Middle Eastern history Books

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Book SynopsisAn anthology of primary documents for the study of Central Asian history. It illustrates important aspects of the social, cultural, political, and economic history of Islamic Central Asia. It covers the period from the 7th-century Arab conquests to the 19th-century Russian colonial era.Trade Review[A]n excellent collection, which will be a valuable sourcebook for courses on the history of Central Asia and Islamic history. As the first English-language anthology of historical sources on the region, it provides a wealth of materials, which can be used to cover a wide variety of themes. It should be on the syllabus of any undergraduate course on the history of Central Asia. * Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient *The collection of this large number of primary sources into a single volume in readable English translation and published in paperback will make this a widely used resource for teaching the history of Central Asia at English-language universities everywhere. * Ab Imperio *[T]he anthology is set up in an exemplary manner and the sources describe the extensive history . . . [It] will occupy an important place in studies on the history of Central Asia, the expansion of Islam, and the relationship between the peoples in the Islamic cultural world . . . * Asiatische Studien / Études Asiatiques *[T]his is a fascinating and much-needed collection. * Central Asian Survey *This careful compilation includes court chronicles, memoirs, legal documents, poetry, and more. The breadth of the coverage skillfully illustrates how Central Asia today is the result of many cultures, languages, and ethnicities. . . . Summing Up: Essential. A must for collections on Central Asia. October 2010, Vol. 48 No. 2 * Choice *Table of ContentsNote on Translation and TransliterationMapIntroductionPart 1. Central Asia in the Early Islamic Period, Seventh–Tenth Centuries Introduction A. Central Asia and the Arab Conquests B. Central Asia under the Samanids C. The Age of LearningPart 2. Encounter with the Turks Introduction A. Turkic Peoples of the Steppe B. Qarakhanids: The First Turkic Muslim State in Central Asia C. Central Asia in the Eleventh and Twelfth CenturiesPart 3. The Mongol Empire Introduction A. Temujin and the Rise of the Mongol EmpirePart 4. Timur and the Timurids Introduction A. Timur's Rise and Rule B. Central Asia in the Fifteenth CenturyPart 5. Central Asia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Introduction A. The Shïbanids and Central Asian Society in the Sixteenth Century B. Central Asia in the Seventeenth CenturyPart 6. Central Asia in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries Introduction A. The Age of Transition B. The Uzbek Tribal Dynasties C. The "Great Game" to Russian RuleGlossaryIndex

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Book SynopsisIslamic law and social movements in eight Muslim-majority countriesTrade ReviewShari'a Politics is Robert Hefner's sixth edited volume on developments in the Muslim world at large. . . [H]e has become an influential voice in the study of contemporary Islam in all its aspects. 48.4 2012 * Middle Eastern Studies *In sum, the book provides a first-rate, readable overview of 'shari'a politics' in the world today. Undoubtedly, it will be widely read and referenced across academic disciplines and by policy experts. * American Ethnologist *This interdisciplinary book challenges various misperceptions about Islamic law by revealing the dynamic relationships among the state, society, and shari'a in significant cases. It is a must reading for those who are interested in Islam, law, and politics. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *The volume edited by Hefner (anthropology, Boston Univ.) includes essays that analyze the status of Islamic law in eight countries. In Saudi Arabia and Iran, shari'a has a consolidated position in the legal system and receives popular support. In Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Egypt, shari'a is constitutionally established, but its implementation continues to be a contested issue. The other three countries reflect more diversity and complexity. In Nigeria the federal state is secular, while shari'a is in place in most of the Muslim-majority states; in Indonesia the federal state is secular, while legal codes based on shari'a were passed in 53 of 470 districts and municipalities; and Turkey is a centralized secular state. Chapters examine the impacts of colonization, state-building, and local traditions, as well as the roles of governmental and societal actors, on the diverse practices of Islamic law. The contributors successfully expose both opponents and proponents of shari'a in a balanced way. This interdisciplinary book challenges various misperceptions about Islamic law by revealing the dynamic relationships among the state, society, and shari'a in significant cases. It is a must reading for those who are interested in Islam, law, and politics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. —ChoiceMarch 2012 -- A. T. Kuru * San Diego State University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsNote on Transliteration and SpellingIntroduction: Shari'a Politics—Law and Society in the Modern Muslim World Robert W. Hefner1. Saudi Arabia: Public, Civil, and Individual Shari'a in Law and Politics Frank E. Vogel2. Egypt: Cacophony and Consensus in the Twenty-first Century Nathan J. Brown3. Iran: Shari'a Politics and the Transformation of Islamic Law Bahman Baktiari4. Turkey: Islam without Shari'a? M. Hakan Yavuz5. Afghanistan: The Local and the Global in the Practice of Shari'a T. Barfield6. Pakistan: Shari'a and the State Muhammad Qasim Zaman7. Nigeria: Mapping a Shari'a Restorationist Movement Paul M. Lubeck8. Indonesia: Shari'a Politics and Democratic Transition Robert W. HefnerList of ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisReflections on politics, loss and reconciliation in Europe and the Middle EastTrade ReviewLoss is a fundamental human condition that often leads both individuals and groups to seek redress in the form of violence . . . This book focuses on the redress of political crime in Germany and Lebanon, extending its analysis to questions of accountability and democratization in the United States and elsewhere. Feb. 2014 * Allegra *John Borneman's book provides a series of thoughtful and wide-ranging reflections on ethics and politics, drawing on scholarship in anthropology, social and political theory, and psychoanalysis, as well as extensive ethnographic fieldwork. . . . Expansive in scope, each essay is clearly written and insightful, and will appeal to a wide range of scholars concerned with issues of memory, accountability, democratization, and international geopolitics, as well as the histories and politics of Europe and the Middle East. * Intl Jrnl Middle East Studies *[T]his is an engaging, often idiosyncratic, and consistently provocative collection of essays. * PoLAR *[This]book . . . is highly relevant to a number of regional and investigative arenas, including psychological and political anthropology, as well as history, gender, and the study of violence, trauma, and reconciliation. In also seeking to bring classic anthropology into conversation with critical forms of contemporaneous anthropology, the book also serves as an example for the continuing relevance of anthropology in public and international debates. * American Ethnologist *Borneman has produced an important book, and his discussion of modes of accountability and their significance in assessing and comparing political crimes and their ongoing memory is very useful. * H-Memory *Table of ContentsPreface: Political Crime and the Memory of LossI. Accountability1. Modes of Accountability: Events of Closure, Rites of Repetition2. On Money and the Memory of Loss3. Public Apologies, Dignity, and Performative Redress4. Reconciliation after Ethnic Cleansing: Listening, Retribution, and Affiliation5. The State of War Crimes following the Israeli-Hezbollah War6. Terror, Compassion, and the Limits of Identification: Counter-Transference and Rites of Commemoration in LebanonII. Regime Change, Occupation, Democratization7. Responsibility after Military Intervention: What is Regime Change? What is Occupation?8. Does the United States want Democratization in Iraq? Anthropological Reflections on the Export of Political Form9. The External Ascription of Defeat and Collective PunishmentIII. An Anthropology of Democratic Authority10. What do Election Rituals Mean? Representation, Sacrifice, and Cynical Reason11. Politics without a Head: Is the Love Parade a New Form of Political Identification? (with Stefan Senders)12. Is the United States Europe's Other? On the Relations of Americans, Europeans, Jews, Arabs, MuslimsNotesReferences

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Book SynopsisHow the Holy Land became a site for American piety and sentimental religious imagining.Table of ContentsPreliminary Table of Contents: Introduction1. Lakeside at Chautauqua's Holy Land2. Starred and Striped Holy Lands3. Parlor Tours of the Holy Land4. Landscapes of Democracy5. Mapmakers and Their Holy LandsEpilogue: A Touch of the RealSelect BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisSheba, or Saba, is a region of high mountains and vast deserts situated in the southwest of the Arabian peninsula, in what is known today as Yemen. This book provides a detailed synthesis of this remote civilization, and the major events that shaped its history.Trade Review“[A] much needed contribution to the ancient Near East for the English-speaking world. What Jean-François Breton has produced is an impressive introductory account of our current state of knowledge of Yemen's history in the first millennium B.C. that is complementary to studies of the ancient Orient, and that will provide a more complete picture. . . . [H]is account is fresh, lively, and lucid. Breton is readable and reliable, and as fine an introduction to South Arabia as is now available in English.” —The Historian

