The Adventures of Amir Hamza  •  Musharraf Ali Farooqi LITERATURE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 992 PAGES The first new translation in 300 years of the Islamic epic based on the legends of the Prophet Muhammed's uncle follows Hamza's adventurer filled encounters with emperors, merchants, viziers, courtesans, warriors and magical beings. About the book William Dalrymple wrote:" I was bowled over by a remarkable new translation of The Adventures of Amir Hamza, the Iliad and Odyssey of the medieval Persian world: a rollicking, magic-filled heroic saga, full of myth and imagination. It is the first time it has been translated into English and it is as close as is now possible to the world of the Mughal campfire -- those night gatherings of soldiers, Sufis, musicians and camp followers one sees in Mughal miniatures -- a storyteller beginning his tale in the clearing of a forest as the embers of the blaze glow red and eager, firelit faces crowd around." (IDA391, $25.00)
Alexander the Great  •  Robin Lane Fox BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 568 PAGES A popular biography of Alexander the Great, noteworthy for its scholarship, great descriptions and psychological insight. This enormously readable book succeeds in bringing the man and his era to life. (GRE17, $16.00)
Among the Believers, An Islamic Journey  •  V.S. Naipaul CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1982 •  PAPER  • 430 PAGES A provocative, insightful account of Naipaul's travels in the 1979 through the non-Arab Islamic nations of Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia. Naipaul interweaves description and incident with interviews and thoughts on the role of religion. (ISL17, $16.00)
Ancient Iraq  •  Georges Roux ARCHAEOLOGY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 546 PAGES A thorough introduction the ancient Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Sumerian and Akkadian peoples of modern-day Iraq. Roux surveys available archaeological evidence to provide an engaging account of these important past Western civilizations. (IRQ01, $17.00)
The Arabs, A Short History  •  Philip K. Hitti HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 273 PAGES An overview by the influential historian of the Arab world. (ARB63, $14.95)
The Arabs: Journeys Beyond the Mirage  •  David Lamb CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2002 •  PAPER A portrait of Arab culture and history, revised and updated. A former correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, roving journalist David Lamb captures the vivid personalities of the people of the Arab World in a series of thoughtful essays. (MDE05, $15.95)
Baghdad Sketches  •  Freya Stark TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 177 PAGES An account of a four-year sojourn in Iraq and Iran in the 1930s, the first of Dame Freya Stark's many travel books. Over her long career (and more than 30 books), Stark ventured into the forbidden territory of Druze, became the first woman to explore Luristan in western Iran and was credited with reducing sabotage against the Allies on the eastern front with her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages and life. (MDE75, $17.00)
Beirut Map  •  Geoprojects MAP A street map of Beirut at a scale of 1:10,000. (MDE101, $18.95)
Beyond Belief, Islamic Excursions Among the Converted People  •  V.S. Naipaul TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 432 PAGES Revisiting his "Among the Believers", Naipaul returns to the Islamic nations of Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia and Iran. An essential guide to complex beliefs and emotions, this book of interviews, stories and trenchant observation is an outstanding portrait. (ASA14, $15.00)
Cultural Schizophrenia, Islamic Societies Confronting the West  •  Daryush Shayegan RELIGION •  1997 •  PAPER  • 200 PAGES An illuminating account of the relationship between Islamic societies and the West by the Iranian philosopher Daryush Shayegan. (ISL38, $19.95)
Democracy and Terrorism, Volume I: The Roots of Terrorism  •  Louise Richardson HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES This in-depth study takes in psychological and political factors to provide an analysis of terrorism and it origins. (GEN361, $29.95)
A Desert Calling, Life in a Forbidding Landscape  •  Michael Mares  •  Stephen Jay Gould BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 318 PAGES A lively memoir and account of field research -- and the search for desert mammals -- in remote Argentina, Iran and Egypt. Curator of mammals and director of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma, Mares has devoted decades of study to rodents, bats and other animals of Argentina with short forays to other deserts. With numerous photos and maps. (DES09, $29.95)
Desert Queen, The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell  •  Janet Wallach BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2005 •  PAPER  • 419 PAGES A lively biography of Gertrude Bell, a Middle East adventuress, and formidable personality in colonial Britain. A contemporary of Lawrence of Arabia and friend to Arab leaders, Bell's influence on Middle Eastern politics made her the "most powerful woman in the British Empire in the years after World War I." (MDE37, $15.95)
