Middle Eastern history Books
University of California Press Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema
Book SynopsisA free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more atwww.luminosoa.org. In this book, Deborah A. Starr recuperates the work of Togo Mizrahi, a pioneer of Egyptian cinema. Mizrahi, an Egyptian Jew with Italian nationality, established himself as a prolific director of popular comedies and musicals in the 1930s and 1940s. As a studio owner and producer, Mizrahi promoted the idea that developing a local cinema industry was a project of national importance. Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema integrates film analysis with film history to tease out the cultural and political implications of Mizrahi's work. His movies, Starr argues, subvert dominant notions of race, gender, and nationality through their playfuland queeruse of masquerade and mistaken identity. Taken together, Mizrahi's films offer a hopeful vision of a pluralist Egypt. By reevaluating Mizrahi's contributions to Egyptian culture, Starr challenges readers to reconsider the debates over who is Egyptian and what constitutes national cinema. Trade Review"Deborah A. Starr’s study of the pioneering Jewish-Egyptian film-maker Togo Mizrahi has arrived at a good time. . . . wherever this goes in the future, Togo Mizrahi’s Levantine dreams look very appealing from where we are now." * Times Literary Supplement *"The cinema of Togo Mizrahi is a vital contribution not only to Arab cinema but to the understanding of a region whose heterogeneity is methodically ignored." * New Arab *"Offers a complex and subtle analysis of a neglected and important figure—and suggests new ways of thinking about Muslim-Jewish interactions." * Markaz Review *"“Starr’s book recuperates this cinematic history through its welcome account of the pluralistic, hugely entertaining, and popular cinema of Mizrahi and, by extension, by making a case for why Mizrahi and other Alexandrians––Jewish, Greek, Italian, or otherwise––of his era were every bit as Egyptian as their citizen compatriots. . . . Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema will undoubtedly be a valuable resource for film scholars and students of early cinema in Egypt and for its contribution to thinking of cinema outside national histories." * Critical Inquiry *"Starr wonderfully recaptures a pre-1948 Egypt in which Jews enjoyed a level of coexistence with their Arab neighbors." * Sephardic Horizons *"In her detailed examination of Mizrahi’s oeuvre, Starr contributes to our understanding of the Egyptian movie industry and the role of Jews in its development. Of special emphasis is the treatment of indigenous people holding foreign citizenship in this process. The study is also of importance to women and gender studies, examining queerness and the role of both Jewish and Muslim women in the entertainment industry." * Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews *
£27.00
University of California Press Archipelago of Resettlement
Book SynopsisA free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. What happens when refugees encounter Indigenous sovereignty struggles in the countries of their resettlement? From April to November 1975, the US military processed over 112,000 Vietnamese refugees on the unincorporated territory of Guam; from 1977 to 1979, the State of Israel granted asylum and citizenship to 366 non-Jewish Vietnamese refugees. Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi analyzes these two cases to theorize what she calls the refugee settler condition: the fraught positionality of refugee subjects whose resettlement in a settler colonial state is predicated on the unjust dispossession of an Indigenous population. This groundbreaking book explores two forms of critical geography: first, archipelagos of empire, examining how the Vietnam War is linked to the US military buildup in Guam and unwavering support of Israel, and second, corresponding archipelagos of trans-Indigenous resistance, tracing how
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University of California Press The Olive Branch from Palestine
Book SynopsisThe Olive Branch from Palestine provides a new narrative of the Palestinian effort to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and offers a bold plan for ending this conflict today, a proposal that focuses on Palestinian agency and the power of the Palestinians to bring about the two-state solution, even in the absence of a fully committed Israeli partner. In part 1, Jerome Segal provides an analytical and historical study of the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence, a remarkable act of unilateral peacemaking through which the PLO accepted the legitimacy of the 1947 Partition Resolution and thereby redefined Palestinian nationalism. In part 2, he proposes a new strategy in which, outside of negotiations, the Palestinians would advance, in full detail, the end-of-claims/end-of-conflict peace plan they are prepared to sign, one that powerfully addresses the Palestinian refugee question and is supported by the refugees themselves yet does not undermine Israel as a Jewish-majority Table of ContentsContents Foreword, by Noam Chomsky Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 • The Unilateral Surprise 2 • The Evolution of the Palestine Liberation Organization Prior to the Declaration 3 • 1988: Leading Up to the Declaration 4 • How the Declaration Was Drafted 5 • Darwish 6 • Two Declarations: Israeli and Palestinian Side by Side 7 • Reactions to the Declaration and Meeting the US Conditions 8 • The Struggle with the United States over Recognition of the New State 9 • PLO Strategy and the Declaration 10 • Early Statehood and Opportunities to Return to the Declaration 11 • The Path Out of the Current Impasse: Palestinian Peacemaking Conclusion: The Significance of the Declaration Appendix: State of Palestine Declaration of Independence Notes Index
£22.50
University of California Press In the Shade of the Sunna
Book SynopsisSalafis explicitly base their legitimacy on continuity with the Quran and the Sunna, and their distinctive practicespraying in shoes, wearing long beards and short pants, and observing gender segregationare understood to have a similarly ancient pedigree. In this book, however, Aaron Rock-Singer draws from a range of media forms as well as traditional religious texts to demonstrate that Salafism is a creation of the twentieth century and that its signature practices emerged primarily out of Salafis' competition with other social movements amid the intellectual and social upheavals of modernity. In the Shade of the Sunna thus takes readers beyond the surface claims of Salafism's own proponentsand the academics who often repeat theminto the larger sociocultural and intellectual forces that have shaped Islam's fastest growing revivalist movement.Trade Review"In the Shade of the Sunna [is] an indispensable reference for those interested in Salafism or Islam and, more broadly, for those intent on exploring the complicated but nevertheless constitutive entanglements between religious tradition and modernity." * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments The Ethics of an Orphan Image A Note on Transliteration and Spelling Introduction 1. The Roots of Salafism: Strands of an Unorthodox Past, 1926–1970 2. Conquering Custom in the Name of Tawhid: The Salafi Expansion of Worship 3. Praying in Shoes: How to Sideline a Practice of the Prophet 4. The Salafi Mystique: From Fitna to Gender Segregation 5. Leading With a Fist: The Genesis and Consolidation of a Salafi Beard 6. Between Pants and the Jallabiyya: The Adoption of Isbal and the Battle for Authenticity Conclusion Bibliography Index