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Book SynopsisArabic literary salons emerged in ninth-century Iraq and, by the tenth, were flourishing in Baghdad and other urban centers. In an age before broadcast media and classroom education, salons were the primary source of entertainment and escape for middle- and upper-rank members of society, serving also as a space and means for educating the young. Although salons relied on a culture of oral performance from memory, scholars of Arabic literature have focused almost exclusively on the written dimensions of the tradition. That emphasis, argues Samer Ali, has neglected the interplay of oral and written, as well as of religious and secular knowledge in salon society, and the surprising ways in which these seemingly discrete categories blurred in the lived experience of participants. Looking at the period from 500 to 1250, and using methods from European medieval studies, folklore, and cultural anthropology, Ali interprets Arabic manuscripts in order to answer fundamental questions aTrade Review“Arabic Literary Salons in the Islamic Middle Ages is a unique contribution to understanding how poetry and literature were received in medieval Islam. By brilliantly situating salons both in the context of their predecessors and in comparable European and Persian traditions, Ali shows how the mujalasat tradition shaped, and was shaped by, people from all ages and walks of life. His careful study makes this tradition, with its vibrant performative dimension, come to life for a contemporary audience.” —Dale F. Eickelman, Dartmouth College“Samer Ali has written a wonderful, very accessible book that addresses important aesthetic phenomena of the Arab Middle Ages, especially those emanating from the heart of the Abbasid Empire. A major contribution is his inclusion of new or barely considered manuscript material as well as discussion of the social dynamics of everyday life in the Arab Middle East and North Africa, little known by most westerners.” —Sabra Webber, Ohio State University“Ali provides a compelling analysis of the role Arabic literary salons played in developing historical narrative and interpreting tradition in the Islamic Middle Ages. The author approaches key literary texts of the Abbasid period as dynamic rhetorical articulations rotated and rehearsed in the salons. Advanced scholars will benefit from Ali’s interdisciplinary approach and from his refreshing reading of al-Buhturi’s poems.” —Choice“The book . . . is about the power of poetry as illustrated by events, and accounts of a particular event. It also looks at the interplay between prose and poetry in classical Arabic literary culture. Furthermore, it contributes to the long-standing debate between historians and historians of literature about how best to select and utilize material which is branded as literary for the purpose of reconstructing the past. Finally, it discusses in detail some third/ninth century poetry . . . this book has the great merit of stressing an aspect of Arabic literary culture which modern scholarship tends to disregard, and will be thought-provoking to many readers.” —The Medieval Review“More than a mere study of a medieval literary institution, Samer Ali has written a book that is sure to spur enthusiasm for the study of Arabic literature even among the most die-hard non-Arabists. . . . In comparing medieval literary salons to their ancient Greek and Middle Eastern precursors, he explains their influence on politics, social class, gender dynamics, religion, and—of course—the presumed connection between good manners (adab) and literature (ababiyyat).” —Journal of Shi’a Islamic Studies“Samer M. Ali’s book Arabic Salons in the Islamic Middle Ages traces the growth and spread of literary salons, or the mujalasat, from the pre-Islamic Middle East through the Abbasid Caliphate and beyond. . . . Highly recommended for anyone interested in this time period, Arabic literature’s development and history, the relationship of Islam to the development of the arts, and in reading a general historical book. It is certain to be an important part of medieval Middle Eastern studies and the development of academic interest and scholarship in this time period and region.” —Journal of Folklore Research“Within the increasing movement in late classical and medieval studies to focus on orality and its role in textual, cultural, and historical development, Samer Ali’s volume on medieval Arabic literary salons, the mujasala, is a welcome addition . . . . This volume takes a much-needed step towards the understanding and accessibility of medieval Arabic literary culture for medieval scholars in all fields.” —Parergon“Literary salons, known as the mujalasat, provided a social context for the performance and cultivation of Arabic poetry in Abbasid society and in later times. Samer Ali examines their origins, functions, and impact during the period when these social practices were first established in Iraq before spreading to Andalusian Spain and North Africa.” —Medium Aevum“Samer Ali’s book explores the function of medieval Arabic panegyric poetry dedicated to Abbasid caliphs in Iraq and places it in the broader context of the medieval Arabic humanities. The rich and insightful discussion of the function of major poems and the investigations of the use of literature will lead the way for future research in Arabic literature.” —Speculum“Samer Ali’s book provides…a thorough and focused analysis of those issues in the context of performance theory. In addition, I was impressed by Ali’s focus on the centrality of al-Mutawakkil’s era and assassination as turning points, but also as revealing points in the application of performance theory…and their impact on poetics and medieval Arab culture.” —Journal of Arabic Literature"This important book makes a unique contribution to the social history of Arabic literature, literacy practices, and historical consciousness. Its arguments are built on meticulous, theoretically innovative readings of some key Abbasid works in their contexts of composition and salon performance. It will be of great value to Arabists and to scholars of world comparative literature, the ethnography of literacy, and historiography in and beyond medieval studies." —Margaret A. Mills, Ohio State University

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Book SynopsisThe variety of ways in which Jews in Israel responded to and appropriated Greek culture is the subject of this volume. The contributors provide corroborating evidence of the influence of Greek culture in Judea and Galilee, from before the Maccabean revolt on into the rabbinic period.Trade Review“[A] formidable collection of the leading scholars in the field. Anyone interested in the intercultural interplay between Judaism and Hellenism in antiquity should own this fine collection of well-written and highly accessible essays.” —Choice“. . . As a whole, the book has as its principal focus the issues of acculturation, assimilation, adaptation, inculturation and implicitly ethnic aspects, which are presented by the contributors in a highly professional way, advancing by a step some hitherto neglected or inadequately analysed details.” —Ancient West & East“In reviewing the articles in the present volume, it would be impossible to do justice to each and every one. All are deserving of careful study, and each expands our horizons with respect to the topic in question. For furthering our awareness and understanding of this important phenomenon in ancient Judaism, we are profoundly indebted to the organizers of this conference, who also produced this most impressive volume of studies. This book is a must for anyone interested in investigating this most central topic in the study of ancient Jewish society.” —Journal of Biblical Literature“This important collection continues the work of discussing how and to what degree the Jews were Hellenized and a part of the Hellenistic world.” —Journal for the Study of the Old Testament“. . . Superb collection . . . Authors constitute a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ of Hellenistic Jewish scholars. . . .[F]ully indexed and carefully crafted, this volume is essential reading for those with a serious interest in the Hellenistic world.” —Religious Studies Review

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Book SynopsisArabic Disclosures presents readers with a comparative analysis of Arabic postcolonial autobiographical writing.In Arabic Disclosures Muhsin J. al-Musawi investigates the genre of autobiography within the modern tradition of Arabic literary writing from the early 1920s to the present. Al-Musawi notes in the introduction that the purpose of this work is not to survey the entirety of autobiographical writing in modern Arabic but rather to apply a rigorously identified set of characteristics and approaches culled from a variety of theoretical studies of the genre to a particular set of autobiographical works in Arabic, selected for their different methodologies, varying historical contexts within which they were conceived and written, and the equally varied lives experienced by the authors involved.The book begins in the larger context of autobiographical space, where the theories of Bourdieu, Bachelard, Bakhtin, and Lefebvre are laid out, and then coTrade Review“Arabic Disclosures is a comprehensive investigation of the specific genre of autobiography within the modern tradition of Arabic literary writing. No other source exists, whether in Arabic or any other language, that treats the genre of autobiography in modern Arabic with such comprehensive thoroughness and insight.” —Roger Allen, author of An Introduction to Arabic LiteratureTable of Contents1. Theorizing Autobiography 2. The Autobiographer in Action 3. The Arab Enlighteners 4. Writing Back: The Autobiographer’s Commitment 5. Women’s Voices / Women’s Journeys 6. Autobiographical Experimentation 7. Autobiographic Novels: An Open Door to a Fictionalized Self-Narrative 8. Autobiographical Space