Digging to America  •  Anne Tyler LITERATURE •  2006 •  HARD COVER Tyler, married into an Iranian family herself, tackles the clash of cultures in her 17th novel, when the Very American Bitsy and Brad Donaldson from Baltimore (who have just adopted a Korean baby) strike up an unlikely friendship with an Iranian couple. To complicate matters, the Donaldson's father falls in love with Sami and Ziba Yazdan's mother Maryam. (IRN48, $24.95)
The Dust of Empire, The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland  •  Karl Meyer HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Meyer's follow-up to the lively, engaging "Tournament of Shadows," his account of the 19th-century tussle between Great Britain and Russia over control of the region. Here the veteran journalist brings the story of politics and struggle in the Central Asian Republics up to date, covering too the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Russia. Meyer artfully interweaves travels with interviews, history and analysis. (CAS96, $15.00)
The Ends of the Earth, A Journey to the Frontiers of Anarchy  •  Robert D. Kaplan TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 476 PAGES Kaplan, a veteran foreign correspondent and wonderful writer, journeys though much of the third world in this far-ranging, insightful report on sociopolitics, the future and other big topics. Organized geographically, he hops from West Africa to the Nile, Balkans, Central Asia, China and Southeast Asia. Two large sections are devoted to Iran and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. (WLD26, $16.00)
The Fortune Catcher  •  Susanne Pari LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES A vivid picture of the Islamic Revolution of the 1980s, this novel tells the story of an Iranian-American woman who returns to Iran to marry, but is unprepared for the peril and tyranny that awaits her as a Westerner. (IRN16, $16.95)
From Beirut to Jerusalem  •  Thomas L. Friedman CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2006 •  AUDIO CD A clear, illuminating, and heartfelt exploration of the complexity of the Middle East conflict. Pulitzer Prize-winner Friedman (who reported from Beirut and Jerusalem for the "New York Times" throughout the 1980s, and is now its foreign affairs columnist) provides a personal and a scholarly perspective on the roots of conflict. (MDE98, $22.95)
Full Tilt, From Dublin to Delhi with a Bicycle  •  Dervla Murphy TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES The indomitable Dervla Murphy's first book, a captivating account of her solo journey (first conceived when she was just ten) across Europe to Iran, Afghanistan, and over the Himalayas to Pakistan and into India. This Irish grandmother has been off exploring the world, sometimes alone, sometimes with her daughter, often with a bicycle, for forty years now. Her Muddling Through in Madagascar is a Longitude favorite. (IDA324, $15.95)
Geography of Religion: Where God Lives, Where Pilgrims Walk  •  Susan T. Hitchcock  •  John Esposito  •  Desmond Tutu  •  Mpho Tutu RELIGION •  2006 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES A handsomely produced tour of the five major world religions and the places that each holds sacred. This oversize book by National Geographic features 210 photographs, illustrations and maps, along with essays by contributing scholars. (REL05, $24.00)
Gilgamesh, A New Rendering in English Verse  •  David Ferry LITERATURE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 92 PAGES A lyrical translation of the ancient Mesopotamian story of Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, and his attempt to recover his dead friend Enkidu. Taking interesting liberties with the fragmentary original, Ferry recovers the spirit of the text, crafting a warm, poetic rendering of the timeless epic. (IRQ02, $12.00)
Globalization and the Politics of Development in the Middle East  •  Clement M. Henry  •  Robert Springborg CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  PAPER  • 280 PAGES An analysis of the Middle East's responses to the changing world economy and the prospect of globalization at the turn of the twenty-first century. The authors, political economists both, offer a richly detailed argument bolstered by quantitative data. (MDE76, $24.99)
God Lives in St. Petersburg, and Other Stories  •  Tom Bissell LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 212 PAGES Bissell (Chasing the Sea) returns to his years in Central Asia as a Peace Corps volunteer in these sharp, witty fictionalized accounts. His six fast-paced tales are set in Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and the Aral Sea. (CAS117, $13.95)
A History of the Arab Peoples  •  Albert Hourani HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 551 PAGES A grand history of the Arab world by the distinguished Oxford historian Albert Hourani, this is a readable and much acclaimed survey that ranges over 13 centuries. It chronicles the political, spiritual, religious and cultural traditions of the Arab peoples in 26 lucidly written chapters. This book has been called a landmark and a masterpiece -- and it's essential to understanding the Middle East. (MDE11, $16.99)