£64.00
University of California Press In the Shade of the Sunna
Book SynopsisSalafis explicitly base their legitimacy on continuity with the Quran and the Sunna, and their distinctive practicespraying in shoes, wearing long beards and short pants, and observing gender segregationare understood to have a similarly ancient pedigree. In this book, however, Aaron Rock-Singer draws from a range of media forms as well as traditional religious texts to demonstrate that Salafism is a creation of the twentieth century and that its signature practices emerged primarily out of Salafis' competition with other social movements amid the intellectual and social upheavals of modernity. In the Shade of the Sunna thus takes readers beyond the surface claims of Salafism's own proponentsand the academics who often repeat theminto the larger sociocultural and intellectual forces that have shaped Islam's fastest growing revivalist movement.Trade Review"In the Shade of the Sunna [is] an indispensable reference for those interested in Salafism or Islam and, more broadly, for those intent on exploring the complicated but nevertheless constitutive entanglements between religious tradition and modernity." * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments The Ethics of an Orphan Image A Note on Transliteration and Spelling Introduction 1. The Roots of Salafism: Strands of an Unorthodox Past, 1926–1970 2. Conquering Custom in the Name of Tawhid: The Salafi Expansion of Worship 3. Praying in Shoes: How to Sideline a Practice of the Prophet 4. The Salafi Mystique: From Fitna to Gender Segregation 5. Leading With a Fist: The Genesis and Consolidation of a Salafi Beard 6. Between Pants and the Jallabiyya: The Adoption of Isbal and the Battle for Authenticity Conclusion Bibliography Index
£27.00
University of California Press Camera Palaestina
Book Synopsis
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University of California Press Tales of High Priests and Taxes
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Remarkably comprehensive . . . Tales of High Priests and Taxes deserves to be at the center of discussion in the coming years." * Journal of Jewish Studies *"Honigman presents a sophisticated, encompassing, and ultimately persuasive reconstruction of the political, economic, cultural and literary forces at work that resulted in the production of these two puzzling books." * Heythrop Journal *Table of ContentsPreface and AcknowledgmentsGeneral IntroductionPART I. IOUDAÏSMOS: 1 AND 2 MACCABEES AS DYNASTIC HISTORYMethodological Introduction: The Modern Semantic Categories of “Religion” and “Politics” and Ancient Societies1. 2 Maccabees as Dynastic History2. Temple Foundation and Royal Legitimacy: A Narrative Pattern and Its Message3. Ioudaïsmos as the Legitimate Social Order Founded by Judas Maccabee4. Royal High Priests and Temple Foundation: The Narrative Pattern and the Hasmonean Political Order Conclusion PART II. HELLENISMOS: THE CAUSES OF THE REBELLION ACCORDING TO THE AUTHORS OF 1 AND 2 MACCABEESMethodological Introduction: Symbolic Universe, Cultural Codes, and Causal Analysis in 1 and 2 Maccabees 5. Hellenismos: The Social Order of the Wicked Rivals in 1 and 2 Maccabees 6. The “Religious Persecution” in the Light of Ancient Judean Cultural and Narrative Codes 7. The Causes of the Rebellion according to 1 and 2 Maccabees Conclusion PART III. HISTORY: THE JUDEAN REBELLION IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, 200–164 B.C.E. From Literary Analysis to History: A Summary of the Conclusions of Parts I and II 8. Judea and Koile Syria and Phoinike under Antiochos III, 200–187 B.C.E. 9. Seleukos IV Philopator and the Revision of Antiochos III’s Settlement in Judea, 187–175 B.C.E. 10. Judea under Antiochos IV Epiphanes: The Reforms, 175–ca. 172 B.C.E. 11. Judea under Antiochos IV Epiphanes: The Suppression of the Rebellion, 169/8–164 B.C.E. Appendix A. The Literary Composition of 1 Maccabees Appendix B. The Literary Composition of 2 Maccabees Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index of SubjectsIndex Locorum
£28.90
University of California Press The Kushnameh
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Translator Kaveh Hemmat has provided us a vigorous and fast-moving text. . . . [that] entertains and instructs us as much as it did the readers at the court of the Seljuks." * Asian Review of Books *"This edition from the University of California Press is especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Islamic Literary Fiction collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists." * Midwest Book Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Note on the Text Introduction The Epic of Kush Invocation Frame Tale A Story [of Alexander’s Travels in the East] The Story of Kush the Tusked Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Epilogue Index
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University of California Press Stories between Christianity and Islam
Book SynopsisStories between Christianity and Islam offers an original and nuanced understanding of ChristianMuslim relations that shifts focus from discussions of superiority, conflict, and appropriation to the living world of connectivity and creativity. Here, the late antique and medieval Near East is viewed as a world of stories shared by Christians and Muslims. Public storytelling was a key feature for these late antique Christian and early Islamic communities, where stories of saints were used to interpret the past, comment on the present, and envision the future. In this book, Reyhan Durmaz uses these stories to demonstrate and analyze the mutually constitutive relationship between these two religions in the Middle Ages. With an in-depth study of storytelling in Late Antiquity and the mechanisms of hagiographic transmission between Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages, Durmaz develops a nuanced understanding of saints' stories as a tool for building identity, memory, and authority aTrade Review"An excellent inquiry into the hagiographic texts of Christianity and Islam from late antiquity. . . . a worthwhile read for students of Christian–Islamic intertextuality, one that raises many questions and thought-provoking arguments." * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Note on Translation, Transliteration, and References Introduction Narrating Stories Sorting Stories Remembering Stories 1. Storytelling in Late Antique Christianity Hagiography and Orality A World of Storytelling Storytellers in Late Antique Christianity Hagiographic Interviews and Audience Participation 2. “How Is Muhammad a Better Storyteller Than I?” Who Is Narrating? Storytelling in the Quran The Broader Late Antique Context of Quranic Storytelling Functions of Storytelling in Muhammad’s Preaching Narrating Stories after Muhammad 3. “Ask Him about the Youths”: Narrating the Quran with Christian Saints Q18: The Cave The Companions of the Cave The Rich Man and the Poor Man Moses, the Unnamed Servant of God, and the Two-Horned 4. Christian Saints in Islamic Literature Remembering Saint Antony South Arabian Historiography and Alexander the Believing King Saint George in Al-Tabarī’s History of the Prophets and Kings Looking at Buildings, Narrating Saint Marūthā 5. From Paul and John to Fīmyūn and Sālih Transformation of a Story Ibn Ishāq on the Authority of Wahb b. Munabbih Fīmyūn and S. ālih in Context 6. Stories between Christianity and Islam Monks, Monasticism, and the Islamic Notion of Sanctity Authorship and Transmission of Hagiographic Knowledge Narratives in and of the Family Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index