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Book SynopsisArabic Literary Salons in the Islamic Middle Ages is a unique contribution to understanding how poetry and literature were received in medieval Islam. Trade Review“Arabic Literary Salons in the Islamic Middle Ages is a unique contribution to understanding how poetry and literature were received in medieval Islam. By brilliantly situating salons both in the context of their predecessors and in comparable European and Persian traditions, Ali shows how the mujalasat tradition shaped, and was shaped by, people from all ages and walks of life. His careful study makes this tradition, with its vibrant performative dimension, come to life for a contemporary audience.” —Dale F. Eickelman, Dartmouth College“Samer Ali has written a wonderful, very accessible book that addresses important aesthetic phenomena of the Arab Middle Ages, especially those emanating from the heart of the Abbasid Empire. A major contribution is his inclusion of new or barely considered manuscript material as well as discussion of the social dynamics of everyday life in the Arab Middle East and North Africa, little known by most westerners.” —Sabra Webber, Ohio State University“Ali provides a compelling analysis of the role Arabic literary salons played in developing historical narrative and interpreting tradition in the Islamic Middle Ages. The author approaches key literary texts of the Abbasid period as dynamic rhetorical articulations rotated and rehearsed in the salons. Advanced scholars will benefit from Ali’s interdisciplinary approach and from his refreshing reading of al-Buhturi’s poems.” —Choice“The book . . . is about the power of poetry as illustrated by events, and accounts of a particular event. It also looks at the interplay between prose and poetry in classical Arabic literary culture. Furthermore, it contributes to the long-standing debate between historians and historians of literature about how best to select and utilize material which is branded as literary for the purpose of reconstructing the past. Finally, it discusses in detail some third/ninth century poetry . . . this book has the great merit of stressing an aspect of Arabic literary culture which modern scholarship tends to disregard, and will be thought-provoking to many readers.” —The Medieval Review“More than a mere study of a medieval literary institution, Samer Ali has written a book that is sure to spur enthusiasm for the study of Arabic literature even among the most die-hard non-Arabists. . . . In comparing medieval literary salons to their ancient Greek and Middle Eastern precursors, he explains their influence on politics, social class, gender dynamics, religion, and—of course—the presumed connection between good manners (adab) and literature (ababiyyat).” —Journal of Shi’a Islamic Studies“Samer M. Ali’s book Arabic Salons in the Islamic Middle Ages traces the growth and spread of literary salons, or the mujalasat, from the pre-Islamic Middle East through the Abbasid Caliphate and beyond. . . . Highly recommended for anyone interested in this time period, Arabic literature’s development and history, the relationship of Islam to the development of the arts, and in reading a general historical book. It is certain to be an important part of medieval Middle Eastern studies and the development of academic interest and scholarship in this time period and region.” —Journal of Folklore Research“Within the increasing movement in late classical and medieval studies to focus on orality and its role in textual, cultural, and historical development, Samer Ali’s volume on medieval Arabic literary salons, the mujasala, is a welcome addition . . . . This volume takes a much-needed step towards the understanding and accessibility of medieval Arabic literary culture for medieval scholars in all fields.” —Parergon“Literary salons, known as the mujalasat, provided a social context for the performance and cultivation of Arabic poetry in Abbasid society and in later times. Samer Ali examines their origins, functions, and impact during the period when these social practices were first established in Iraq before spreading to Andalusian Spain and North Africa.” —Medium Aevum“Samer Ali’s book explores the function of medieval Arabic panegyric poetry dedicated to Abbasid caliphs in Iraq and places it in the broader context of the medieval Arabic humanities. The rich and insightful discussion of the function of major poems and the investigations of the use of literature will lead the way for future research in Arabic literature.” —Speculum“Samer Ali’s book provides…a thorough and focused analysis of those issues in the context of performance theory. In addition, I was impressed by Ali’s focus on the centrality of al-Mutawakkil’s era and assassination as turning points, but also as revealing points in the application of performance theory…and their impact on poetics and medieval Arab culture.” —Journal of Arabic Literature"This important book makes a unique contribution to the social history of Arabic literature, literacy practices, and historical consciousness. Its arguments are built on meticulous, theoretically innovative readings of some key Abbasid works in their contexts of composition and salon performance. It will be of great value to Arabists and to scholars of world comparative literature, the ethnography of literacy, and historiography in and beyond medieval studies." —Margaret A. Mills, Ohio State University

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Book SynopsisIn this brilliant book, ?Abdulwa?id Lu'lu'a translates and introduces eighty poems from one of the pioneers of modern Arabic poetry, Buland Al-?aidari.Buland Al-?aidari might fairly be considered the fourth pillar holding up the dome of modern Arabic poetry. Alongside his famous contemporaries Nazik al-Mala''ika, Badre Shakir Al-Sayyab, and Abdulwahhab Al-Bayyati, Al-?aidari likewise made significant contributions to the development of twentieth-century Arabic poetry, including the departure from the traditional use of two-hemistich verses in favor of what has been called the Arabic free verse form.A few of Al-?aidari's poems have been translated into English separately, but no book-length translation of his poetry has been published until now. In Buland Al-?aidari and Modern Iraqi Poetry, ?Abdulwa?id Lu'lu'a translates eighty of Al-?aidari's most important poems, giving English-speaking readers access to this rich corpus. Lu'lu'a's perceptive introductioTrade Review“Long overdue, this highly competent translation fills a major gap in our understanding of Arab literary history. No Middle East studies collection will be complete without it.” —Hussein N. Kadhim, author of The Poetics of Anti-Colonialism in the Arabic QaṣīdahTable of ContentsFrom Clay Throb (1947) 1. Semiramis 2. Autumn Echo 3. Whimper 4. Dreaming Silence 5. Boredom 6. Clay Throb 7. Shades 8. Closed Lips From Songs of the Dead City (1951) 9. Barrenness 10. Depths 11. Postman 12. Image 13. Three Signs 14. The Hypocritical Wound 15. At Night 16. Here You Are 17. Roads 18. Old Age 19. Dream 20. An Old Love 21. Slavery 22. O My Friend 23. Deceit 24. Lost Step 25. Loss 26. Where To From Steps in Exile (1965) 27. Secret 28. Old Image 29. Judahs’ Repentance 30. You Came with the Dawn 31. Bitter Land 32. I Want To 33. Tomorrow Here 34. And Tomorrow I Return 35. He Said Something to Us 36. Return to Hiroshima 37. In a Few Hours 38. A Talk for Next Saturday 39. The Eighth Journey 40. At Forty 41. To My Town 42. Steps in Exile From The Journey of Yellow Letters (1968) 43. To a Negro from Alabama 44. Disappointment of the Man of the Past 45. Desolation 46. Genesis 47. Dreaming of Return 48. Two Faces 49. Message of the Small Man 50. The Paling Salt 51. Age of Rubber Stamps 52. I Wish If 53. Short Laugh 54. The Waiting Sails 55. Suffocation 56. Call of a Nation 57. Dream of the Snow 58. At the Crossroads 59. A Child of the First War 60. Night, Cold and Wardens 61. Journey of the Yellow Letters From Songs of the Tired Guard 62. Sleeping Pills 63. Indicted, Though Innocent 64. A Call for Stupor 65. A Dream in Four Scenes 66. Expulsion 67. The Killed Witness 68. Apology 69. Between Two Points 70. Dialogue in the Bend 71. Confessions from 1961 72. Hey… You are Indicted 73. Dialogue in Three Dimensions 74. Procession of the Seven Sins 75. Call of the Seven Sins 76. Stolen Frontiers 77. Sindbad’s Eighth Journey 78. On the Verge of the Fallen World 79. Two Voices Late at Night 80. I’ll Stay Here