A History of the Middle East  •  Peter Mansfield  •  Nicolas Pelham HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 429 PAGES (MDE84, $16.00)
Honeymoon in Purdah, An Iranian Journey  •  Alison Wearing TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES A delightfully insane jaunt through contemporary Iran. The author -- who got herself a black polyester chaador and a husband (in the form of her gay roommate) -- dives into the personalities and charm of the Iranian people in this entertaining, insightful travel account. (IRN24, $15.00)
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great  •  Michael Wood HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Historian Michael Wood recreates the epic journey of Alexander the Great across Asia in this companion volume to the documentary television series. With a good selection of maps, photographs and illustrations of Hellenic art and artifacts from the region. (MED23, $21.95)
In the Shadow of the Prophet, The Struggle for the Soul of Islam  •  Milton Viorst HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 306 PAGES Viorst interviewed key Muslim leaders, activists and critics throughout the Arab world for this wide-ranging and largely sympathetic analysis, originally published in 1998. With chapters on Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria and the Sudan. No academic treatise, much of the book originally appeared in The New Yorker, where Viorst is on staff. (ISL18, $17.50)
In the Walled Gardens  •  Anahita Firouz LITERATURE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 338 PAGES (IRN53, $21.99)
In Xanadu, A Quest  •  William Dalrymple TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 319 PAGES An informative, entertaining account of an epic journey mostly in the footsteps of Marco Polo from Jerusalem through the Middle East and along the Silk Route to Central Asia and China. Bureau Chief for a London newspaper in New Delhi, an intrepid traveler, and entertaining writer, Dalrymple offers an anecdotal history of the people and places he encounters en route. Originally published in 1990. (CAS50, $14.95)
Iran Map with Iraq, Kuwait, and Dubai  •  Freytag & Berndt MAP This regional map of Iran shows neighboring Iraq, Kuwait and Dubai. (IRN33, $11.95)
Iran, Iraq, and The Legacies of War  •  Lawrence Potter  •  Gary G. Sick HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES This book enhances our understanding of the troubled relationship between Iran and Iraq, placing it in historical context and exploring the issues that currently bedevil relations. The authors cover opposition groups, ethnic divisions, the role of outside states (especially the United States), and a fascinating account of how the 8-year war affected a generation of Iraqis and Iranians. (MDE153, $26.95)
Islam, The View from the Edge  •  Richard Bulliet RELIGION •  1995 •  PAPER  • 236 PAGES A revisionist history of the development of Islamic religious authority, particualrly in Iran. Billiet is a professor of history at Columbia and popular novelist. (ISL34, $29.00)
Islamic Art and Architecture  •  Robert Hillenbrand ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES Covering one thousand years and the geographic scope of Islam, this book is a wide-ranging guide to the arts of Islam, including architecture, calligraphy, ceramics, and textiles. A marvelously compact synthesis, it focuses on major styles associated with Muslim dynasties including the Ottomans. With a useful glossary of Islamic terms, time line, maps and 270 illustrations, many in color. (CAS17, $18.95)
Kurdistan, In the Shadow of History  •  Susan Meiselas CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2008 •  PAPER (IRN57, $49.00)
Life in the Ancient Near East, 3100-332 B.C.  •  Daniel C. Snell HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES From the dawn of the written word to conquest by Alexander the Great, the history of the ancient Middle East is traced in this readable, thoroughly researched overview of economic, social and cultural development in the world of the Bible. It's a concise and intriguing study from a professor of history. (MDE56, $22.00)
Lonely Planet Iran  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 406 PAGES In its hallmark style, this practical guide to Iran by Lonely Planet features maps, a good overview of culture, history, politics and economics, and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, transportation and sightseeing. With color photographs and excellent travel information. (IRN02, $24.99)
Lonely Planet Middle East  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 816 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. With detailed maps, and separate sections on mosques, music and cuisine. (MDE30, $27.99)
Lost Wisdom: Rethinking Modernity in Iran  •  Abbas Milani HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 164 PAGES These insightful, scholarly essays on Iran's tangled struggle toward modernity and the roots of Shiite Islamic Fundamentalism are by Director of the Iranian Studies Program at Stanford University and research fellow at the Hoover Institution. (IRN55, $19.95)