£64.00
University of California Press Placing Islam
Book SynopsisA free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visitwww.luminosoa.orgto learn more. For centuries, the Mosque of Eyüp Sultan has been one of Istanbul's most important pilgrimage destinations, in large part because of the figure buried in the tomb at its center: Halid bin Zeyd Ebû Eyûb el-Ensârî, a Companion of the Prophet Muhammad. Timur Hammond argues here, however, that making a geography of Islam involves considerably more. Following practices of storytelling and building projects from the final years of the Ottoman Empire to the early 2010s, Placing Islam shows how different individuals and groups articulated connections among people, places, traditions, and histories to make a place that is paradoxically defined by both powerful continuities and dynamic relationships to the city and wider world. This book provides a rich account of urban religion in Istanbul, offering a key opportunity to reconsi
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University of California Press Messianism and Sociopolitical Revolution in
Book SynopsisThis study of messianism and revolution examines an extremely rich though unexplored historical record on the rise of Islam and its sociopolitical revolutions from Muhammad's constitutive revolution in Arabia to the Abbasid revolution in the East and the Fatimid and Almohad revolutions in North Africa and the Maghreb. Bringing the revolutions together in a comprehensive framework, Saïd Amir Arjomand uses sociological theory as well as the critical tools of modern historiography to argue that a volatile but recurring combination of apocalyptic motivation and revolutionary action was a driving force of historical change time and again. In addition to tracing these threads throughout 500 years of history, Arjomand also establishes how messianic beliefs were rooted in the earlier Judaic and Manichaean notions of apocalyptic transformation of the world. By bringing to light these linkages and factors not found in the dominant sources, this text offers a sweeping account of the long arc of ITable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Emergence of Apocalyptic Messianism from the Maccabean Nativist Revolution 2. Muhammad’s Constitutive Revolution and Its Apocalyptic Roots 3. Civil Wars and the Emergence of Apocalyptic Mahdism 4. The Self-Destruction of the Umayyad Empire 5. The Process of the Hashemite Revolution 6. The Integrative and Centralizing Consequences of the Abbasid Realized Mahdism 7. Apocalyptic Messianism in the Fatimid Revolution 8. The Almohad Revolution of Mahdi Ibn Tumart and the Berbers 9. The Islamicate Conceptions of Revolution Concluding Remarks Abbreviations References Index
£64.00
University of California Press Heavy Metal Islam
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsContents Preface to the 2022 Edition Introduction: Rock and Resistance in the Muslim World 1 • Morocco: When the Music Is Banned, the Real Satanism Will Begin 2 • Egypt: Bloggers, Brothers, and the General’s Son 3 • Israel/Palestine: Hard Music in an Orphaned Land 4 • Lebanon: Music and the Power of Blood 5 • Iran: “Like a Flower Growing in the Middle of the Desert” 6 • Pakistan: Shotguns and Munaqqababes along the Arabian Sea Epilogue: Which Way to the Future? Acknowledgments Bibliography Index
£22.50
University of California Press Heavy Metal Islam
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsContents Preface to the 2022 Edition Introduction: Rock and Resistance in the Muslim World 1 • Morocco: When the Music Is Banned, the Real Satanism Will Begin 2 • Egypt: Bloggers, Brothers, and the General’s Son 3 • Israel/Palestine: Hard Music in an Orphaned Land 4 • Lebanon: Music and the Power of Blood 5 • Iran: “Like a Flower Growing in the Middle of the Desert” 6 • Pakistan: Shotguns and Munaqqababes along the Arabian Sea Epilogue: Which Way to the Future? Acknowledgments Bibliography Index
£64.00
University of California Press Sovereign Intimacy
Book SynopsisIn the early 1990s, Israeli television began dedicating Memorial Day airtime to videos produced by the grieving families of soldiers killed in the line of duty. When these videos first appeared, during a period of growing Israeli discontent with the occupation of southern Lebanon, they were widely perceived as a challenge to the state, reclaiming the dead from Israel's militaristic memory culture by resituating them in intimate domestic contexts via mediated commemorations. By tracing an emerging media system of freelance filmmaking, privatized television, state institutes of care, and grassroots campaigns, Laliv Melamed reveals how these videos nevertheless avoid a fundamental critique of Israeli militarism, which is instead invited into the familiar space of the home. These intimate connections of memory and media exploit bonds of kinship and reshape larger relationships between the state and its citizens, enabling a collective disavowal of colonial violence. InSovereign Intimacy, Melamed offers a poignant and critical view of the weaponization of home media and mourning in service of the neoliberal settler state.Trade Review"A much-welcome intervention. . . . Melamed’s work earnestly reckons with the urgent need to account for the haunting presence of Palestine in Israeli media practices to interrogate the visuality of Israel’s ever-growing colonial violence." * Film Quarterly *Table of ContentsContents Prologue. “OUR SONS” A Note on Sources Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE. SOVEREIGNTY 1. To Keep in Touch 2. Intimate Proxies 3. Scheduled Memories, Programmed Mourning PART TWO. INTIMACY 4. Figures of Speech 5. At Face Value Epilogue. Answering a Call Notes Filmography Bibliography Index
£64.00
University of California Press Sovereign Intimacy
Book SynopsisIn the early 1990s, Israeli television began dedicating Memorial Day airtime to videos produced by the grieving families of soldiers killed in the line of duty. When these videos first appeared, during a period of growing Israeli discontent with the occupation of southern Lebanon, they were widely perceived as a challenge to the state, reclaiming the dead from Israel's militaristic memory culture by resituating them in intimate domestic contexts via mediated commemorations. By tracing an emerging media system of freelance filmmaking, privatized television, state institutes of care, and grassroots campaigns, Laliv Melamed reveals how these videos nevertheless avoid a fundamental critique of Israeli militarism, which is instead invited into the familiar space of the home. These intimate connections of memory and media exploit bonds of kinship and reshape larger relationships between the state and its citizens, enabling a collective disavowal of colonial violence. InSovereign Intimacy,Trade Review"A much-welcome intervention. . . . Melamed’s work earnestly reckons with the urgent need to account for the haunting presence of Palestine in Israeli media practices to interrogate the visuality of Israel’s ever-growing colonial violence." * Film Quarterly *Table of ContentsContents Prologue. “OUR SONS” A Note on Sources Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE. SOVEREIGNTY 1. To Keep in Touch 2. Intimate Proxies 3. Scheduled Memories, Programmed Mourning PART TWO. INTIMACY 4. Figures of Speech 5. At Face Value Epilogue. Answering a Call Notes Filmography Bibliography Index
