SMITHSONIAN JOURNEYS
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh   |   READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

Here's a page from Longitude, the specialty bookseller for travelers. To order online, and to see the latest, most comprehensive selection of books and maps, go to http://reading.longitudebooks.com/LA2817. You may also call 800-342-2164 to order or request a catalog.


Essential Books These 5 items are available for $87, including
U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXARB23)		  
Lonely Planet Middle East  •  Lonely Planet
GUIDEBOOK •  2009 •  PAPER  • 684 PAGES
A practical guide to the North African and Mediterranean countries of the Middle East from Libya, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey to Iraq and Iran. (MDE30, $28.99)		   Lonely Planet Middle East
Nine Parts of Desire, The Hidden World of Islamic Women  •  Geraldine Brooks
CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1996 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES
An award-winning journalist, Brooks reports on the women throughout the Islamic world, focusing her wide-ranging interviews on the social, religious and political forces that have shaped their lives. This popular in-depth account is a highly readable overview of the role of women in Islamic society. (ARB06, $15.00)		   Nine Parts of Desire, The Hidden World of Islamic Women
Arabian Sands  •  Wilfred Thesiger
EXPLORATION •  2007 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES • FAVORITE
The last of the great British traveler-explorers, Wilfred Thesiger (1910-2003) journeyed among the nomadic camel-breeding peoples of Southern Arabia in the late 1940s, falling in love with the desert and ways of life of the Bedouin. This eloquent book, a Longitude favorite, is his tribute to vanished traditions. (ARB15, $16.00)		   Arabian Sands
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  •  David E. Long
HISTORY •  2010 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES
A comprehensive look at modern Saudi Arabia and the complex issues facing the nation. Drawing from extensive research and Long's personal experiences as a Foreign Services officer, this book surveys the land, politics, religion and people of the region. It includes chapters on the Hadj, oil and the Saudi economy. (ARB29, $21.95)		   The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Northeast Africa  •  Reise & Verkehrsverlag
MAP
A colorful and clear shaded relief map of northeast Africa, including the Red Sea and entire Arabian Peninsula at a scale of 1:4,000,000. (ARB14, $11.95)		   Northeast Africa



Also Recommended

Oman, United Arab Emirates Map  •  Gizi Map    •  Oman and the UAE at a scale of 1:1,250,000. (ARB48, $15.95)
 		  
Insight Guide Oman and the UAE  •  Insight Guides   • GUIDEBOOK • COMING IN JULY  •  A guide to the history and culture of Oman and the United Arab Emirates. (ARB24, $23.99)
 		  
A History of the Arab Peoples  •  Albert Hourani   • HISTORY  •  Called a landmark, masterpiece and essential to understanding the Middle East, Hourani's acclaimed chronicle of the political, spiritual, religious and cultural traditions of the Arab peoples is brought up to date with an afterword by noted Islamic scholar Malise Ruthven. (MDE11, $18.95)
 		  
A Peace to End All Peace  •  David Fromkin   • HISTORY  •  Indispensable to understanding current tensions, alliances and the colonial legacy of the region, Fromkin's vivid tale of the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the making of the modern Middle East is out in a 20th anniversary edition. (ARB13, $22.00)
 		  
Al-Qur'an: A Contemporary Translation  •  Ali Jamale Ahmed   • RELIGION  •  A handsome bilingual edition of the Holy Book of Islam as elegantly translated by the Pakistani novelist, critic and diplomat Ahmed Ali. (ISL02, $19.95)
 		  
Behind the Veil in Arabia, Women in Oman  •  Unni Wikan   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  An insightful and remarkable look at the role of women in Oman based on Wikan's fieldwork as well as her personal experiences and impressions of the place. (ARB05, $25.00)
 		  
Islam and the West  •  Bernard Lewis   • RELIGION  •  In this illuminating collection of essays, one of the great authorities on the Middle East explores the common ground shared by Islam and the West. (ARB12, $19.99)
 		  
Islam, The Straight Path  •  John L. Esposito   • RELIGION  •  A well-written survey of the faith, practice and beliefs of Islam. It's a balanced tone intended for an undergraduate audience, yet it also functions as an excellent overview for the general reader. (MDE22, $47.95)
 		  