Muhammad, The Prophet for Our Time  •  Karen Armstrong RELIGION •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 208 PAGES In this extended essay, a volume in the Eminent Lives series, Armstrong looks at the significance of Mohammed's life and teachings. A former Catholic nun and member of the Association of Muslim Social Services, she writes widely on religion. (ISL60, $21.95)
Neither East Nor West, One Woman's Journey Through the Islamic Republic of Iran  •  Christiane Bird TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 396 PAGES In this travelogue infused with historical musings, Bird returns to the country where she spent three years of her childhood. Bird rediscovers the people, politics and culture of Iran -- a diverse nation that resists Western stereotypes and her own preconceptions. (IRN27, $26.95)
No god but God, The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam  •  Reza Aslan RELIGION •  2006 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES Geared for a popular audience, this provocative book is both a call for reform and a history of early Muslim life and practice. Born in Tehran in 1972, Alsan is a journalist, commentator and doctoral candidate in Religious Studies at The University of California at Santa Barbara. (ISL50, $14.95)
Palace and Mosque, Islamic Art from the Middle East  •  Tim Stanley ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 144 PAGES A wide-ranging survey of the architecture, decorative elements and art of the Islamic Middle East. (MDE78, $50.00)
Passionate Nomad, the Life of Freya Stark  •  Jane Fletcher Geniesse BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES Dame Freya Stark, called the "last of the Romantic travelers" by The Times of London, ventured into the forbidden territory of Druze, became the first woman to explore Luristan in western Iran and was credited with reducing sabotage against the Allies on the eastern front with her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages and life. Before she was knighted by the Queen of England at the age of 82, Stark had documented her adventures in 30 books and was honored by the Royal Geographical Society for her cartographic achievements, among other accomplishments. In addition to depicting Stark's journeys, the biographer (a former "New York Times" reporter) sensitively unveils details of the complex, personal life of this "poet of travel." (MDE28, $15.95)
The Persian Bride  •  James Buchan LITERATURE •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 352 PAGES Modern and ancient Iran is reflected in this first novel by James Buchan, an English writer and Middle East foreign correspondent. The book, set in the 1970s during the Khomeini years, concerns a young Englishman who marries the daughter of a general, unleashing an avalanche of cultural forces. An exceptional account of love in the face of adversity. (IRN19, $23.00)
Persian Fire, The First World Empire And the Battle for the West  •  Tom Holland HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 418 PAGES This riveting historical tale of Xerxes and the clash between the Persians and the Greeks in 480 BC brings to life the celebrated battle of Salamis, the original 26-mile race from Marathon to Athens and other well-known moments in Greek history. Holland paints the conflict as a clash between east and west driven by religious fervor and the desire for freedom. (IRN38, $27.50)
Persian Nights  •  Diane Johnson LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES Johnson switches from her usual locale in Paris to Iran in this novel, where Chloe finds herself traveling alone after her husband is recalled home. It's good reading, rich in local detail. (IRN03, $15.00)
Pimsleur Basic Farsi (Persian)  •  Pimsleur Language Method LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2005 •  AUDIO CD Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Persian Farsi, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. The Pimsleur method emphasizes the use of listening skills without reading materials (so there isn't a book to follow along). It's advertised as "Totally audio: hear it, learn it, speak it." (IRN34, $24.95)
Pimsleur Quick & Simple Arabic (Eastern)  •  Pimsleur Language Method LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2005 •  AUDIO CD An audio CD with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Eastern Arabic, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. The Pimsleur method emphasizes the use of listening skills without reading materials (so there isn't a book to follow along). It's advertised as "Totally audio: hear it, learn it, speak it." (ARB69, $19.95)
Power, Faith, and Fantasy, America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present  •  Michael B. Oren HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 672 PAGES Covering the full sweep of U.S. involvement in the land of the Ottomans from early advantures along the Barbary coast to Iraq, Oren tackles not just events but also the passions, personalities, successes and failures in the region, putting recent history into context. (MDE115, $35.00)