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive examination of Middle Eastern immigrants in Mexico, from the open-door policy of the nineteenth century to contemporary multiculturalism.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Looking for Antonio Aychur Itt and Finding Hamud Said 'Eid Chapter 1. Amplifying Mexicanidad Chapter 2. Locating Middle Easterners in National and Transnational Histories Chapter 3. Turco Sojourners Come to Porfirian Mexico Chapter 4. Borderland Merchants in Revolutionary Mexico Chapter 5. Middle Eastern Immigrants and Foreigners in Post-Revolutionary Mexico Chapter 6. Peddling, Positioning, and Prosperity Chapter 7. Conclusion: Meanings of Multiculturalism Appendix: Tables Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn intriguing portrait of Israel’s “Generation X,” and the perceived decline in Zionism among contemporary urban Israeli youth between the Palestinian uprisings that began in 1987 and 2000Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Bourgeoisification and Its Discontent Chapter 2: Popular Media in a Post-National Age Chapter 3: Etgar Keret: A Dispirited Rebel with a Cause Chapter 4: Romance as a Defiant Escape Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn anthology of international voices, exploring provocative images of Muslim women from around the globe in literature, visual arts, journalism, and other media.Trade ReviewMuslim Women in War and Crisis is a unique book….In sum, this book is an important contribution to the growing body of literature addressing the representation of, and the challenges faced by, Muslim women in the post-Cold War period. In collecting and amalgamating such a remarkably diverse group of authors, Faegheh Shirazi has provided readers with different ways of understanding Muslim women in war and crisis. * Journal of Islamic Studies *Table of Contents Note from the Editor: Transliteration and Key Terms Introduction (Faegheh Shirazi) Part I: Central and South Asia Indonesia Chapter 1. The Peace Brokers: Women of Aceh and Ambon (Sya`afatun Almirzanah) India Chapter 2. Nation and Selfhood: Memoirs of Bengali Muslim Women (Shamita Basu) Afghanistan Chapter 3. From Refugee Camp to Kabul: The Influence of Fundamentalism on Afghanistan's Politics and Women (Carol Mann) Chapter 4. Gendered Aid Interventions and Afghan Women: Images versus Realities (Lina Abirafeh) Chechnya Chapter 5. "Black Widows" in the New York Times: Images of Chechen Women Rebels (Sara Struckman) Part II: The Middle East and North Africa Iran Chapter 6. The Islamic Republic of Iran and Women's Images: Masters of Exploitation (Faegheh Shirazi) Iraq Chapter 7. Widows' Doomsday: Women and War in the Poetry of Hassan al-Nassar (Abbas Kadhim) Chapter 8. Images and Status: Visualizing Iraqi Women (Nada Shabout) Lebanon Chapter 9. In Search of Identity: Hijab Recollections from West Beirut (Nada S. Fuleihan) Chapter 10. Leadership of Lebanese Women in the Cedar Revolution (Rita Stephan) Tunisia and Algeria Chapter 11. Images of Manipulation: Subversion of Women's Rights in the Maghreb (Nadia Marzouki) Part III: Europe and the United States Former Yugoslavia Chapter 12. Images of Women in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Neighboring Countries, 1992-1995 (Zilka Spahić-Šiljak) Spain Chapter 13. Muslim Women in the Spanish Press: A Subaltern Image (Ángeles Ramírez) Great Britain Chapter 14. The 7/7 London Bombings and British Muslim Women: Media Representations, Mediated Realities (Fauzia Ahmad) United States Chapter 15. Images of Muslim Women in Post-9/11 America (Omar Sacirbey) Bibliography List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisReconstructing Beirut contributes to a new approach to Middle East studies that applies recent theories of memory and space/place, bringing a fresh framework for analyzing contemporary Arab cultures and post-conflict cities.Table of Contents A Note on Language Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One. Beirut: A City in Transition Chapter Two. Downtown in "the Ancient City of the Future" Chapter Three. `Ayn el-Mreisse: The Global Market and the Apartment Unit Chapter Four. "Beirut Is Ours, Not Theirs": Neighborhood Sites and Struggles in `Ayn el-Mreisse Chapter Five. Cafés, Funerals, and the Future of Coffee Spaces Chapter Six. Placing the War-Displaced Afterword: Reclaiming Downtown Again Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHow American military personnel and their dependents have affected the political and social evolution of Morocco.Table of Contents Foreword Preface 1. Introduction 2. “Allo, Maroc, Ici les Americains” 3. Souvenir of the G.I.—Chewing Gum 4. Civil Affairs: “A Can of Worms” 5. The War Years 6. Reestablishment of the French Colonial Regime 7. The Paradox of Long- and Short-Term Diplomacy 8. The Reign of Terror 9. Sterile Diplomacy 10. Anti-Americanism? 11. The Worth of a Good Neighbor 12. Conclusion Source Material Index

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Book SynopsisA sweeping examination of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable individuals and the myriad of problems that confront them, Children of Afghanistan not only explores the host of crises that has led the United Nations to call the country “the worst place on earth tTrade Review"This book is worth reading because it makes clear that childhood represents the future of societies and highlights the need to challenge the adultocentric view." * Allegra *Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction (Jennifer Heath) Part I. The Way We Were; The Way We're Seen Chapter 1. Before the Wars: Memories of Childhood in the Pre- Soviet Era (Amina Kator-Mubarez) Chapter 2. Narratives of Afghan Childhood: Risk, Resilience, and the Experiences that Shape the Development of Afghanistan as a People and a Nation (Anne E. Brodsky) Chapter 3. Jumping Rope in Prison: The Representation of Afghan Children in Film (Teresa Cutler-Broyles) Part II. Ties That Bind: The Family in Rebound Chapter 4. Love, Fear, and Discipline in Afghan Families (Deborah J. Smith) Chapter 5. Children Who Live with Their Mothers in Prison (Esther Hyneman) Chapter 6. Little Brides and Bridegrooms: Systemic Failure, Cultural Response (Sharifa Sharif) Part III. Survival by Any Means Possible Chapter 7. Confronting Child Labor (Amanda Sim) Chapter 8. The Parakeet Boys: Performing Education in the Streets of Kabul (Wahid Omar) Chapter 9. Child Soldiering in Afghanistan (Delphine Boutin) Chapter 10. Legal Protection: Offering Aid and Comfort (Hangama Anwari) Part IV. To Be Whole in Mind and Body Chapter 11. Children's Health: The Challenge of Survival (Steven Solter) Chapter 12. Food Security and Nutrition for Afghan Children (Fitsum Assefa, Annalies Borrel, and Charlotte Dufour) Chapter 13. Desperately Seeking Harun: Children with Disabilities (Lael Adams Mohib) Chapter 14. "Life Feeds on Hope": Family Mental Health, Culture, and Resilience (Mark Eggerman and Catherine Panter-Brick) Part V. Education: Nurturing the Future Chapter 15. Education in Transition: A Key Concern for Young Afghan Returnees (Mamiko Saito) Chapter 16. Primary and Secondary Education: Exponential Growth and Prospects for the Future (Omar Qargha) Chapter 17. Music and Literacy: A New Approach to Education (Louise M. Pascale) Part VI. Communicating Empowerment Chapter 18. "Thanks God for the Twitter and the Facebook! Thanks God for That!" (Lauryn Oates) Chapter 19. The New Storytellers of Afghanistan (Joanna Sherman) Chapter 20. Six Epiphanies: Testament to Change from Inside an Afghan Orphanage (Ian Pounds) Epilogue: Imagining the Future (Ashraf Zahedi) Selected Bibliography and Filmography About the Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"By centering activist work, Sameh presents initiatives and projects that strive to disrupt existing colonial, patriarchal narratives and ways of life to replace them with feminist solidarities and practices with the goal of increasing women’s rights for Iranian women." * Ms. Magazine *"Focusing on the women’s rights movement in Iran, Sameh (Univ. of California, Irvine) creates a portrait of the country that problematizes common understandings that are framed by dichotomous terms. As such, the book should be of interest not only to those studying women’s rights movements or Iran, but also, due to the book's method of analysis, to anyone who believes the humanities are tasked with helping us understand the dynamism, complexity, contradictoriness, and messiness of social phenomena" * Choice *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"By centering activist work, Sameh presents initiatives and projects that strive to disrupt existing colonial, patriarchal narratives and ways of life to replace them with feminist solidarities and practices with the goal of increasing women’s rights for Iranian women." * Ms. Magazine *"Focusing on the women’s rights movement in Iran, Sameh (Univ. of California, Irvine) creates a portrait of the country that problematizes common understandings that are framed by dichotomous terms. As such, the book should be of interest not only to those studying women’s rights movements or Iran, but also, due to the book's method of analysis, to anyone who believes the humanities are tasked with helping us understand the dynamism, complexity, contradictoriness, and messiness of social phenomena" * Choice *

