Middle East Books

This is the kind of book one reads with interest and excitement, and learns the fascinating details of the first anti-imperialist struggle in the early 20th century. This book gives full attention to all sides of this complicated conflict, and presents a very realistic picture without idealising any of the important figures. It is also full of many amazing stories of spying, diplomatic intrigues, political calculations and personal manipulations. At one level the book reads like a historical novel with all the ingredients of passion, disappointment, tragedy and personal dreams. But all above are narrated accurately and supported by a rich collection of Russian, Turkish and English documents, many of them have never published before. This book tells an important historical story with excitement.

This concise and lucidly written book deals with a series of key events in 1918-23 which conditioned the rise of modern Turkey and decided the fate of the Cauacsus. By using new data Gokay subjects them to a new and well-integrated analysis that provides a clearer perspective about the policies of all the forces involved in the struggle for the Caucasus and Anatolia. Convincingly an coherently, he demonstrates how the Bolshevik ideology endangered new strategic realignments and turned Russia and Great Britain into enemies. Gokay uses pactically all the existing literature in Turkish and Western languages and a variety of primary sources. In fact, he is one of the first scholars to make use of the Russian sources and thus bring forth new information on Russo-Turkish relations, including the activities of Enver Pasha, one of the Young Turks' leaders. The result is a balanced, objective, informative, and truly scholarly first-rate work - in fact, the best available succinct study of the subject.

If nothing else can be said for Warren Lehrer you can say that he is excellent at capturing people. I love this book. I've read all the portrait series books (I had to for class) and Claude was my second favorite. Brother Blue was my first. Claude is a captivating guy. I can see why women love him. If you're looking for a book that truly reveals and captures an honestly interesting character, buy this book. Heck, it's worth it just to read Claude's advice for having great relationships.

If nothing else can be said for Warren Lehrer you can say that he is excellent at capturing people. I love this book. I've read all the portrait series books (I had to for class) and Claude was my second favorite. Brother Blue was my first. Claude is a captivating guy. I can see why women love him. If you're looking for a book that truly reveals and captures an honestly interesting character, buy this book. Heck, it's worth it just to read Claude's advice for having great relationships.

My 7 year old (son) is interested in much more sophisticated stories than he can read on his own, yet he doesn't always have the patience to sit and listen to a book with absolutely no pictures. This story captivated him, as did the pictures, which helped him visualize the story. My older son has read a number of Nancy Farmer books (House of the Scorpion, Sea of Trolls) and I was pleased to find a book suitable for reading to younger children. I enjoyed this story of a boy who gets himself in trouble by not following directions, but is clever enough to get himself out of trouble. There is a dungeon in this story (oubliette) so beware.

When Ali turns seven he goes to work with his father, who keeps pigeons for the wicked sultan of Cairo, and learns all kinds of rules about their care - which he disobeys. He overfeeds one greedy pigeon who runs a bowl of the Sultan's rare cherries - and is given only three days to replace them or his father will suffer. Kids in grades 2-4 will appreciate Gail De Marcken's lovely ethnic drawings which are perfect pairings for an Arabian story of adventure.

Fantastic book!!! Captivating and hard to put down. We all remember what we were told about Vietnam... Now, GET THE REAL STORY!!! Read this book and learn the Truth!!!

This book is easy to read, very informative and again it englightens what our men of USA or any country have done to protect our freedom. I highly suggest that any man who has served in any war to pick up a copy of this book. I just wished the book would go on and on and not end. Very interesting had a hard time putting this one down! Hats off and salute to every service person who has served in any branch of service for our country.

