Al-Qur'an: A Contemporary Translation  •  Ali Jamale Ahmed RELIGION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 571 PAGES A handsome bilingual edition of the sacred text of the Muslims, translated elegantly and accessibly by the late Pakistani novelist and poet. Ali revised the translation of the original text for this revised 1993 edition. With explanatory notes, original Arabic and English verse translations. (ISL02, $19.95)
Arab Seafaring  •  George F. Hourani  •  John Carswell HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 140 PAGES A scholarly history of early travel and trade in the Indian Ocean from its earliest origins through the Middle Ages. An expanded edition of the classic, authoritative history of Arab sea trade, originally published in 1951. With a new introduction, notes, and bibliography by John Carswell. (ARB47, $22.95)
Arab World Map  •  Geoprojects 1983 •  MAP A full color shaded relief map of the North Africa and Southwest Asia at a scale of 1:10,000 with general information about each of the countries on the reverse. (ARB53, $21.95)
The Arab World, Forty Years of Change  •  Elizabeth Warnock and Rob Fernea  •  Thomas Hartwell HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 432 PAGES An updated version of an award-winning look at life in the Middle East. The authors, who are veteran travelers of the region, revisit towns and cities, paying close attention to how recent events and changes such as the Gulf War and Arab-Israeli peace negotiations have impacted daily life. This expanded edition includes new chapters on Baghdad, Jerusalem and other key cities. (ARB33, $17.95)
Arabia Map  •  Geoprojects MAP Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula at a scale of 1:3,500,000. (ARB39, $21.95)
The Arabian Diaries, 1913-1914  •  Gertrude Bell  •  Rosemary O'Brien BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 224 PAGES In the days before she began molding British foreign policy in the Middle East, Gertrude Bell kept herself busy crossing the Arabian desert alone (or sometimes in company with bandits). As a travel and adventure writer, she has the very great advantage of literary talent: her diaries are neither fusty nor musty. Her book is a candid portrait of Arabia, and her accounts of encounters with sheikhs and Bedouins are markedly unexotic. They were her companions or her enemies, and she writes of them as a more domestic author might have written about the parish curate or the town lout. (ARB52, $29.95)
The Arabian Nights  •  Husain Haddawy LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES Translator Husain Haddawy grew up hearing his grandmothers' friends re-tell these tales on winter nights in Baghdad, and he has put his love of them into this Norton edition, which he translated from the Arabic text by Muhsin Mahdi. Mahdi's authoritative "Nights" excludes such famous tales as "Sindbad the Sailor" and "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp," neither of which appeared in the original thirteenth-century manuscript. But never fear: readers who simply must have "Sindbad" and "Ali Baba" can purchase Haddawy's "Arabian Nights II," a collection of four unauthentic but much-loved tales (ARB51). (ARB10, $16.95)
Arabic, Start Speaking Today  •  Language/30 LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  1994 •  AUDIO CD A 90-minute crash course in Arabic with a CD and phrasebook packaged in a vinyl sleeve. Geared for travelers, the course follows the foreign service method -- which focuses on dialogues and useful sentences instead of individual words. In each case, an English phrase is spoken once, and repeated in Arabic twice. Topics include introductions, transportation, business and health. (ARB60, $21.95)
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 Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800  •  Sheila Blair  •  Jonathan Bloom ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES An illustrated survey of the great monuments and art produced by Muslim peoples from the 13th to 19th centuries, including the Taj Mahal and the Alhambra. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the art and architecture of the Medieval Arab world. (ISL27, $40.00)
Baghdad Without a Map and other Misadventures in Arabia  •  Tony Horwitz TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 285 PAGES 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)
Behind the Veil in Arabia, Women in Oman  •  Unni Wikan CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1991 •  PAPER  • 314 PAGES Based on Wikan's fieldwork, this book is a scholarly, insightful and remarkable look at the role of women in Oman, of much interest to the general reader. It tells not only of the women and villagers she studied, but also of the author's own experiences and impressions of the place. (ARB05, $19.00)
Beirut Map  •  Geoprojects MAP A street map of Beirut at a scale of 1:10,000. (MDE101, $18.95)