Mecca the Blessed, Medina the Radiant: The Holiest Cities of Islam  •  Kazuyoshi Nomachi  •  Seyyed Hossein Nasr   • RELIGION • COMING IN  •  Outstanding photographs of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. (ARB38, $50.00)
 		  
Multiple Identities of the Middle East  •  Bernard Lewis   • HISTORY  •  Lewis illuminates the clash of old and new in the Middle East in this collection of essays on the many layers of language, history and religion in the region. (MDE29, $12.00)
 		  
Politics in an Arabian Oasis: The Rashidis of Saudi Arabia  •  Madawi Al Rasheed   • HISTORY  •  A study of the Rashidi rulers of 19th-century Central Asia. (ARB30, $39.00)
 		  
Princess: A True of Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia  •  Jean P. Sasson   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A sensational account of everyday life in a Saudi royal family as told to an American friend and writer. It's a powerful indictment of a society where women are chattel and the threat of violence is real. (ARB31, $12.99)
 		  
The Arab World, Forty Years of Change  •  Elizabeth Warnock and Rob Fernea  •  Thomas Hartwell   • HISTORY  •  An award-winning look at life in the Middle East, updated in the 1990s. The authors revisit towns and cities, paying close attention to how changes such as the Gulf War and Arab-Israeli peace negotiations have impacted daily life. (ARB33, $17.95)
 		  
The Arab World: Society, Culture and State  •  Halim Barakat   • HISTORY  •  A scholarly study of Arab culture, thought and literature. (ARB32, $27.95)
 		  
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power  •  Daniel Yergin   • HISTORY  •  Master storyteller Yergin conjures a large and fascinating cast of tycoons, sheiks and politicians in this monumental and thoroughly researched history examining the story of petroleum and the West's dependence on the oil-rich Middle East. (ARB36, $22.00)
 		  
Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim World  •  Thomas W. Lippman   • RELIGION  •  A concise introduction to the Muslim world and Islamic faith. (ISL04, $15.00)
 		  
Baghdad Without a Map and other Misadventures in Arabia  •  Tony Horwitz   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The madcap tale of a modern journey through 14 countries of the Arab world by an unusually entertaining reporter. Horowitz captures the social and economic realities of the region with razor-sharp wit. (ARB07, $16.00)
 		  
Muhammad, A Biography of the Prophet  •  Karen Armstrong   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  The life of the Prophet in the context of seventh-century Arabia. (ARB09, $15.00)
 		  
One Thousand Roads to Mecca, Ten Centuries of Writing about the Pilgrimage to Mecca  •  Michael Wolfe   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  An American convert to Islam, Wolfe combed the large volume of literature of the Hadj to compile this diverse and fascinating anthology of writings over the centuries. (ARB02, $20.00)
 		  
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Mecca  •  Richard Francis Burton   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  A fascinating account of adventures in religious capitals Madinah and Mecca. (ARB37, $16.95)
 		  
Sandstorms, Days and Nights in Arabia  •  Peter Theroux   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  As a journalist in Saudi Arabia, Peter Theroux (Paul's brother) learned the language and immersed himself in the realities of day-to-day life. This book is a memoir of his experiences, both a revealing collection of anecdotes and a humorous portrait of a place. (ARB08, $21.00)
 		  
The Hadj, An American's Journey to Mecca  •  Michael Wolfe   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  Wolfe's mesmerizing account of his journey from Morocco to Mecca. (ARB01, $16.00)
 		  
The Road to Ubar, Finding the Atlantis of the Sands  •  Nicholas Clapp   • EXPLORATION  •  A fascinating day-by-day account of Clapp's search in the 1980s for the ruins of Ubar, an ancient Arabian trading center on the frankincense route in Oman's Empty Quarter. (ARB49, $19.95)
 		  
The Arabian Nights  •  Husain Haddawy   • LITERATURE  •  Translator Husain Haddawy grew up hearing his grandmothers' friends re-tell these tales on winter nights in Baghdad. A wonderful introduction to Islamic Andalucia, the tales, translated from the oldest remaining Arabic version, bring to life the culture and society of the Islamic world at its height. (ARB10, $17.95)
 		  
 
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