That's what I first thought but luckily was able to find a used copy for less, and well worth whatever price you pay. "Conquest of Syria" came highly recommended by David Damrosch in a footnote in "The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh", and with "a Reader"'s review below, I took the chance. What a discovery! This is a very readable and enjoyable narrative of one of the most romantic and picturesque stories in archeology. Perhaps partly justifying the steep price, the book is physically above average in terms of quality - it is large format, the binding is like a tank, the boards are heavy and solid, the paper is heavy gloss, there are full-color plates, maps and drawings throughout (at least every 3rd page). The writing is in a story-telling narrative covering the lives of about half a dozen gentleman (Layard is the central hero) with adventures and tales equal to anything in India Jones. If it was re-printed in paperback for a mass audience it would probably overshadow books like The Buried Book, but for whatever reason, it remains for a limited audience because of the high price. If you have any interest in learning more about the desert adventures of 19th C archaeologists, this is one book to get lost in, it was hard to put down.

There are some scholarly quibbles. Larsen takes Laylards accounts of his adventures, written for a 19th C popular audience, at face value and in the end tends to have written a hagiography of Laylard. He repeats racists 19th c perspectives about Arabs (stupid, bad workers, etc..). His perspective on the Oriental middle east is likewise outdated calling it "endless, monotonous and flat.. decrepit.. not a nice place to spend the summer or any other time of year." There is no awareness by Larsen of post-colonial views, he seems to favor the 19th c colonial position of superiority. As a story of mystery and adventure it can't be beat, as a scholarly account it repeats old stereotypes that should be retired.

Larsen's "The Conquest of Assyria" is a handsome volume about the re-discovery and archaeology of ancient Assyria and deciphering the cuneiform script against the backdrop of both Ottoman-held Iraq and the high Victorian society.The book centers on the three giants of discovery-the romantic Austen Henry Layard,the melancholy Paul Emile Botta, and scholar-soldier Henry Rawlinson. Seperately Botta and Layard would un-earth huge palaces with giant winged human-headed bulls guarding the entrances, and friezes showing the king at war, hunting lions, and praying to his gods. These fantastic finds would bring back to life a dead civilization shrouded in myth and legend. Larsen weaves biographies, major political dilemmas and the impact the digs had on bible-conscious Europe through an exciting story of important excavations and adventure with warring and plundering bedouin tribes, cholera, and travels to regions yet to be mapped. Perhaps the greatest tale of archaeology. A true classic.

Too often our discussion of rule of law and democracy have equated constitutionalism with a respect for rights. In this book, Brown suggests we distinguish between constitutional text and liberal constitutionalist ideals. For example, Brown makes the argument that often rulers are able to get away with authoritarian practices not in violation of their country's constitution, but because that constitution is already weak and illiberal. In many Arab constitutions, executive leaders and kings retained significant power, while legislatures were reduced to mere advisory boards. Furthermore, the executives creatively used ambiguity to further their power (for example, in an early Tunisian constitution, the sultan claimed the power to issue decrees with force of law since the Constitution did not address this issue).

Brown's framework is useful beyond the Middle East. I hope Brown, or somebody following him, applies his framework to China, which is also increasingly trying to institutionalize an authoritarian order based upon an authoritarian constitution.

Brown's argument is impressively supported: although most Arab countries have constitutions, the constitutions themselves do not function as Americans would expect. However, the cynical rejection of these documents as cosmetic devices is flawed, as Arab governments do use these constitutions and they have real meaning, with some prospects for further development.

With all the recent talk of 'democratization' in the Middle East, one would do well to read Nathan Brown and revisit the agenda. What is needed may not be democratization (as elections) but constitutionalism (as in legal restraints on power).

Highly recommended, particularly for those seeking a nontechnical introduction that goes well-beyond the redundant, think tank inspired cheerleading that passes for scholarship on democracy.

Salem's work is the first of its kind, and will be the one everybody is responding to for years. It is, quite simply, brilliant. How does the idea of Lebanon emerge in literary texts? What different concepts of Lebanon contest with each other in art and literature? What is Lebanon, and what is a "nation," anyway? The book treats literature, history, and politics together in one lucid, intelligent narrative. Salem's breadth of knowledge about the subject, and her ease and familiarity with the cultural landscape, are impressive. The argument contains a strong critique of power and of business interests that make capital out of war and suffering.

