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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXARB54. Buy these 4 items as a set for $64 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Time Out Dubai and the UAE

Time Out Dubai and the UAE

by Time Out

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

A practical guide in the popular series by the editors of the where to go and what to do magazine. (ARB81, $19.95)

Culture Smart! UAE

Culture Smart! UAE

by John Walsh

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

This concise and practical guide introduces local customs, etiquette and culture for the traveler. (ARB100, $9.95)

Islam, A Short History

Islam, A Short History

by Karen Armstrong

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 230 PAGES

Armstrong brings authority and experience to this vivid, clear-headed survey of the history and impact of Islam from the birth of Muhammad to present-day challenges. (ISL15, $15.95)

United Arab Emirates Map

United Arab Emirates Map

by MapLink

  • MAP

A shaded relief map of UAE on a 1:750,000 scale. (ARB20, $21.95)

 
Dubai Map

Dubai Map


by Borch Maps

  • MAP

A folded traveler's map of Dubai at a scale of 1:25,000. (ARB64, $7.95)

Dubai, UAE, Qatar & Bahrain Dubai and United Arab Emirates Map

Dubai, UAE, Qatar & Bahrain Dubai and United Arab Emirates Map


by World Mapping Project

  • 2009
  • MAP

A double-sided map of these Arabian Gulf countries at a detailed scale of 1:470,000. (ARB71, $11.00)

Eyewitness Top 10 Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Eyewitness Top 10 Dubai and Abu Dhabi


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A compact, illustrated guide in the popular series, featuring favorite attractions. (ARB95, $14.00)

Lonely Planet Oman, UAE, & Arabian Peninsula

Lonely Planet Oman, UAE, & Arabian Peninsula


by Lonely Planet Publications

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 596 PAGES

A practical guide to the gulf states including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. (ARB87, $31.99)

A History of the Arab Peoples

A History of the Arab Peoples


by Albert Hourani

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 624 PAGES

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)

City of Gold, Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism


by Jim Krane

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 356 PAGES

This close-up portrait of Dubai by an award-winning journalist describes how the city transformed from a little-known village in 1960 to the cutting-edge capitalist metropolis and tourist haven it is today. (ARB130, $16.00)

Crusade, The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War

Crusade, The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War


by 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. (ARB46, $17.95)

Dubai, The Vulnerability of Success

Dubai, The Vulnerability of Success


by Christopher Davidson

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Davidson traces the transformation of Dubai from sleepy backwater to major player on the world stage in authoritative detail. (ARB103, $28.95)

Islam and the West

Islam and the West


by Bernard Lewis

  • RELIGION
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 217 PAGES

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

Islam, The Straight Path


by John L. Esposito

  • RELIGION
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

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)

Multiple Identities of the Middle East

Multiple Identities of the Middle East


by Bernard Lewis

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

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)

Nine Parts of Desire, The Hidden World of Islamic Women

Nine Parts of Desire, The Hidden World of Islamic Women


by Geraldine Brooks

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A highly readable overview of the role of women in Islamic society, drawn from the author's many interviews with women throughout the Arab World. (ARB06, $15.00)

Storm from the East: The Struggle Between the Arab World and the Christian West

Storm from the East: The Struggle Between the Arab World and the Christian West


by Milton Viorst

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

A brief history of contemporary Arabia and the uneasy relationship with the West in the excellent Modern Library Chronicles series by a journalist and senior scholar at the Middle East Institute. (ARB75, $13.95)

The Arab World, Forty Years of Change

The Arab World, Forty Years of Change


by Elizabeth Warnock and Rob Fernea | Thomas Hartwell

  • HISTORY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

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)

Arabian Sands

Arabian Sands


by Wilfred Thesiger

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The last of the great British traveler-explorers, 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 is his tribute to them. (ARB15, $16.00)

Motoring with Mohammed, Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea

Motoring with Mohammed, Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea


by Eric Hansen

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Shipwrecked en route from the Maldives, rescued with his buddies by Eritrean goat smugglers, and an accidental tourist in Sana'a, Hansen's misadventures make a terrific story. Even better, he provides a rich portrait of a little-known region. (ARB11, $16.00)

The Naked Tourist, In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the Age of the Airport Mall

The Naked Tourist, In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the Age of the Airport Mall


by Lawrence Osborne

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Osborne is not just interested in travel, but also in the reasons why we travel, layering his own entertaining adventures on the road from Dubai to India, Bangkok, Bali and beyond with ruminations on Shangri-La, The Grand Tour and our conceptions of the exotic and primitive. (SEA50, $20.00)

The Arabian Nights

The Arabian Nights


by Husain Haddawy

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 518 PAGES

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)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.