£27.00
University of California Press Beyond Orientalism
Book SynopsisThe first in-depth study of the collaborative intellectual exchange between the European and the Arabic Republics of Letters. Beyond Orientalism reformulates our understanding of the early modern Mediterranean through the remarkable life and career of Moroccan polymath Ahmad Ibn Qâsim al-Hajarî (ca. 1570-1641). By showing Hajarî's active engagement with some of the most prominent European Orientalists of his time, Oumelbanine Zhiri makes the case for the existence of an Arabic Republic of Letters that operated in parallel to its European counterpart. A major corrective to the long-held view of Orientalism that accords agency only to Europeans, Beyond Orientalism emphasizes the active role played by Hajarî and other Orientals inside and outside of Europe in some of the most significant intellectual movements of the age. Zhiri explores the multiple interactions between these two networks of intellectuals, decentering Europe to reveal how Hajarî worked collaboratively to circulate knowledge among Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE A CONNECTED REPUBLIC OF LETTERS 1 • Ahmad al-Hajarī: Trajectories of Exile 2 • Networks of Orientalism: Out of the Shadows PART TWO AHMAD AL-HAJARI: BECOMING AN ARAB WRITER 3 • Hajarī: A Morisco Writer in the Arabic Republic of Letters 4 • Hajarī in the World PART THREE TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONTACT ZONE 5 • A Harbor on the Atlantic Coast 6 • Artillery and Practical Knowledge in North Africa Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
£22.50
University of California Press A Jewish Childhood in the Muslim Mediterranean
Book SynopsisA free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visitwww.luminosoa.orgto learn more. A Jewish Childhood in the Muslim Mediterranean brings together the fascinating personal stories of Jewish writers, scholars, and intellectuals who came of age in lands where Islam was the dominant religion and everyday life was infused with the politics of the French imperial project. Prompted by novelist Leïla Sebbar to reflect on their childhoods, these writers offer literary portraits that gesture to a universal condition while also shedding light on the exceptional nature of certain experiences. The childhoods captured here are undeniably Jewish, but they are also Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Egyptian, Lebanese, and Turkish; each essay thus testifies to the multicultural, multilingual, and multi-faith community into which its author was born. The present translation makes this unique collection available to an Engl
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University of California Press In Quest of Justice
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Fahmy’s archive-centered iconoclasm of traditional binaries and ideas of ahistorical essences targets the grand narratives about modernity in the Middle East—Islamism, Orientalism and nationalism—at the same time as bringing a focus on gritty neglected aspects of modernization in academia." * Bustan: The Middle East Book Review *"Ambitious in its scope and elegant in its organization, Khaled Fahmy’s In Quest of Justice is a significant intervention in the fields of legal and medical history in modern Egypt and the Middle East. By interweaving law and forensic medicine, Fahmy takes on several prominent debates in Middle East studies." * Arab Studies Journal *"In Quest of Justice makes a significant contribution to this scholarly momentum by offering a historical reconstruction and analysis of the connection between medicine and law in nineteenth-century Egypt." * Bulletin of the History of Medicine *"Provides a fascinating account of the rise of a state apparatus in Egypt during the nineteenth century. . . . The book represents a level of reflection and an unrivaled knowledge of the archive that can only spring from a distinguished career and years of research. This veritable chef d’oeuvre will serve as a key text for many students and scholars of Egyptian and Middle Eastern history." * American Historical Review *"In Quest of Justice makes a significant contribution to . . . scholarly momentum by offering a historical reconstruction and analysis of the connection between medicine and law in nineteenth-century Egypt." * Bulletin of the History of Medicine *"The book is written in an elegant style that reads as smoothly as good fiction. . . . Fahmy’s interest in legal medicine in nineteenth-century Egypt has led him to make a groundbreaking contribution to Islamic legal studies as well as produce a novel history of the emergence of the modern Egyptian state . . . Above all, In Quest of Justice is a book written with passion and animated by a deep, moving love for Egypt and for its people." * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1 • Medicine, Enlightenment, and Islam 2 • Siyasa, the Forgotten Code 3 • An Olfactory Tale of One City: Cairo in Khedival Times 4 • Law in the Market: H. isba and Forensic Chemistry 5 • Justice without Pain Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
£22.50
University of California Press Zanzibar Was a Country
Book Synopsis
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Harvard University Press thetransformationofpalestinianpoliticsfromrevoluti
Book SynopsisA comprehensive overview and analysis of the Palestinians' move from revolutionary movement to state, The Transformation of Palestinian Politics outlines the difficulties in the transition now underway arising from Palestinian history, society, and diplomatic agreements.Trade ReviewBarry Rubin’s timely Transformation of Palestinian Politics provides a superb and weighty account of the complexities of the Palestinian problem and the significant impediments to state-building… As deputy director of the Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Rubin is well acquainted with Palestinian political life, having written several notable books on the subject. In his most recent effort, he carefully delineates the path of transition or pre-statehood for the current PA—complete will all its bumps and turns… Rubin covers in rich and penetrating detail the deleterious effects of the fledgling Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) on the Arafat-led government-in-training, the rising expectations of a long-suffering and dispossessed people and the controversial issues of democratic development and respect for human rights. -- Peter McKenna * Washington Post Book World *In this judicious and thoughtful book, Rubin describes the Palestinian’s slow walk towards statehood, one riddled with contradictions and burdened by deep-seated historical animosities. Analyzing both the Palestinians’ noticeable failures and surprising successes, Rubin offers a prognosis for the future with the measured optimism of someone who has watched the conflict unfold from up-close for some time. -- Kate Cambor * Boston Book Review *In his excellent The Transformation of Palestinian Politics, Rubin wants critics of Yassar Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to temper their disparaging comments with a hefty dose of reality: Specifically, he says, there will be no Palestinian state without a peace agreement with Israel and a solid institutional foundation… Rubin is well qualified to chronicle the path of transition or pre-statehood, with its