Many of the works of literature, drama, and music Salem discusses are analyzed here for the first time in English-an invaluable resource. Kahlil Gibran, something of a founding father of Lebanese culture, is treated unsentimentally and taken seriously, something that doesn't usually happen at the same time where he is concerned. The musical theater of the Rahbani brothers, the singing voice and iconic figure of Fayruz as well as the music of Marcel Khalife, Majida al-Roumi, Julia Boutros and others, Aql's poetry, the novels of Elias Khoury, Rachid al-Daif, Hanan al-Shaykh, Hoda Barakat, and many more, all get sophisticated critical attention here. Literature of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), of the Reconstruction period following the war, and right up to "the elusive present" are evaluated. Gender is always present as a thread of analysis. I am excited by the critique of Lebanese television programming in the satellite age and other aspects of mass media and pop culture-Salem is on the cutting edge of cultural studies.

_Constructing Lebanon_ is an ambitious, original, outstanding work. It is also an accessible, interesting book-not just for the specialist in literature or the Middle East, but for any intelligent reader.

Political histories of a nation usually ignore its literature or, at most, compress it into an ancillary chapter. For Elise Salem, however, the writings of Lebanese authors are inseparable from the origins of their country and the record of its recent turmoil. A Lebanese native now living in the United States, but frequently returning to the land of her origin, Salem possesses a unique perspective to write such an analysis. She knows the country's brief history and its political complexities intimately. A literary scholar, she demonstrates extensive and perceptive reading of a wide range of fiction, poetry, and drama, as well as awareness of musical theater productions. Her achievement in this book lies in her ability to demonstrate interrelationships, the ways in which literature has been a source of national identity and serves as an ongoing commentary on unsettling events.

Although the book's subject is Lebanon, Salem also hopes that it will be considered a representative study, with a methodology and a manner of understanding that can be applied to other nations. She notes that those who govern rarely consult their nation's body of writing, and she considers that a mistake: "Artists and intellectuals, often historically in a dubious relationship with the state, not only continue to imagine and hence extend the discourse of the nation but, in more palpable way, participate in remembering, recording, and transforming it."

Salem's eloquent Afterword reiterates, frames, and adds a rich dimension of commentary. It concludes with this possibility: "[These] provocative narratives suggest a new language, vocabulary, style, approach, and thematics that expand the possibilities for Lebanon. They are, after all, the nation's stories and, through fictions, the most telling." Literature was central to Lebanon's origin. Salem's hope is that it will be equally important in helping it face its present crises.

In "Containing Arab Nationalism," Salim Yaqub provides a remarkably in-depth look at U.S. policy in the Middle East during the mid to late 1950s and how it changed in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis. The main theme explored here deals with the increased level of U.S. influence in the context of the Cold War and how the U.S. reacted to Britain's changing role in the region. The narrative that Yaqub presents shows that the U.S. could not have been more serious about keeping Soviet influence out of the Middle East, but that the Eisenhower administration wasn't always confident in the methods employed to achieve this goal. In the end, the administration adapted its policies in such a way that the Soviets never gained the type of stronghold in the region that the U.S. feared, but Yaqub demonstrates that this was by no means an easy task.

The time period covered in the book is short, but Yaqub explores the crucial years of 1956-1960 with remarkable depth. The major events of these years, such as the interventions in Lebanon and Jordan, as well as the Iraqi revolution are all delicately woven into the overall narrative of how the Cold War affected Western policy towards the region. Yaqub's writing style is superb, and the book is extensively researched. This book should be at the top of the list of students and scholars alike that wish to achieve a greater understanding of recent Middle Eastern history and how those countries interacted with the United States.