Beyond the Veil, Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society  •  Fatima Mernissi CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1987 •  PAPER  • 200 PAGES An examination of sexuality and gender in the modern Muslim world, written by an expert on the roles of women in Islamic society. With a long section on the traditional Muslim view of women, followed by a case study of relations in modern Morocco. (MDE35, $14.95)
Bradt Guide Oman  •  Diana Darke  •  Sandra Shields GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A comprehensive guide in the popular Bradt series. (ARB80, $23.95)
Crusade, The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War  •  Rick Atkinson HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 520 PAGES An extensive account of the 42-day Persian Gulf War and how it single-handedly transformed modern warfare. Conducting a wide range of interviews, Atkinson blends firsthand stories of both soldiers and policymakers with an exhaustively researched political narrative. (ARB46, $17.95)
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)
Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East  •  Donna Lee Bowen  •  Evelyn A. Early CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  PAPER  • 411 PAGES The second edition of a diverse collection of articles on life in the modern Muslim countries by Middle Eastern and Western scholars, revised and updated. It includes scholarly and popular essays, short stories, and traditional songs. The anthology is organized thematically into sections on life passages, relations between the sexes, home, religion, performance and entertainment. With good suggestions for further reading, glossary and notes. (MDE34, $23.95)
Fishwatcher's Field Guide Red Sea  •  Jerry Greenberg FIELD GUIDE •  PLASTIC CARD This double-sided plastic card shows 64 of the most commonly encountered reef fish of the Red Sea in full-color illustrations, convenient for the boat or beach. It's even got a hole punched in it to hang around your neck while snorkeling. (DIV13, $7.50)
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)
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)
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, $27.99)
The Gold-Mines of Midian  •  Richard Burton EXPLORATION •  1995 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES An account of the intrepid Burton's 1877 two-week journey to the deserts of Northwest Arabia in search of the source of King Solomon's gold. (ARB77, $10.95)
The Hadj, An American's Journey to Mecca  •  Michael Wolfe TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES Wolfe, an American convert to Islam and scholar, recounts his own journey from Morocco to Mecca, the people he met and the sights along the way. It's a lively travelogue, detailed and engaging. The author also put together an anthology of writings on the Hadj called One Thousand Roads to Mecca (ARB02). (ARB01, $16.00)
A History of the Middle East  •  Peter Mansfield  •  Nicolas Pelham HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 429 PAGES (MDE84, $16.00)
Islam and Democracy, Fear of the Modern World  •  Fatima Mernissi HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 195 PAGES A short, inflammatory book on the possibility of democracy in the Middle East by a well known Moroccan critic, historian and feminist. (ISL06, $17.50)
Islamic Art and Architecture, 650-1250  •  Richard Ettinghausen  •  Oleg Grabar ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 360 PAGES An illustrated survey of the great monuments and art produced by Muslim peoples during medieval times, including the Dome of the Rock, as well as many small aritfacts. (ISL26, $40.00)
Islamic Arts  •  Jonathan Bloom  •  Sheila Blair ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 445 PAGES A comprehensive survey of 1,000 years of Islamic architecture, design and decoration. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, maps and site plans. For anyone with an interest in art, this book is a wonderfully illuminating, stimulating introduction to the subject. (ISL01, $24.95)
Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History and Literature  •  Stephen O. Murray CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 331 PAGES Broad in its geographic and historical scope, this book is a scholarly overview of homosexuality in cultures throughout the Islamic world. It includes contributions on Islam and homosexuality in medieval Egypt, Ottoman Turkey and throughout the Muslim world. (ARB26, $22.00)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  •  David E. Long HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 192 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, $19.95)
