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.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)
ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT:
8. The Iron Wall by Avi Shlaim (2000)
MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD:
9. The New Book of Middle Eastern Food (1985) by Claudia Roden
Alternative suggestion:
Middle Eastern Cookbook by Maria Khalife (2007)
CULTURAL SENSIVITY:
10. Understanding the Arab Culture by Jehad al-Omari (2008)
Books about specific Arab countries |
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, byTim 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)