In this important work the Eisenhower doctrin of containment in the middle east is finally given a full length book and its place in cold war history is finally made. Eisenhower had a number of Middle Eastern hands around him and like Presidents before and after he cemented his middle east policy on one pillar: Sunni conservatism, which at the time meant Nuri-Al Said, King Hussien, the house of Saud and the Shah of Iran(not a sunni, a nominal shia Persian nationalist). The creation of Nasserism in the early 1950s led Eisenhower to reposition America in the middle East. Before the 1956 Suez crises the United States took a back seat in the Middle East. Nevertheless the idea of the Baghdad pact, a confederation opposing communist ifniltration of the region was essential to U.S policy. Already the U.S had supported Turkey and Greece against Communism and when it seemed that Nasser would accept Khrushchev money to build the Aswan High Dam, Ike saw the danger. After the neo-imperialism of the English and French invasion of Egypt in 1956, Eisenhower took the plunge. He cemented the policy by trying to ally with conservative regimes, not neccesarily democratic but what he and his CIA director Dulles and Kirmet Roosevelt saw as the lesser of two evils.

When Lebanon was threatened in 1958 U.S troops went ashore. When Jordan was threatened the UK sent paratroops. Syria was cemented for a short period. A revolution against the Shah was thwarted. Iraq was kept firmly in the orbit of the west. Saudi had no where to turn as Nasser invaded Yemen and bombed Saudi so that Saudi had to fund the royalists fighting in Yemen. In addition the U.S had to check nasserism in Libya and Algeria.

This was not a simple game. What one may notice is that Israel was not part and partial to this policy. Eisenhower advisors saw Israel as a leftist upstart, upsetting the Sunni elites they loved and not helpful against Communism. It wasn't until JFK that ISrael became a U.S ally. This will shock those who beleive the U.S created Israel and that Israel was an 'offshore military base' from the get go.

A wonderful contirbution.

Seth J. Frantzman

I have taken two classes from Professor Wasilewska and have enjoyed her classes very much. If I had longer to spend in school, I would take more of her classes. That being said this book stands on its own for content. She indeed has mind wrapped around the subject and provides a study on the subject that is both educated and not pretentious. This is book worth every penny and is a volume that you will enjoy time and time again. This book is content rich. And by this, I don't mean it is a book written with an unrealistic point to prove, that confuses points under mile long sentences and too many words. This is refreshing in today's world of contemporary works that are more words than sustance.

If you are interested in a book, written by someone who has dedicted her life to a deep and honest scholarly understanding of the subject, this is your book.

I have been waiting for this book for over a year! I am of course bias, I have had Ewa as a professor for 4 classes. The book is a great, not only is it informative but it also gives a lot of Ewa's humor. Even if I weren't in Ewa's class I would probably still read the book. (Of course I am really into mythology!)
This book is not nearly as academic as most books on this subject. The book is easy to understand, well as easy as mytholgy is to understand. She doesn't show of by making obscure references or using really big words.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mythology or is intreseted in the Middle East. Actually I recommend that everyone take a class from Ewa but since that's not possible try reading her book.

This is a great introduction to the medieval Crusades with eye candy to boot! It's a very even keeled overview - without all the political biases that so often get in the way of explaining a subject objectively. This book educates the reader on the various crusades within the context of their times.

"Crusades - The Illustrated History," Thomas F. Madden, Editor, shares all the strengths of Madden's "Concise History of the Crusades." It is a refreshing and positive look at the falable but devoted knights and kings of Christendom who deeply desired to see the holy sites of Christianity delivered from the hands of their unbelieving conquerors. It is eminently fair in its approach to historical facts. It also incorporates much new knowledge of the period.

Besides being a facinating account of the period, it is a beautifully designed book. Its sections are broken up into short studies with rich colored illustrations. You can read it in short stages, and absorb the material at leisure. It also shares the strength of a perspective shared by several historians, so you are aware that the research is not just one man's ideas but the fruit of much fresh information.

This one is worth the money and time you will put into it.

Wm. H. Scarle, Jr. - BA, M.Div., Th.M - Tampa, FL