up to the present North and South. It is a Short History. More detail would make it something else. But as a short history that is satisfying, well-written and authorative, it cannot be bettered. A remarkable achievement.