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Book SynopsisA fascinating study of the popular culture of religious storytelling in the medieval Near EastTrade Review"This concise but thickly documented study addresses one of the most important developments in early Islam relating to the interpretation of the Quran, conversion, and the definition of Muslim identity. . . . Specialists interested in a number of diverse fields from Quran interpretation and Sufism to narrative studies and authority will find a wealth of insights in this book." * Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsContents Preface Introduction Origins and Early Controversy Storytelling and Preaching in the Late Middle Period The Social and Political Context of Preaching Storytelling, Preaching, and Knowledge Conclusion: Storytelling, Preaching and the Problem of Religious Authority in Medieval Islam Notes Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisIncreases our understanding of the history and development of the arts of the bookTrade Review"The publication of Elaine Wright’s pioneering [work] is a milestone in the history of the Islamicarts of the book. It is a truly comprehensive survey, based on a large corpus of manuscripts, of production at Shiraz between 1300 and 1452, a period that saw the steady evolution of the book as precious object." -- J.M. Rogers * Burlington Magazine *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. Illumination Early Injuid Illumination Il-Khanid Illumination Late Injuid Illumination The Evidence of Injuid and Il-Khanid Metalwork The Issues of Patronage The Sahih of the Vizier Qutbuddin Sulaymanshah A Change in Aesthetics: Illuminated Muzaffarid Manuscripts The Illumination of the Fars Malik Khatun Qur’an The Development of the Mazuffarid Style Manuscripts of the Late 1350s and 1360s The Decoration of Contemporary Metalwork The Impetus for Change The Blue-and-Gold Floral Style following the Demise of the Muzaffarids Illumination under the Jaybirds Iskandar Sultan in Shiraz and Isfahan The Illuminated Manuscripts of Iskandar Sultan Iskandar Sultan’s Role as a Patron of Manuscripts A Time of Change: From Ibrahim Sultan to the End of Timurid Rule in Shiraz The Emergence of a New Illumination Style The Introduction of a New Type of Paper The Illuminations of Ibrahim Sultan and Baysunghur Changes in the Manuscript Industry: Production and Patronage Illumination in the Years Following the Demise of Timurid Control of Shiraz 2. Codicology Textblock Format The Standard Format The Three-Sided Marginal Column Format The One-Sided Marginal Column Format Placement of Textblock on the Folio The Size and Proportions of Folios and Textblocks Folio Area Folio and Textbook Proportions: Height to Width Ratios Paper Production Paper of Laid Construction Paper of Wove Construction Flocculency of Paper Paper Color Paper Thickness Sizing and Burnishing “Wove-Like” Paper in Manuscripts of the Period 839-48 / 1435-36 to 1444-45 3. Illustration An Overview of Shiraz Styles The Basic Shirazi Mode of Painting Injuid Paintings Muzaffarid-Style Paintings Paintings of the Early Timurid, Pre-Iskander Era Paintings of Iskandar Sultan Paintings from the Time of Ibrahim Sultan to 1452 Modes of Illustration Ettinghausen’s Literary Model for the Categorization of Persian Painting The Case of Ibrahim Sultan’s Shahnama The Layout of the Folio: The Integration of Text and Image The Shahnama Manuscripts of Baysunghur and Ibrahim Sultan Folio Layout in Other Manuscripts of the Fourteenth and Early Fifteenth Centuries The Selection of Illustrations 4. Calligraphy The Evolution of Nasta’liq Script Persian Hanging Scripts The Distringuishing Traits of Naskh and Nasta’liq The Method of Analysis The Corpus of Manuscripts Results of the Script Analysis Interpretation Supporting Documentation An Overview of the Development of Natsa’liq 5. Bookbinding Construction Decoration Binding Decoration in the Fourteenth Century Binding Decoration in the First Decade of the Fifteenth Century Shiraz versus Herat: Bindings from the Time of Ibrahim Sultan and Baysunghur The Tooled Bindings of Shiraz 6. A Chronological Overview The Origins of the Classical Persian Manuscript: Changes of the Late 1350s and 1360s The Cultural and Political Milieu of Fourteenth-Century Shiraz Shiraz as a Center of Innovation The Period of Change under Iskandar Sultan The Decade of Change Following the Death of Ibrahim Sultan Conclusion Appendixes 1. Textblock Formats 2. Shahnama Translations 3. The Distribution of Text Illustrations in Shahnama Manuscripts 4. Script Analysis Tables for Individual Manuscripts 5. Manuscripts and Single Folios Cited Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe Persica is an extensive history of Assyria and Persia written by the Greek historian Ctesias around 400 BCE. Written for a Greek readership, the Persica influenced the development of both historiographic and literary traditions in Greece. It also, contends Matt Waters, is an essential but often misunderstood source for the history of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.Trade Review“A pleasure to read. Waters opens new paths in Ctesian studies, showing that the Persica is not merely the product of a Greek playing literary games, but may actually have its origins in genuine documents from the ancient Near East.”—Jan Pieter Stronk, editor and translator of Ctesias’ Persian History, Part 1“This welcome study examines how the Greek author Ctesias processed an ancient Near Eastern and Iranian body of thought into a Greek world of ideas.”—Josef Wiesehöfer, Kiel University"This book makes for a very enjoyable read. Waters’ academic diligence and expertise are closely matched by his ability to tell a story. His reassessment of Ctesias is a must-read for any doubters, or for anyone interested in the ancient Near East in general. Waters’ work should be a staple of any reading list for Achaemenid history." - Classics for All

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Book SynopsisA synthetic reconstruction of women’s religious engagement and experiences in preexilic IsraelTrade Review“This monumental book examines a wealth of data from the Bible, archaeology, and ancient Near Eastern texts and iconography to provide a clear, comprehensive, and compelling analysis of women’s religious lives in preexilic times.”—Carol Meyers, Duke University“Ackerman’s expertise as a leading historian of Israelite religion is on full display, as she weaves expert analysis of Hebrew Bible and extrabiblical sources with material culture. She grounds her extensive study of the religious traditions of ancient Israelite women with rigorously close readings of our partial and complicated texts, situating her analysis within a keen understanding of the cultures and practices of the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds. This book is an impressive contribution filling a critical need—a must read.”—Theodore J. Lewis, author of The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity“In this richly illustrated and meticulously researched book, Ackerman invites us into the homes and sacred sites of ancient Israel to witness unexpected roles for women—guarding temple entrances, making pilgrimages, and preparing offerings for the household gods.”—Cynthia R. Chapman, author of The House of the Mother: The Social Roles of Maternal Kin in Biblical Hebrew Narrative and Poetry“The culmination of decades of scholarly study, this landmark work illuminates the important and varied roles of women in ancient Israelite religion. Ackerman thoughtfully probes the where, when, and who of women’s religious life in pre-exilic Israel, insightfully situating the biblical evidence within the cultural and religious life of Iron Age Israel, as revealed by extra-biblical texts, iconography, and the archaeological record. Clearly written and richly documented, this book is most highly recommended.”—Mark S. Smith, Princeton Theological Seminary “This book will change the way you have long thought about women in the world of the Bible. It reads like a conversation with a brilliant scholar. Susan Ackerman has written wonderful things before, but this is her magnum opus. Full of intelligence and insight, it tells the story of women and Israelite religion in a new and completely compelling way.”—Karel van der Toorn, University of Amsterdam “This superb book, distilling a lifetime of scholarship, presents a fine-grained picture of women’s religion in the pre-exilic period. Innovative and erudite, it illuminates the world of the Bible in unexpected and profound ways. Ackerman’s book is a classic.”—Ronald Hendel, University of California–Berkeley

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Book SynopsisThe first full-scale account of a Persian king vilified by historyTrade Review'Recent scholarly approaches to the lives of ancient Iranian monarchs have opted for the Reception Studies approach, filtering the rulers through the long-lens of ancient and modern historiography. Not so Richard Stoneman. He boldly bucks the trend and in his Xerxes: A Persian Life proves that it is possible to write a very good biography of a long-dead Persian. He takes a cradle-to-grave (or harem-to-ossuary) approach in doing so and tackles the complex, conflicting, multi-layered sources with gusto.'-Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, THE -- Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones Times Higher Education "A biography that awakens curiosity and whets the appetite for more information."-Kirkus Reviews Kirkus Reviews "Stoneman shows Xerxes in an exciting new light."?Choice Choice "Stoneman succeeds in offering a re-examination, or a biography as he calls it, of Xerxes' life and work... A useful companion for everyone interested in the Greek-Persian wars, the civilizations of the Near East and especially those unfamiliar with the Achaemenid Empire."-Michael Iliakis, Bryn Mawr Classical Review -- Michael Iliakis Bryn Mawr

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Book SynopsisA lively analysis of the Arab Gulf states’ stunning rise to global power over the last half-century and of the daunting challenges they confront todayTrade Review“Rory Miller’s accessible and thoughtful history is an important addition to the expanding literature on the Gulf. Miller traces the evolution of the Gulf order from one that was once dominated by Britain to one in which small states make large claims… To fully understand where this alliance goes from here, Miller’s important book should prove an indispensable guide.”—Survival'Rory Miller's readable and scholarly book, Desert Kingdoms to Global Powers, is a must-read for specialists and general readers. Today we take the key roles of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others for granted. Miller has shown us, in his most accessible style, how these countries went from being some of the poorest places in the world to the wealthiest, with influence that was unimaginable just a few decades ago.'—Ambassador John Limbert, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran 'Rory Miller's timely book, Desert Kingdoms to Global Powers, enriches our knowledge and broadens our understanding of the unprecedented rise of the Arab Gulf States in world economics and politics. The book is immensely useful for academics, specialists, students and general readers about how these once neglected desert kingdoms have started to assume a global role and leadership.'—Abdullah Baabood, director of the Gulf Studies Program, Qatar University'Amidst decades of rapid development and the onset of conflicts across the Middle East, the Arab Gulf states – despite their relative size – have become hugely influential actors on the world stage, albeit rife with internal contradictions, and caught between tradition and modernity. The struggle to resolve these tensions is a prominent theme across this impressive tome. Miller expertly guides the reader across the treacherous terrain of Gulf politics, bringing the subject matter to life by offering a rich and vibrant discussion of the region. His first-hand experience in the Gulf provides an important yet highly accessible analysis of an increasingly important region. This is an excellent book that captures the vivacious nature of Gulf politics, ultimately leaving the reader eager for more.'—Simon Mabon, author of Saudi Arabia and Iran: Power and Rivalry in the Middle East 'Rory Miller puts collective enterprise and individual achievement at the heart of an integrated perspective on the Gulf states which weaves together complex strands of oil, leadership and geopolitics. This factually rich and up-to-date account reveals how each state has pursued its own type of modernity, state security and social stability since the heyday of the nationalization of oil production, and illuminates the ways in which the American security guarantee, post-colonial sovereignty issues and the persistence of illiberal regimes have also shaped diplomatic strategies and policy adaptations. As China and Russia raise their stakes in the region, the Gulf States once again face challenges to policy autonomy in the face of rising pressures. Desert Kingdoms to Global Powers delivers the key to understanding the renewed importance of the region today and in the coming years.'—Dr Kun-Chin Lin, Director, Centre for Rising Powers, University of Cambridge