unpredictable twists and turns. By specifically homing in on the transitional, or embryonic phase, Rubin seeks to situate legitimate criticisms of the 1993–95 Oslo Accords within the context of incredibly complex and difficult growing pains for an essentially interim government. -- Peter McKenna * Globe and Mail *Rubin…manages a balanced presentation of all the many different players in this ongoing Palestinian drama—Yasir Arafat, the PLO, Hamas, the many Israeli political groupings, the Arab states, the United States, and the international community. With nine detailed but succinct chapters, this book is an eminently readable achievement. -- L. Carl Brown * Foreign Affairs *[A]n objective, even sympathetic, account of Palestinian politics since 1993. -- Sol Schindler * Washington Times *Barry Rubin, deputy director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, is a keen observer of the Middle East. The Transformation of Palestinian Politics is a cogent analysis of the challenges facing the Palestinian Authority today. -- Sheldon Kirshner * Canadian Jewish News *Excellent. Rubin has taken up a subject that is seemingly familiar (Palestinians feature almost daily in the news) but is in fact unknown (how the Palestinian Authority actually operates). There is nothing remotely comparable to this book in English. He writes about obscure but vital aspects of the Palestinian Authority with a sure hand. The greatest strength of the book lies in its providing new information in a clear context. Rubin’s sources are excellent, his judgment reliable. The writing style is solid. The study significantly advances knowledge about its subject matter. -- Daniel Pipes * Middle East Quarterly *In this highly readable book, Rubin examines the prospect of Palestinian statehood… Drawing on an impressive array of English, Hebrew, and Arabic sources, the author explores a complicated maze of interaction between Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority and its internal opponents. Crucially, the book also places the Palestinian Authority’s struggle in the context of Israeli and regional politics. -- Nader Entessar * Library Journal *Rubin is the first to take a detailed and systematic look at the issues—not surprising given that the subject did not exist before 1994—and therein lies the main contribution of the book. He provides an interesting overview of what will undoubtedly be a subject of continuing investigation over the years. The book should be of considerable interest to students of Middle Eastern, and especially Palestinian and Israeli–Palestinian politics. Rubin presents a balanced (even sympathetic) account of the challenges facing the Palestinian Authority, shows how relatively stable post-revolutionary institutions have already been built, and concludes with a sanguine view of the prospects for successful state-building in the future. The book is argued in a fairly persuasive fashion, the organization is logical, the scholarship is sound (no polemics or distortion of evidence), and the conclusions are judicious. -- Mark A. Heller, Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University[A] fair treatment of the subject, the transformation of the PLO from a military–political organization to the force behind the establishment of a Palestinian state. Rubin is well informed, and the book is based on a wide selection of Arabic language sources, as well as Israeli and English language. -- Walter Laqueur, Center for Strategic and International StudiesTable of ContentsPreface The Rulers, the Ruled, and the Rules The Palestinian Legislative Council Democracy, Stability, and Human Rights The Polity and the People The New Palestinian Political Elite The Palestinian Opposition The Palestinian Authority and the Middle East Thinking about Israel and the United States Recognizing Facts, Creating Facts Appendixes: Palestinian Authority Cabinets, 1994-1998 Membership of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) The Fatah Central Committee The PLO Executive Committee (EC) Middle East States and the Palestinian Authority Notes Glossary Bibliography Index
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Harvard University Press The Middle East under Rome
Book SynopsisSartre has written a long overdue and comprehensive history of the Semitic Near East (modern Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel) from the eve of the Roman conquest to the end of the third century C.E. and the rise of Christianity. His perspective takes in all aspects of this historypolitical, military, economic, social, cultural, and religious.Trade ReviewHistories of the Roman Empire tend to stay close to Rome, so Sartre's summation of what we know about imperial influence in the region then known as Syria is highly welcome. Sartre offers an account of major events in the region, but the real treasure is the rich detail about ancient Syria's cultural life. Drawing on archeological evidence as well as historical texts, the author sketches a thriving region dotted by cosmopolitan city-states that were in many cases governed by local rulers with Roman guidance...Vivid descriptive prose could help this excellent treatise find a readership beyond the world of classical scholars. * Publishers Weekly *A learned, highly readable and even entertaining volume...It opens up an immense wealth of evidence, heretofore inaccessible to many ancient historians and archaeologists, and illustrates the often-neglected importance of the Middle East for classical history and culture. The scholarly community, as well as many students, will benefit from this. -- Michael Sommer * Times Higher Education Supplement *[Sartre constructs] his narrative from solidly attested evidence alone, however fragmentary, eschewing all dubious sources and hypothetical fillers in a very sound preference for authentic ruins over speculative palaces...Aided by a translation that is as fluent as it is precise, and which is sometimes attractively revealing of a witty mind, this is a good read. But it is far more than that, and would indeed warrant much attention even if the prose were especially dull--one sees why Glen Bowersock promoted its elegant publication in English, an honour reserved to few Continental European historical works these days. For Sartre succeeds in giving us a richly detailed, remarkably fresh account of the Levant under Roman rule while being more severe than most in excluding dubious narratives and undocumented conjectures. Much of the new information that Sartre weaves into his story is from recent archaeological, epigraphic, and numismatic evidence...Sartre has given us an admirable survey, as enjoyable as it is instructive, especially in its elegant Belknap Press edition. -- Edward N. Luttwak * Times Literary Supplement *This is an excellent book from a talented and tireless scholar. It is especially important that a French scholar should contribute to the growing band of surveys of the region in view of the dominant role so many of his countrymen have played in research over some ninety years...A major contribution of the book is simply...that it provides a very readable story. -- David L. Kennedy * International History Review *This highly significant and informative work...is an essential resource for greater Syria during the Roman period. It is clear and written with historical accuracy. The notes and bibliography alone are worth the reasonable price of the book. -- Graydon F. Snyder * Journal of Religion *Professor Maurice Sartre's The Middle East Under Rome is a study of Roman