Books Regarding Middle East

[nawk]

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on some good books to read to help me understand what's going on in the Middle East.  Because of course you can't believe everything you hear on the news.

 

[big_johnson1]

"From Beirut to Jerusalem" by Thomas Friedman is an interesting take on things..

"The Arad World" by Araf Mosof (I think, check when I get home).. Basically a really good, indepth investigation into why things are the way they are.. Not about conflict but more about the underlying reasons for the conflict

Leon Uris did a few books of fictional accounts (some based on fact though I think) Israel: "Exodus" is really good, "Mitla Pass" is about the conflict in the Sinai in '56, and "The Haj" (haven't read it yet but heard it was good)

I have a more but I can't think of them right now

 

[aesop081]

Six days Of War - June 1967 and the making of the modern middle east By Michael B. Oren

The Yom Kippur War - and the airlift that saved Israel By Walter J. Boyne

 

[dapaterson]

No god but God - Reza Aslan.  A history of Islam

Legacy of the Prophet - Anthony Shadid. A history of some Islamic groups in the middle East, including the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon

 

[paracowboy]

start here:

The Society of the Muslim Brothers by Richard P. Mitchell
Social Justice in Islam By Sayyid Qutb
Travels in Arabia Deserta by Charles M. Doughty
A History of the Modern Middle East by William L. Cleveland
The Arab Awakening: The Story of the Arab National Movement by George Antonius
A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire & the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin
A History of the Middle East by Peter Mansfield
Islam: The Straight Path by John Esposito
Islam: A Thousand Years of Faith and Power by Jonathan Bloom
The Koran: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Cook
Terrorist Tactics – Organizations, Weapons, Operations & Strategies of Modern Political Violence Groups 1960-2005 by Malcom W. Nance
Globalized Islam by Oliver Roy
The War for Muslim Minds by Gilles Kepel
The Future of Political Islam by Graham Fuller
Tactics of the Crescent Moon: Militant Muslim Combat Methods by H. John Poole, Ray L. Smith
The Clash of Civilizations & the Remaking of World Order by Samuel Huntington
Beyond Terror: Strategy in a Changing World by Ralph Peters
Soldiers of God by Robert D. Kaplan.
Holy War, Inc. by Peter L. Bergen.
Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People & Politics by Martin Ewans.
Through Our Enemies' Eyes by Michael Scheuer
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence
Twenty Seven Articles by T.E. Lawrence
The Arab Mind by Raphael Patai
Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong
The Pentagon’s New Map by Thomas Barnett
Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban by Stephen Tanner
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah by Sir Richard Burton
The River War: An Historical Account Of The Reconquest Of The Soudan by Sir Winston Churchill
The Persian Puzzle by Kenneth Pollack
Modern Jihad - Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks by Loretta Napoleoni
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis
Taliban by Ahmed Rashid
From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman
Ghost Wars by Steve Coll
The Other Side of The Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War by Ali Ahmad Jalali & Lester W. Grau
The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra/Mohamed Moulessehoul
The Bookseller Of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani
What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East by Bernard Lewis
Understanding Terror Networks by Marc Sageman
The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists by Khaled Abou El Fadl
The Malady of Islam by Abdelwahab Meddeb
Imperial Hubris by Michael Scheuer
Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror by Rohan Gunaratna
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam by Yahiya Emerick
The Trouble with Islam Today by Irshad Manji

 

[I_am_John_Galt]

Pretty much anything by Bernard Lewis ... I also reccommend the Oren book mentioned by aesop081, above.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Pretty much anything by Bernard Lewis ... I also reccommend the Oren book mentioned by aesop081, above.

Most definitely, Lweis is probably the premier western historian on the Middle East. Other books to look at are:

- Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948-1991 by Kenneth Pollack. The title says it all.
- Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade by James Reston, Jr. A historical look at two of the great leaders of the Crusades.
- One Palestine, Complete by Tom Segev. A history of Palestine under the Brits and the conflict between Arabs, Jews and the Brits. Lots of info about Zionism, the conflict between Arabs, Jews and the Brits and the early leaders of the various factions. Will have to sit down and re-read the book.
- A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle east by David Fromkin. Have not had a chance to read the book, but it comes heavily recommended.
-  Desert Queen - The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia. One of the main people responsible for the creation of modern Iraq; blame her - its her fault!
- The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf. An interesting look at the Crusades from an Arab perspective.
- Islam: A Short History Karen Armstrong. Again, the title says it all.
- Holy War: The Crusades and their Impact on Today’s World. Its been a few years since I read this book.
- Muhammad by Professor Maxime Rodinson. First written around 1960, but was not translated into English until 1971. I started reading it a while back, but did not get a chance to finish it.
- The Life of Muhammad: A Apostle of Allah by ibn Ishaq (edited by Michael Edwardes). Ibn Ishaq was the earliest known (that we know of) biographer of the Prophet Muhammad.
- Finally, if you ever get a chance to read Sir Steven Runciman’s history of the Crusades - take it!! It consists of three volumes and is considered the definite history of the Crusades. When I was stationed in NDHQ back in the late ‘80s - early ‘90s they had a copy in the NDHQ library and I had a chance to read some it. Very detailed, with beautiful maps. You can buy it in paperback, but I imagine you will lose some of the detailed maps that the hardcopy versions have. Remember, many Muslims consider the Crusades for much of their historical distrust of Westerners, so it still has relevance. Only cost you $567.00 (CDN) on Amazon.ca!!

 

[I_am_John_Galt]

More generally, "Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World" (Margaret MacMillan, 2003) is a good backgrounder for many of the conflicts in the world today, including the events in Israel and Lebanon.