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Book SynopsisA novel approach to Israelite kinship, arguing that maternal kinship bonds played key social, economic, and political roles for a son who aspired to inherit his father's householdTrade ReviewCo-winner of the 2017 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award in the Best Book Relating to the Hebrew Bible category.“In this extraordinarily important study, Cynthia Chapman sheds light on numerous enigmatic biblical passages and has made a major contribution to our understanding of Israel’s social world. Chapman is a pioneer in the study of women’s kinship.”—Robert R. Wilson, Yale Divinity School “With methodological sophistication, Cynthia Chapman explores evidence of maternal kin from the Hebrew Bible and ancient Levant. Her work is both wisely cautious and creatively daring, an exciting new contribution to both biblical studies and the wider field of cultural studies.”—Susan Niditch, Amherst College“A methodological tour de force reassessing ancient Israelite social history, informed by keen exegeses and new insights, expressed in crystalline prose, a major new contribution to understanding how women’s lives shaped biblical narratives—Chapman’s book qualifies as a landmark in the field.”—David S. Vanderhooft, Boston College

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Book SynopsisThe true story of the Taliban’s remarkable resurgence in Pakistan and war-torn Afghanistan more than a decade after the U.S. military’s post-9/11 incursionTrade Review'Hassan Abbas is one of the world's leading experts on the militant groups of South Asia. In The Taliban Revival he charts the resurgence of the Taliban on both sides of the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. The book is well written, deeply researched, analytically sharp and is an important contribution to our understanding of the Taliban.' - Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: From 9/11 to Abbottabad - The Ten-Year Search for Osama bin Laden 'A comprehensive, wise, and highly readable assessment of how mistaken policy choices have led to the revival of the Taliban. Hassan Abbas, one of the world's leading experts on the region, shows how regional powers, donor nations, and NATO have pursued their own narrow, short-term interests in the region, often to the detriment of the Afghan people. The result is that Afghanistan still lacks the schools and law-enforcement personnel that are required to fight the distorted version of Islam, and the crime, that the Taliban spreads. Anyone interested in the Taliban and south-west Asia will be saddened, fascinated, and instructed.' - Jessica Stern, author of Terror in the Name of God: Why Religios Militants Kill

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Book SynopsisIn the rapidly changing world of the early Middle Ages, depictions of the cosmos represented a consistent point of reference across the three dominant statesthe Frankish, Byzantine, and Islamic Empires. As these empires diverged from their Greco-Roman roots between 700 and 1000 A.D. and established distinctive medieval artistic traditions, cosmic imagery created a web of visual continuity, though local meanings of these images varied greatly. Benjamin Anderson uses thrones, tables, mantles, frescoes, and manuscripts to show how cosmological motifs informed relationships between individuals, especially the ruling elite, and communities, demonstrating how domestic and global politics informed the production and reception of these depictions. The first book to consider such imagery across the dramatically diverse cultures of Western Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic Middle East, Cosmos and Community in Early Medieval Art illuminates the distinctions between the cosmological art of these three cultural spheres, and reasserts the centrality of astronomical imagery to the study of art history.Trade Review“Anderson should be commended for his ambitious and refreshing approach.… Well organized and clear in its thesis, Anderson’s book is a strong contribution.”—Dorothy Hoogland Verkerk, caa.reviewsWinner of the College Art Association's 2018 Charles Rufus Morey Book AwardWinner of the the 2020 Karen Gould Prize in Art History, sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America“Anderson has a serious achievement here: tightly focused and deeply learned, Cosmos and Community in Early Medieval Art will set a new course, providing new pivots for our arguments.”—Glenn Peers, The University of Texas at Austin“Benjamin Anderson provides a richly textured sense of the degree to which aspects of princely exclusivity and scholarly community associated with this art depended on each other. No existing study attempts to explain the differences between the cosmological art of these three cultural spheres in such a thoughtful way.”—Persis Berlekamp, The University of Chicago

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Book SynopsisA panoramic, provocative account of the clash between British imperialism and Arab jihadism in Africa between 1870 and 1920Trade Review“Superb, compelling, exuberantly written…Filled with fascinating but sensitive portraits and cliche-busting, balanced analysis. Radical but nuanced, Faulkner changes the way we think about the subject.”—Simon Sebag Montefiore, BBC History Magazine ‘Books of the Year’ “Faulkner tells the earlier story of British imperialism in northeast Africa...[and] is right to say the British decision to reconquer the Sudan in the 1890s was not from fear of jihadism, but concern that the French might seize the headwaters of the Nile.”—James Barr, The Times “Neil Faulkner’s Empire and Jihad: The Anglo-Arab Wars of 1870–1920 is about missions and beliefs, dubious political schemes and still more dubious wars, jingoism and jihad. But, above all, it is about people. . . . Senselessness and sorrow hang heavily over Mr. Faulkner’s vivid North-East African panorama; its viewer will never again look at an antique piano or billiard ball the same way.”—Maxwell Carter, Wall Street Journal ‘Neil Faulkner has written an epic account of the British Empire’s activities in Africa and the Middle East. His book has the rare virtue of combining scholarship and readability and is informed throughout by an uncompromising radicalism. An important, indeed tremendous, contribution.’—John Newsinger, author of The Blood Never Dried: A People’s History of the British Empire ‘Empire and Jihad will become necessary reading for any historian of the modern Middle East. Knowledgeable and critical of the Western historiography, it is a salient if not sobering bridge between the Anglo-Arab Wars of the nineteenth century and the “war on terror” in the twenty-first century.’—Warren Dockter, author of Churchill and the Islamic World ‘Faulkner examines the great question that hung over nineteenth-century Africa: who would control it? For most Africans, Tory jingo and Mahdist jihad were two faces of one coin. The inevitable losers, as always, were the dispossessed multitudes, “the wretched of the earth”. This is their story as much as it is that of Gordon, Kitchener, and the “Mad Mullah”, and it is grippingly told.’—Tim Mackintosh-Smith, author of Arabs

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A highly scholarly and perceptive book about a complicated, enigmatic dynasty: the Fatimids. The author explains the meaning of early Fatimid architecture in Tunisia and Egypt by probing their sectarian identity and bid for political legitimacy.”—D. Fairchild Ruggles, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign“This book offers a new reading of Fatimid architecture and urbanism, using texts, archaeology, and monuments to explore artistic creation—and destruction—against a backdrop of contested medieval religious identities and the negotiation of sectarian differences.”—Glaire Anderson, University of Edinburgh

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Goodman’s thinking is original and daring, and his exposition clear and concise. The book is buzzing with eye-opening insights and satisfying turns of phrase.”—Robin Moss, Fathom“What a delight to once again read the wisdom, relish the immense scholarship, experience the passion, and hear the singular voice of Micah Goodman. The Wondering Jew is a modern Jewish classic, an essential read for all those who care about the future of Judaism, of Israel, and the Jewish people.”—Michael B. Oren, author of Six Days of War“With this masterwork, Goodman completes his great project, begun with his previous book, Catch-67, of analyzing and helping heal Israel’s political and cultural rifts. This book will help American readers understand why Micah Goodman is regarded by his fellow Israelis as one of the few indispensable voices of this generation.”—Yossi Klein Halevi, Shalom Hartman Institute and author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor“In The Wondering Jew, Micah Goodman tackles Israel’s religious-secular divide, pointing to the insights and contributions of each side, bravely imagining a renewed Israeli Judaism that might speak to and inspire both.”—Daniel Gordis, author of Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn“Fluidly written and brimming with original insights, this brilliant book acutely frames the contours of Israeli Jewish thought and identity.”—Yehudah Mirsky, Brandeis University, author of Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution“What a joy it is to read Micah Goodman's calm, intelligent and authoritative analysis of the explosive divide between the religious and the secular. His cogent solutions offer healing and hope for all of society. This book is not just important--it's necessary.”—Francine Klagsbrun, author of Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel

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Book SynopsisTracing the currents of change that unite the visual and material culture of the Islamic world across space and timeTrade Review“[The Seas and the Mobility of Islamic Art] is a very welcome and admirable contribution to a topic right at the forefront of the study of Islamic visual and cultural material and should provide an excellent model for future symposium-related publications.”—Cailah Jackson, English Historical Review

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Book SynopsisA lively new biography of Tutankhamun—published for the hundredth anniversary of his tomb’s modern discoveryTrade Review“Using the most up-to-date archaeological and art historical evidence, Shaw presents his preferred version of Tutankhamun’s life robustly and well, with a view to presenting Tutankhamun as a living, breathing human being rather than a demi-god. . . . The book requires little previous knowledge of ancient Egypt, if any, and is highly recommended as an introduction to Tutankhamun’s world.”—Nigel Fletcher-Jones, thepast.com“An ideal introduction for those new to the field, and a comprehensive survey for those who have been fortunate to see many of the tomb treasures since they have been exhibited from 1962 onwards.”—Nicholas Cranfield, Church Times"Overall, this is a lively and readable book, which should encourage a continuing fascination with the young pharaoh."—Hilary Forrest, Ancient Egypt Magazine“Shaw’s compelling portrait of the young pharaoh in life and in death is based on the latest research and impeccable sources. Here we move far beyond Carter and Carnarvon into the life of the king himself. This brilliant achievement will appeal to anyone interested in archaeology and ancient Egypt. A lovely book!”—Brian Fagan, author of Lord and Pharaoh“A fascinating, up-to-date and superbly well-informed account of Egypt’s most famous Pharaoh. Shaw has done a wonderful job.”—Robert Twigger, author of Red Nile“This exceptional account not only brings the reign of Tutankhamun back to life, it also shows the ruler in a new light, not only as king of ancient Egypt, but as a human being.”—Christina Geisen, University of Cambridge“Tutankhamun and his tomb have captured the hearts of all of us. His story contains the thrill of magic and curses. This book brings with it more magic with a new take on the time of the golden boy.”—Zahi Hawass, author of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs“Shaw writes in an engaging manner, with the erudition of a scholar and the flair of a journalist.”—Ronald J. Leprohon, University of Toronto

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary true story of Polish-Jewish child refugees who escaped the Nazis and found refuge in Iran.Trade Review"... a highly personal, journalistic memoir and a valuable addition to Holocaust history... What makes Dekel’s study so valuable is not just its assiduous detailing of one family’s fate during the second world war, but how it also makes us reflect on our current era, with its mass migrations of desperate people fleeing conflict and hardship only to meet inflamed nativism and the desire to shift responsibility for their fate from one country on to the next." -- The Guardian"Tehran Children is the story of Dekel’s quest to understand where her father came from […] that speaks to the terrors of the twenty-first century." -- Times Literary Supplement"The story at the center of this book is the way contingency shaped so many destinies. It makes these Tehran children not simply another detail of the Holocaust but a matter of enduring existential, psychological and moral reflection." -- Jonathan Brent - The New York Times Book Review"... intriguing story…" -- The International New York Times"Groundbreaking... The strength of Dekel’s book is that it moves beyond the narrative binary of “warm hospitality” and “abuse” to show the grey spaces in between... it is hope that lies at the center of this moving, heartbreaking testimony... hope that untold suffering can, and sometimes does, come to an end." -- Arash Azizi - Iran Wire"Part-history, part second-generation memoir, Tehran Children sheds light on a previously neglected episode of the Holocaust." -- Jerusalem Report"... compelling and personal narrative...This book is an important part of Holocaust history. A tragic story, full of sadness and suffering yet also hope." -- Methodist Recorder

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Book SynopsisThe accounts of ten major conflicts in and around Jerusalem show how the battles of yesterday become the propaganda of today.Trade Review[An] absorbing account of archaeological history, from the ancient Israelites' first conquest to today's second intifada. Cline clearly lays out the fascinating history behind the conflicts." — USA Today"Jerusalem Besieged is a fascinating account of how and why a baffling array of peoples, ideologies, and religions have fought for some 3,000 years over a city without either great wealth, size, or strategic importance. Cline guides us through the baffling, but always bloody, array of Jewish, Roman, Moslem, Crusader, Ottoman, Western, Arab, and Israeli fights for possession of such a symbolic prize in a manner that is both scholarly and engaging." — Victor Davis Hanson, Stanford University; author of The Other Greeks, and Carnage and Culture"A beautifully lucid presentation of five thousand years of history in a single volume. Cline writes primarily as an archaeologist - avoiding polemic and offering evidence for any religious claims - yet he has also incorporated much journalistic material into this study. Jerusalem Besieged will enlighten anyone interested in the history of military conflict in and around Jerusalem." —Col. Rose Mary Sheldon, Virginia Military Institute

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Book SynopsisThis text paints a portrait of Palestinian society on the verge of modernity. Through the voices of merchants, peasants and Ottoman officials, the book investigates the ways in which urban-rural dynamics in a provincial setting gave meaning to Ottoman rule and European economic expansion.Table of ContentsList of Maps, Plates, and Tables Preface List of Abbreviations Note on Translation and Transliteration INTRODUCTION: PALESTINE AND THE OTTOMAN INTERIOR Toward a History of Provincial Life in the Ottoman Interior Rethinking Ottoman Palestine Sources Approach and Methodology 1. THE MEANINGS OF AUTONOMY Jabal Nablus as a Social Space Boundaries in Time and Space Conclusion 2. FAMILY, CULTURE, AND TRADE Textile Merchants The Arafat Family Regional Trade Networks Local Trade Networks Conclusion J· COTTON, TEXTILES, AND THE POLITICS OF TRADE Cotton and the Politics of Monopoly The Politics of Free Trade Textiles: Resilience and Restructuring Conclusion 4· THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF OLIVE OIL From the Hands of the Peasants A Forced Marriage? Redefining Identity and Political Authority Conclusion 5. SOAP, CLASS, AND STATE Soap and the Economy Soap and Society Soap and the State Conclusion CONCLUSION The Labyrinthine Journey The Discourses of Modernity Appendix 1. Weights and Measures Appendix 2. Court Records, Judges, and Private Family Papers Appendix 3· Soap Factories and the Process of Production Glossary Notes Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisExplores the mutually formative interactions between the Arab and Jewish working classes, labor movements, and worker-oriented political parties in Palestine just before and during the period of British colonial rule. This book avoids treating the Arab and Jewish communities as if they developed independently of each other.