Syria and a substantial contribution to the scholarly literature. [It] is massive and is based on a mountain of documentation. While it is possible to become lost in the book's detail, Sartre still provides a fast moving narrative of this portion of the Roman Empire. -- James Biedzynski * Journal of Third World Studies *Table of Contents* Preface to the English-Language Edition * Acknowledgments * Translators' Note * Introduction 1. The Hellenistic Legacy * The Creation of New States * Syria between Parthians, Romans, and Armenians 2. The End of Seleucid Syria and the First Roman Rule (69--31 B.C.E.) * The Beginnings of Roman Intervention * Pompey and Syria * Syria at the Time of the Roman Civil War 3. From Augustus to Trajan: Creating a Province * The Provincia and Its Governors * The Defenses of Imperial Syria in the First Century * The Client States in the First Century C.E. 4. The Crises in Judaea from Herod to Bar Kokhba * Herod the Great * Herod's Heirs * The Era of Prefects and Procurators * The Revolt of 66--70 and Its Consequences * From the Fall of the Temple to Bar Kokhba 5. From Trajan to the Severi: Conquests and Reorganizations * New Provinces, New Divisions * Defense of the Country and Roman Campaigns 6. Civic Life and Urban Development during the Early Empire * The Spread of the Polis and the Creation of Colonies * The Structure and Organization of Municipal Life * City Profiles 7. Rural Life in the Early Empire * Land Tenure and Land Use * Agricultural Practices and Production * Villages and Village Communities * Nomads 8. The Urban Economy in Roman Syria * Artisans * Money and Customs Duties * Roads and Ports * Local and Foreign Trade 9. Hellenization and Indigenous Cultures * Syrian Hellenism * Indigenous Cultures 10 Pagans, Jews, and Christians in Roman Syria in the Second and Third Centuries * Gods and Pagan Sanctuaries * Rabbinical Judaism * The Beginnings of Christianization 11. A Time of Trials * Edessa, Hatra, and Dura-Europos * Palmyra * Phylarchs and Nomad Chiefs * Conclusion * Abbreviations * Notes * Works Cited * Index
£25.16
Harvard University, Center for Hellenic Studies Imperial Geographies in Byzantine and Ottoman
Book SynopsisFocusing on the the eastern Mediterranean area shaped by the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, this volume explores the nexus of empire and geography. Through examination of a wide variety of texts, the essays explore ways in which production of geographical knowledge supported imperial authority or revealed its precarious grasp of geography.
£18.86
Harvard University Press Israel Has Moved
Book SynopsisBorn in Europe’s shadow, haunted by the Holocaust, and inspired by the Enlightenment, Israel has changed. Where is this diverse and self-absorbed country heading today? How do its citizens see themselves, globally and historically? Israel Has Moved is a profound and unsettling account of a country that is no longer where we might think.Trade ReviewIt’s rare for any book nowadays to cast totally new light on the Israel–Palestine conflict, but Diana Pinto’s Israel Has Moved does just that. She argues that the political, military and financial elite of Israel are turning away from Europe and even from America, which they regard as mired in economic difficulties and riven by ideological contradictions, and are looking to align themselves with those regimes in the Far East, China in particular, which have, like them, scant regard for human rights and a fierce determination to succeed economically and politically. Written out of a profound reverence for Enlightenment values, this desperately sad yet elegant and witty book asks us to contemplate the possibility that the Enlightenment, far from gradually conquering the globe, may, after 250 years, be slowly dying before our eyes. -- Gabriel Josipovici * Times Literary Supplement *This book takes Israel’s built environment as a departure point to offer broader reflections on shifts in the nation’s psyche, sometimes to brilliant and startling effect. Diana Pinto delineates the physical landscape of present-day Israel—its highways, restaurants and shopping malls—using it to describe the country as it is, not as the rest of the world would like it to be… Pinto’s acute—and, in my view, apt—diagnosis of Israel’s defining ailment is that it is ‘autistic’: trapped inside its own increasingly comfortable, security-defended bubble, unable to connect with—much less identify with—its neighbors, starting with the Palestinians… Overall, the effect is of enjoying an engaging and trenchant dinner party conversation with an intelligent traveller brimming with impressions from a trip. -- John Reed * Financial Times *Pinto’s strength as a writer is her penetrating understanding of what lies beneath the surface of the clichés… Pinto describes a recognizable Israeli mindset which owes nothing to the discourse of post-colonial narratives but rather a unique viewpoint, developed out of centuries of statelessness… Pinto has written about the country rather than being drawn, as so many intellectuals are, to the seamline, the conflict. Knowing that the occupation is wrong, that Zionism was a category error, absolves them of the duty of giving Israel and Israelis any real thought. In China and India the opposite is the case; they’re fascinated by how the place works, what exactly is the secret of its ability to live outside geography. Pinto is the writer to turn to, though her own head is as bashed against the wall of futility as everybody else’s. -- Linda Grant * The Independent *[Pinto] presents impressions and interviews that reveal both Israeli truculence to go its own road as well as deep schisms within Israeli society. The author’s vivid characterizations of Israeli society expose its deeply problematic nature: as ‘autistic,’ in that its brilliant young people and leaders operate within a self-contained obliviousness of others; as a ‘realm of collective psychosis’ in thinking, as ultranationalist religious Zionists do, that the Temple in Jerusalem could ever be rebuilt, since it would obliterate the Dome of the Rock, a holy site for Muslims; as a postmodern Utopia in its scientific and genetic advances; as a ‘very large and ultrasophisticated aquarium’ containing exotic fishes, all ‘turning rapidly away to avoid the others, and all of this in utter silence.’ From the choosing of which road to take into Jerusalem (through heroic landmarks or the less-traveled Route 443 leading to various Arab exits) to the country’s spectacular embrace of high technology and Asian investment, which offer a glaring juxtaposition to the pre-modern lifestyles of the ultraorthodox, everywhere Israel is awash in contradictions. But does Israel really care who thinks so? Fewer and fewer sophisticated Israelis bother to envision a two-state solution, and Pinto fears that this solipsism is engendering a dangerous ‘self-satisfaction bordering on hubris’—and it can’t last… A solid work of intellectual criticism. * Kirkus Reviews *Brilliant and beautifully written. Even those who disagree with Pinto’s analysis cannot deny its force and her deep love and concern for Israel. An equally anguished and powerful rebuttal can be expected from Jerusalem. -- Shlomo Avineri, author of The Making of Modern ZionismIn every chapter vivid colors depict in exquisite detail some delimited aspect of life. Diana Pinto has an eye for the telling detail that helps us feel the complexity, the nuance, the texture, and the flow of social, economic, cultural, and political life in Israel today. -- Tony Smith, Tufts UniversityDiana Pinto’s book is brilliant. She draws a portrait of Israel as a living entity, warts and all, caught between the euphoric power of its creativity, and the weaknesses of its historical contradictions and political impasses. Studded with multi-layered illuminating anecdotes and metaphors, the book could easily pass as a fascinating travel journal. But rigorous intellectual categories lurk behind the highly readable style. -- Saul Friedlander, University of California, Los AngelesA terrific book, so well written that it is hard to put down while offering deep and analytical insights that must be taken seriously by anyone concerned with contemporary Israel. -- Susan Neiman, Director, Einstein Forum