The Root of Wild Madder, Chasing the History, Mystery, And Lore of the Persian Carpet  •  Brian Murphy ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES The complexities of Persian carpets go far beyond their intricate designs, as Brian Murphy uncovers in this compelling account of the carpets' origins and history. Beginning with the stories of the young girls who weave the carpets together, Murphy traces the journey of these prized works of art as they pass into the world of merchandising, interviewing a fascinating cast of characters along the way. (IRN46, $15.00)
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam  •  Omar Khayyam  •  Edward Fitzgerald LITERATURE •  1989 •  PAPER  • 52 PAGES This edition of one of the best-known poems ever -- as translated by Edward Fitzgerald -- features an introduction by novelist A.S. Byatt and color illustrations by Edmund Dulac. Never mind whether these are really the verses of the 12th-century poet (there is little doubt that Fitzgerald interpreted the original Sufi text through a western lens); the popularity of this book tells much about Victorian fascination with all things "oriental." (IRN14, $11.00)
The Saffron Kitchen  •  Yasmin Crowther LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES A rich family drama set against the backdrops of modern day London and Iran. When the wounds of her past bleed through into her life in England, Maryam Mazar must leave her family behind and return to her small Iranian village. (IRN54, $14.00)
Samarkand, A Novel  •  Amin Maalouf  •  Russell Harris LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A fictional history of Persia featuring Omar Khayyam, the 11th-century poet and author of the "Rubaiyat." Written by Lebanese novelist Amin Maalouf. (CAS69, $14.95)
Searching for Hassan, An American Family's Journey Home to Iran  •  Terence Ward TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A family's 1998 expedition to Iran in search of their old Iranian chef and mentor serves as the backdrop of this travelogue of Iran. Memories of a magical 1960s Iranian childhood, details of his present personal pilgrimage, and reflections on the modern Islamic Iran are interwoven throughout this vivid narrative. (IRN28, $14.00)
Sufism  •  A.J. Arberry RELIGION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES The first concise yet highly informative history of Sufi teachings. (ISL42, $9.95)
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia  •  Ahmed Rashid HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 279 PAGES An eye-opening political and social history of Afghanistan and its Islamic fundamentalist movement. A correspondent in the region, Rashid gives an account of the Taliban in the context of the politics and history of Central Asia. He draws on interviews with Taliban leaders and firsthand experience in telling this story of empires, power and politics. Rashid has also written "The Resurgence of Central Asia, Islam or Nationalism?" (CAS49, $14.95)
To See and See Again: A Life in Iran and America  •  Tara Bahrampour BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 361 PAGES In this beautifully written and fascinating memoir, Bahrampour reveals the emotional complexity of growing up in both America and Iran, and the tensions of a multicultural identity. (IRN17, $22.95)
Walking the Bible, A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses  •  Bruce S. Feiler TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  AUDIO CD An illuminating account of a 10,000-mile odyssey with Israeli archaeologist Avner Goren across the Biblical lands of the Middle East. It's part travelogue, part pilgrimage, and part quest for religious meaning. (MDE99, $14.95)
What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East  •  Bernard Lewis HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES The prolific Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis traces the history of what was once a powerful player on the world stage and what is now an area dominated, in his words, by "shabby tyrannies... modern only in their apparatus of repression and terror," in this incisive examination of the history of Middle Eastern civilization. (ISL44, $12.95)
A Woman's Asia  •  Marybeth Bond ANTHOLOGY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 310 PAGES These thirty-five personal, often hilarious accounts of women's adventures from China to Sri Lanka to Turkey to Bhutan, not only illuminating the everyday, oft-overlooked cultural practices of Asia, but also giving a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the female traveller. Featuring selections from Jan Morris, Pamela Logan and Alison Wright. (ASA49, $17.95)
Workers and Peasants in the Modern Middle East  •  Joel Beinin HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 226 PAGES A study of the working class in the Middle East, beginning with the period of the Ottoman Empire. (MDE77, $27.99)
The World of Islam  •  Don Belt CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES Collecting more than twenty five National Geographic articles from the last one hundred years, this glimpse into the Islamic world is a fascinating examination of the evolving relationship between East and West. With photographs and illustrations thoughout. (ISL30, $22.00)