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Book SynopsisFor most of the 20th century, considered opinion in the US regarding Palestine has favored the inherent right of Jews to exist in the Holy Land. That Palestinians, as a native population, could claim the same right has been largely ignored. This book shows how the endurance of such assumptions has impeded a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Trade Review"Breaks new ground through the sheer scope of its analysis, tracing 130 years of formulation of American perceptions of the Middle East and their ultimate manifestation in U.S. government policy. It is unhesitatingly recommended, as a standard text, to anyone wishing to better understand the conflict." - Nigel Parry, Middle East International "There is no shrewder observer of the American-Palestinian-Israeli triangle. Christison has written a masterful treatise on how it is that the United States managed to ignore the Palestinians for a century." - Donald Neff, Journal of Palestine Studies "After reading this book, it will be impossible not to wince the next time a representative of the U.S. government describes America as an honest broker." - Lawrence Davidson, Middle East JournalTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Palestinians in the Nineteenth-Century Mind 2. Woodrow Wilson: "Rising Above" Self-Determination 3· Franklin Roosevelt: Locked In 4· Harry Truman: History Belongs to the Victors 5· Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson: Possession Is Nine-Tenths of the Law 6. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford: An Unrecognizable Episode 7· Jimmy Carter: Making a Difference 8. Ronald Reagan: Missed Opportunities 9· George Bush: No Illusions 10. The Pictures in Our Heads 11. Afterword: Clinton's Legacy Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFeatures the translations of eighteen classical Chinese texts from the mid-ninth century (Tang dynasty) through the late nineteenth century (Qing dynasty) that offer a comprehensive collection of primary sources focusing on gender issues in medieval and late imperial China.Trade Review"This important volume adds a significant number of new and unique materials for teachers at all levels of higher education to use in classroom and seminar discussion about the issues of gender, society, and religion in imperial China." - Benjamin Elman, author of A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China "The eighteen primary documents in this anthology, all of them translated for the first time, provide a rich array of sources on the lives of women in China's past. The anthology is important not only for the selection of documents but for the ways it suggests we can think about, and find sources about, women in China. It is must reading for scholars and students alike." - Ann Waltner, author of The World of a Late Ming Visionary. T'an-Yang-Tzu and Her Followers"Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Editors' Introduction Guide for Students and Teachers 1. Biography of the Daoist Saint Wang Fengxian by Du Guangting (850 - 933) Translated by Suzanne Cahill This biography of an important Daoist female saint of the mid-ninth century chronicles her life from childhood through her spiritual self-cultivation, culminating in her ascension to heaven. 2. Biography of the Great Compassionate One of Xiangshan by Jiang Zhiqi (1031 - 1104) Translated by Chun-fang Yu The earliest documentary evidence of the legend of Miaoshan, this stone inscription shows how the local story of a Chinese princess became identified with a universal Buddhist deity, the Bodhisattva Guanyin. 3. The Book of Filial Piety for Women Attributed to a Woman Nee Zheng (ca. 730) Translated by Patricia Buckley Ebrey The excerpt from this classic appears opposite corresponding passages from the original Book of Filial Piety to highlight the differences gender makes in the text and its messages. 4. Funerary Writings by Chen Liang (1143-1194) Translated by Beverly Bossler These three funerary odes describe how the funeral tablets of Chen Liang's mother's family came to be in his care, how his mother and her sister decided to marry their children together, and how his sister sustained her natal household during a period of family calamity. Along with the commemorative biography that follows, they open important windows on domestic life and family values during the period following the fall of the Northern Song. 5. "The Customs of Various Barbarians" by Li Jing (1251 - ?) Translated by Jacqueline M. Armijo-Hussein This description of minority peoples from a Yuan dynasty official's record of his experiences in Yunnan province illustrates how views of gender relations and especially sexual practices served as a measure of the level of civilization among non-Han populations. 6. Selected Writings by Luo Rufang (1515 - 1588) Translated by Yu-Yin Cheng In these writings scholar and philosopher Luo Rufang celebrates women who pursue intellectual and philosophical interests. He also champions the virtue of motherly nurturance and love, which he considered as important as the central Confucian virtues of filial piety and brotherly respect. 7. Final Instructions by Yang Jisheng (1516 - 1555) Translated by Beverly Bossler Composed in prison, these notes instruct Yang's wife and sons how to get along without him. His foremost concerns are three: that his family not become the subject of ridicule, that his sons get along with one another, and that his wife--who had already proven herself the moral conscience of the family--not commit suicide. 8. "Record of Past Karma" by Ji Xian (1614 - 1683) Translated by Grace S. Fong This autobiographical essay by the woman poet Ji Xian , with its powerful descriptions of dreams, visions, and personal illness, is unusually self-revelatory of the tensions between her personal religious desires and her obligations to her family. 9. "Letter to My Sons" by Gu Ruopu (1592 - ca.1681) Translated by Dorothy Ko Having seen to it that both sons married capable and learned wives, Hangzhou poet Gu Ruopu, virtuous widow and matriarch of the Huang family, decided to divide the family property and establish separate households for them. In this letter Gu outlines her support for the Confucian ideal of familism, but admonishes her sons to recognize women's indispensable roles in the male-centered kinship system. 10. Personal Letters in Seventeenth-Century Epistolary Guides Translated by Kathryn Lowry The large number of epistolary guides and collected letters published in the late Ming include models for letters to family members as well as a few examples of love letters and provide a unique view of the social universe of that period. The love letters translated here show how this genre can be read as a sort of epistolary fiction and raise questions about how people might have consulted letter-writing manuals for reasons beyond social etiquette. 11. Letters by Women of the Ming-Qing Period Translated by Yu-Yin Cheng These short letters, written in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, reveal the erudition and wit as well as the spiritual and aesthetic sensibilities of highly educated upper-class women. 12. Selected Short Works by Wang Duanshu (1621 - after 1701) Translated by Ellen Widmer These short selections from the works of one of the earliest anthologists of women's writings display the extraordinary range and breadth of her learning, while revealing her personal, aesthetic, and scholarly sensibilities. 13. Two Ghost Stories from Liaozhai's Records of the Strange by Pu Songling (1640 - 1715) Translated by Judith T. Zeitlin The ghost story, authored by men and narrated from the male point of view, is one of the privileged spaces in Chinese literature for exploring fantasies of gender and sexuality. Such tales often involve a passionate affair between a young scholar and a beautiful female ghost who possesses a surprising degree of corporeality. The two late imperial tales translated here share two related themes: the power of love to triumph over death and the cosmic power of male generativity. 14. Two Biographies by Zhang Xuecheng (1738 - 1801) Translated by Susan Mann These biographies by one of the most distinguished scholars of the Qing period breathe life into views of women that are sometimes dismissed as mere conventions or stereotypes. In both texts we see, through men's eyes, how women took responsibility for setting the standards to measure and criticize men's behavior. 15. Poems on Tea-Picking Translated by Weijing Lu These poems about women at work, written mostly by men and spanning the dynasties from Tang through Qing, display the varied meanings of women's work in the poetic imagery of elite writers and point to the ways in which women as literary subjects supplied a ceaseless range of possibilities for inventive poets over time. The poems also show the subtle relationship between poetry as social criticism and poetry as aesthetic performance in the culture of the late imperial elite. 16. Drinking Wine and Reading "Encountering Sorrow": A Reflection in Disguise by Wu Zao (1799 - 1862) Translated by Sophie Volpp In this dramatic tableau the playwright casts herself as the sole speaker. She poses before a portrait of herself cross-dressed as a male scholar and sings to the portrait a sequence of lyrics describing her frustrations as a woman of talent. The text concludes that none but her cross-dressed self-image is a match for the writer herself. Hangzhou poet and official Chen Wenshu, a noted patron of female writers, wrote a collection of poems celebrating this work. 17. A Brief Record of the Eastern Ocean by Ding Shaoyi (fl. 1847) Translated by Emma Jinhua Teng During his eight-month stay in Taiwan in 1847 Ding Shaoyi wrote the Brief Record, which treats sixteen topics, among them: taxes, schools, coastal defense, local products, "savage" villages, "savage" customs, and marvels. When he returned to Taiwan in 1871 he appended new material to each item in his original account. The passage translated here is Ding's 1871 supplement to his original entry titled "Savage Customs." 18. The "Eating Crabs" Youth Book Translated by Mark C. Elliott This anonymous bilingual text, in Manchu and Chinese, reflects the complex ethnic picture in late imperial China, particularly in and around Beijing. Youth books were a form of oral performance very popular in the Qing capital. In this particular one, the story is told of a hapless Manchu bannerman and his shrewish Han Chinese wife who run afoul of a pot of feisty crabs. Glossaries and References Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisDespite being securely entrenched in power and having suppressed all political opposition, the Ba'thist regime that ruled Iraq from 1968 to 2003 still felt the need to engage in a massive rewriting of the nation's history and cultural heritage - in both its high and popular forms. As this book makes clear, the regime's effort to restructure understandings of the past was an attempt to expunge a powerful tendency in the Iraqi nationalist movement that advocated cultural pluralism, political participation, and social justice. Based on interviews with Iraqi intellectuals under the regime of Saddam Husayn, and with Iraqi expatriates and on publications from Iraq both before and during Ba'thist rule, Memories of State is an eye-opening look at one of the most important and misunderstood countries in the Middle East. This timely study also asks what the possibilities are for promoting civil society and a transition to democratic rule in post-Ba'thist Iraq.Trade Review"Eric Davis eschews traditional histories of Iraq that have tended to emphasize political personalities and struggles amongst them, and focuses instead on the relationships between culture and political control, civil society and state institutions, and intellectuals and policy makers. The result is an innovative and multi-layered analysis that is a pleasure to read." - Adeed Dawish, author or Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: From Triumph to Despair"Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Formation of the Iraqi Intelligentsia and Modern Historical Memory 3. Nationalism, Memory, and the Decline of the Monarchical State 4. Memory, the Intelligentsia, and the Antinomies of Civil Society, 1945--1958 5. The Crucible: The July 1958 Revolution and the Struggle over Historical Memory 6. Memories of State Ascendant, 1968--1979 7. Memories of State in Decline, 1979--1990 8. Memories of State and the Arts of Resistance 9. Memories of State or Memories of the People? Iraq Following the Gulf War 10. Conclusion Appendix: Charter 91 Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA work on Jewish communities in the medieval Mediterranean world that offers an unparalleled view of how people lived, traveled, worshiped, and conducted their economic and social affairs.

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