£32.36
Harvard University Press Leaving Iberia
Book SynopsisLeaving Iberia examines Islamic legal responses to Muslims living under Christian rule in medieval and early modern Iberia and North Africa, links the juristic discourses on conquered Muslims on both sides of the Mediterranean, and adds a significant chapter to the story of Christian–Muslim relations in the medieval Mediterranean.Trade ReviewThis book masterfully demonstrates that the histories of Iberian-born Muslims, Moriscos, and Muslims living under Christian rule in the Maghreb can benefit from being studied together…Particularly relevant reading to those interested in colonial contexts and resistance to colonial powers. -- Ana Struillou * Journal of Early Modern History *A tour-de-force…[this book] is a magnificent scholarly achievement that will shift the historiographical parameters for studying the Mālikī West…Whether or not historians fully accept all of Hendrickson’s contentions, they are likely to become the new bar against which scholars will measure their research in the future. -- Ari Schriber * Islamic Law and Society *A work of impressive scope…Hendrickson’s research is rigorous and her analysis is incisive…[the author] has produced a book of critical importance to the study of Islamic law and Iberian, North African, and West African history and which contributes meaningfully to interreligious studies and the history of Christian-Muslim relations. -- Ariela Marcus-Sells * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *[Brings] together an unprecedented range of sources, some of them previously unpublished and unstudied, offering a meticulous, deeply informed reinterpretation of those sources that have been most scrutinized. The masterful result should now be considered a first port of call for anyone dealing with these materials…a powerful picture of Islamic law as purposeful yet subject to the vicissitudes of history, creative yet constrained by the expectations and structures of genre, legally cogent yet animated by extra-legal concerns — in short, as deeply human. -- Caitlyn Olson * Al-Qantara *Gets us to consider medieval Spain and Portugal as part of African history, rather than seeing Muslim rule of the Iberian Peninsula as a historically unusual and unique event unrelated to anything else…a rare find…[this book is] an intellectual treat layered with depth and breadth, and should become a go-to text for the study of Islamic law and historical Muslim responses to global events. -- Usman Butt * Middle East Monitor *
£35.66
Harvard University Press Atat252rk in the Nazi Imagination
Book SynopsisEarly in his career, Hitler took inspiration from Mussolini—this fact is widely known. But an equally important role model for Hitler has been neglected: Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, who inspired Hitler to remake Germany along nationalist, secular, totalitarian, and ethnically exclusive lines. Stefan Ihrig tells this compelling story.Trade ReviewA thorough and inspired account of how the formation of modern Turkey influenced Hitler and other Nazi ideologists by providing a model of armed resistance to the Versailles Treaty, as well as an imagined example of muscular nationalism for a new century. -- Steve Coll * New York Review of Books *For decades, historians have seen Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 as emulating Mussolini’s 1922 March on Rome. Not so, says Stefan Ihrig in Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination. Hitler also had Turkey in mind… Atatürk’s subordination of Islam to the state anticipated Hitler’s strategy toward Christianity… Impeccably researched and clearly written…Ihrig’s book will transform our understanding of the Nazi policies. -- Dominic Green * Wall Street Journal *Middle Eastern heads of state have not tended to create exemplary leadership templates that aspirant rulers elsewhere have sought to emulate. But there is one notable exception: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination, Stefan Ihrig argues that the man who created modern Turkey inspired the tyrant who sought to make Germany the hub of a new National Socialist Europe: Adolf Hitler. His argument, based on extensive study of German print media in the 1920s and 30s, is compelling… Ihrig has unearthed an important subject within Second World War scholarship that, strangely, has remained overlooked for many decades. -- Gerald Butt * Times Literary Supplement *Fascinating… This is a gap-filling book that’ll be of deep interest to students of both World War II and National Socialism. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Monthly *Stefan Ihrig’s brilliant new book Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination demonstrates convincingly that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s conquest of Turkey was the most important model for the Nazis’ remaking of Germany, far more so than Mussolini’s 1922 March on Rome, which is usually cited as Hitler’s main inspiration. -- David Mikics * The Tablet *Ataturk in the Nazi Imagination by Stefan Ihrig…make[s] fascinating reading and highlight[s] the variety of ways in which the German state sought to subvert the Muslim soldiers’ professional loyalty to the Allied armies in the two wars… [Ihrig] must be lauded for [his] painstaking research in producing [this] highly readable [volume] that include[s] relevant photographs as well. -- Muhammad Ali Siddiqi * Dawn *It is Stefan Ihrig’s contention, in his fascinating Atatürk and the Nazi Imagination, that it was Atatürk who in many ways molded and inspired the Nazi enterprise. -- Mitchell Abidor * Jewish Currents *[An] insightful, instructive work, a genuinely original contribution to Nazi historiography… Makes us ponder, among so much else, the contribution that Ataturk’s capture and all-encompassing control of his nation and its people made to [Lenin’s, Stalin’s, Hitler’s, and Mussolini’s] evil works. -- Martin Rubin * Washington Times *Stefan Ihrig has written a valuable and important book. He has shed light on an overlooked, remarkable, and significant aspect of National Socialism: namely, the prominent role played by Turkey and Kemal Atatürk in the Nazi imagination. This is a notable accomplishment. -- Thomas A. Kohut * Weekly Standard *From the Armenian massacres to the Turkish War of Independence and the rise of Kemal Atatürk, Turkish events attracted deep interest in Germany. As Ihrig shows, politically active Germans of the Weimar Republic, especially on the far right, saw in Turkey a model for successful revisionism, authoritarian rule, secular modernization, and the political utility of genocide. This brilliant and original study sheds new light on the rise of Nazism and the prehistory of Nazi racial policy. -- Christopher Clark, University of CambridgeThis is a most important and refreshingly