Motoring with Mohammed, Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea  •  Eric Hansen TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES • FAVORITE Ten years after he was shipwrecked aboard a sailboat in the Red Sea (and rescued by goat smugglers from Eritrea), the intrepid Hansen returns to Yemen in search of a journal he buried in the sand. This book is classic travel writing: insightful, personal and informative -- not to mention highly entertaining. (ARB11, $14.95)
Muhammad, A Biography of the Prophet  •  Karen Armstrong BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1993 •  PAPER  • 290 PAGES Grounded in the historical record, Armstrong (who has also written a "A History of God : The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam), offers a well considered, illuminating account of the prophet and founder of Islam. It's a good portrait of early seventh-century Arabia and an excellent foundation for understanding the current tensions in the Middle East. (ARB09, $15.00)
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)
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)
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 and Arabia Map  •  Michelin Travel Publications 2007 •  MAP A folded map of the Northeast region of the continent at a scale of 1:4,000,000, this map is very useful for road travel. It covers Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Saudia Arabia, Yeman and Oman. (AFR33, $11.95)
One Thousand Roads to Mecca, Ten Centuries of Writing about the Pilgrimage to Mecca  •  Michael Wolfe TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 620 PAGES 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. The result is an excellent introduction to the culture, religion, people and philosophy of Islam. Wolfe also wrote an account of his own journey entitled "The Hadj, an American's Pilgrimage to Mecca." (ARB02, $20.00)
Orientalism  •  Edward W. Said HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 432 PAGES An influential account of Western attitudes and Muslim stereotypes by the great Middle East scholar. First published in 1978. (ISL07, $15.95)
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)
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Mecca  •  Richard Francis Burton TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 436 PAGES Disguised as a Muslim, Burton enters Islam's holiest sites, participating in all the rituals of the Hadj in Mecca. A fascinating tale of adventure, Burton was an astute observer and resourceful traveling companion. This book provides insight into the mind of the famous Victorian explorer as well as Arabian society near the turn of the century. Volume one of the 1893 memorial edition with a preface by Isabel Burton. (ARB37, $16.95)
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)
Qatar Map  •  MapLink MAP A shaded relief map of Qatar, on the scale of 1:270,000. (ARB19, $21.95)
The Road to Mecca  •  Muhammad Asad BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  PAPER  • 372 PAGES The extraordinary account of how Leopold Weiss, born in Lvov in 1900, became a Muslim. A journalist (and later Pakistan's representative to the U.N.), Asad writes of his travels, transformation and attachment to Islam and the Arab world. His book takes the form of stories told during a camel ride to Mecca (one of his many adventurous journeys through Arabia and the Near East in the 1930s). With 11 black-and-white photographs. (ISL23, $17.95)
The Road to Ubar, Finding the Atlantis of the Sands  •  Nicholas Clapp EXPLORATION •  1999 •  PAPER  • 342 PAGES In the 1980s Clapp, a documentary filmmaker by trade, set out in pursuit of the lost city of Ubar, a fabled center of the ancient Arabian frankincense trade. With the aid of NASA satellite photographs and a troop of scientists, he succeeded where the likes of T.E. Lawrence and Berthram Thomas had long since failed, finding the ruins of Ubar in Oman's "Empty Quarter". This is his fascinating day-by-day account of the search. (ARB49, $14.00)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen  •  Paul Torday LITERATURE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES Torday skewers government, the eccentricities of overblown royal families and, of all things, fly fishing, in this entertaining satire of Sheikh Mohammad ibn Zaidi bani Tihima and his determination to create a salmon river in a desert oasis in Yemen with Dr. Aldred Jones, the unassuming British scientist at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence. (MDE116, $14.00)
Sandstorms, Days and Nights in Arabia  •  Peter Theroux BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1991 •  PAPER  • 281 PAGES 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. Among other things, the book is a quest to uncover what happened to Imam Sadr, a complex man who led Lebanon's Shia Muslims. (ARB08, $13.95)
Saudi Arabia, Guarding the Desert Kingdom  •  Anthony Cordesman CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES This academic volume is a detailed analysis of Saudi Arabia -- and especially of its security arrangements -- since the Gulf War. Those with a particular interest in the stability of the Middle East and its reliability as an energy exporter will find this book fascinating. (ARB04, $49.00)
The Southern Gates of Arabia, a Journey in the Hadhramaut  •  Freya Stark EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 270 PAGES An intrepid traveler at the height of British colonial gallivanting in the 1930s, Freya Stark's many books became instant classics. This account of Stark's search for Shabwa, the heretofore unexplored oasis on the Yemeni incense road, shows all the verve of her best accounts: witty, rapturous and full of incident. (MDE52, $13.95)
The Stakes: America in the Middle East, The Consequences of Power and the Choice for Peace  •  Shibley Telhami HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 232 PAGES An excellent review of current U.S.- Arab relations, updated with a new epilogue. Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland, is a scholar at the Brookings Institution. (MDE88, $15.95)
Stories of Democracy  •  Mary Ann Tetreault CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2000 •  PAPER  • 326 PAGES A well researched political overview of modern Kuwait by a Middle Eastern expert, this book delves into the Kuwaiti democracy from 1921 to the present. The author's discussions with elite political leaders add a fresh and fascinating dimension to her scholarly research. (ARB45, $28.50)
Sultan in Oman  •  Jan Morris TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 166 PAGES A richly evoked portrait of the culture, people and rhythms of Oman before the discovery of oil, originally published in 1957 by the insightful Jan Morris. (ARB73, $28.95)
Travels in Arabia Deserta, Selected Passages  •  Charles Doughty TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES Doughty's first-hand observations of Arab life and culture in the 1870s, including his account of two years wandering among the Bedouin nomads and the explorer's attempt to reach Mecca. (ARB76, $17.95)
Unholy War, Terror in the Name of Islam  •  John Esposito RELIGION •  2002 •  PAPER In this highly readable book the well-regarded Muslim scholar tackles the question of Why do they hate us? Esposito chronicles of the nature and history of extremist groups in many forms throughout the Muslim world. He ends with a call for greater understanding, emphasizing very reasonably that most Muslims (including religious leaders) are appalled by the acts of violence in the name of Islam. Unlike some scholars (and policy makers) Esposito does not see an invetible clash of civilizations between the West and the Muslim World. (ISL22, $26.00)
United Arab Emirates/Oman Map  •  ITMB MAP The UAE and Oman at a scale of 1:1,400,000. (ARB48, $11.95)
A Vanished World  •  Wilfred Thesiger BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 200 PAGES This stunning record of an unusually eventful life takes in Thesiger's travels and adventures in revolutionary Ethiopia and the mountains of the Hindu Kush, his time among the Marsh Arabs of Iraq, his long stint living in Northern Kenya, and, memorably, his long love affair with the Empty Quarter of Oman (memorialized in "Arabian Sands"). Ninety-one-year-old Thesiger selected the black-and-white photographs for this album, which include many of his portraits of people and ways of life long gone. (ARB56, $35.00)
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)
The War for Muslim Minds, Islam and the West  •  Gilles Kepel RELIGION •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 327 PAGES A provocative analysis of the impact of the war on terrorism and U.S. military activity on the stability and future of the Middle East. A distinguished Arabist, Gilles Kepel argues that the Islamic terrorists and fanatics are creating chaos in their own countries and losing support of the faithful. Kepel is a professor at the Institute for Political Studies in Paris (ISL47, $23.95)
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)
Winter in Arabia  •  Freya Stark TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 326 PAGES A classic account of Stark's 1937-8 archaeological expedition through what is now Yemen, rich in incident. 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. (ARB58, $16.95)
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, $29.99)
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)
The Zanzibar Chest: A Story of Life, Love, and Death in Foreign Lands  •  Aidan Hartley BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 414 PAGES A journalist born in Kenya, Hartley weaves contemporary events, family history and experiences in the region in this meditative, personal elegy to colonialism in Africa. As Africa correspondent for Reuters in the 1990s, Hartley covered Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda and the Congo. He takes as his point of departure for the book a handwritten memoir by Peter Davey, found in the family chest of the title. (EAF119, $16.00)