original book about a hitherto unknown yet pivotal influence on Adolf Hitler and other National Socialists. Its eye-opening conclusions will change how we think about German and European history as well as the Holocaust. -- Thomas Weber, University of AberdeenIn this richly documented and exhaustively researched study, Stefan Ihrig investigates the Nazi movement’s obsessive interest in modern Turkey and its leader, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Focusing on the image of Atatürk as a national savior and state-builder, Ihrig examines how fascinated the extreme Right and radical nationalists in Germany were with Atatürk’s Ankara government and its achievements in the interwar era. The resulting analysis carries some surprising findings for specialists of both German and Turkish history. Ihrig demonstrates that the Turkish nationalist movement, its leader, and his policies were much more influential for the Nazi worldview in the 1920s than many other potential examples, including Mussolini’s Italy…Those who look for European right-wing echoes of single-party-era Turkey’s policies will benefit from Ihrig’s most seminal finding, that in the development of the Nazi movement’s ideas, Atatürk’s Turkey acted as a role model…Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination is a bold and pathbreaking book. It draws attention to a largely overlooked connection between Nazi Germany and Kemalist Turkey, and contributes to the scholarship on the cross-fertilization of authoritarian nationalist ideas in the post-World War I years…Ihrig’s book is an insightful and highly original work. In the future, it will be difficult to discuss the transnational undercurrents of the radical Right in interwar Europe or German-Turkish relations under the Nazis without taking into consideration Ihrig’s arguments. -- Emre Sencer * H-Net Reviews *
£32.36
Harvard University Press The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for Life
Book SynopsisMonarchical presidential regimes in the Arab world looked as though they would last indefinitely—until events in Tunisia and Egypt made clear their time was up. This is the first book to lay bare the dynamics of a governmental system that largely defined the Arab Middle East in the twentieth century, and the popular opposition they engendered.Trade ReviewEvents have enhanced its timeliness, as it is a kind of obituary for the ‘monarchical presidencies’ of the Arab world. The book looks at the local differences and underlying similarities between the region’s leaders… Owen’s book provides a sharp look at the tyrannies the Arab spring is attempting to sweep away. * The Economist *Owen suggests that like Mafia dons, Arab presidents for life observed one another and learned from one another’s experiences and argues that the Arab League has provided a loose supportive framework for their ambitions. Although the shadows of monarchical presidents will be cast long into the future, Owen is confident that the uprisings have brought their era to an end. * Foreign Affairs *A thoughtful and incisive evaluation of Arab political authoritarianism in all its components. Owen points out the many ways in which Arab Presidents and Kings imitated one another, with Presidential sons following—or attempting to follow—their fathers, and all relying on extensive security services and webs of patronage. His analysis of the personalization of power challenges recent efforts to distinguish Arab monarchies from their Presidential counterparts, and lays bare the internal logic of such personalized security states. As an historian, Owen is sensitive, and admirably transparent, about the limits of our knowledge about the inner workings of these regimes. But his brief discussions of each country effectively convey both the commonalities and differences across the cases. Owen’s highly readable book serves as a fitting requiem for a system of rule which long seemed immovable, has now been exposed in all of its flawed brutality, but seems likely to adapt to new structural conditions rather than simply fade away. * Foreign Policy *In charting with care the rise of Arab presidents for life, Roger Owen has pioneered a new strand in the academic debate on authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa. * London Review of Books *Owen, one of the world’s leading historians of the modern Middle East, examines the specific historical reasons that led to the rise of the authoritarian presidents in the post colonial era, but his real interest is how these individuals institutionalized power to become, in practice, dynastic monarchs… Among the host of issues Owen raises, of particular interest are why some Arab countries have gone this route and others not, similarities and differences between kings and presidents, the different kinds of dynastic presidents, comparative succession practices, and the question of Arab exceptionalism vis-à-vis other regions, such as central Africa or post-Soviet central Asia. His meditations on what to expect in the immediate future are judicious, insightful, and wise. This very timely book serves almost as a textbook on recent and current Arab politics. * Choice *No other book solely addresses this topic or examines it with the same scope or historical depth. Highly recommended for anyone interested in current foreign affairs or the history and future of modern Arab states. * Library Journal *Timely… Owen reveals how the Arab Spring demonstrates the inherent contradictions and weaknesses in the regimes, showing how their creation (and fall) resulted from modern political and economic circumstances… This comprehensive and balanced history illuminates the current upheaval. * Publishers Weekly *This book delivers, at precisely the right moment and in the right measure, the historical context needed for understanding the significance of the popular uprisings that are currently transforming the Arab world. In fluid and accessible prose, Roger Owen, the leading historian of the Middle East, demonstrates that the phenomenon of ‘Arab presidents for life’ is a product of modern historical circumstances, not a pre-determined outcome of the ‘Arab mind,’ a ‘tribal’ mentality, or the Islamic faith. The key to Owen’s analysis is what he calls the ‘demonstration effect’: Arab leaders and regimes consciously borrowed from each other’s internal security playbooks in order to solidify their power and prolong their rule. In so doing, they dug their own collective grave.An accessible yet comprehensive review of the political history of the modern Middle East, made all the more relevant by the convulsions of the past year. Owen’s dismantling of the ‘Arab exceptionalism’ argument, which has formed the basis of so many accounts of authoritarian power in the region, is historically and sociologically persuasive. He successfully explains how countries with very different histories have nonetheless produced political systems with such strong resemblances. Thoughtful, full of nuance, and mercifully free of jargon, Owen’s writing carries the reader along at a terrific pace, providing both the grand sweep of history and the focused perspicacity of political analysis.
£17.95
Harvard University Press A Land of Aching Hearts
Book SynopsisA century after the Great War, the experiences of civilians and soldiers in the Middle East during those years have faded from memory. A Land of Aching Hearts traverses ethnic, class, and national borders to recover the personal stories of those who endured this cataclysmic event, and their profound sense of sacrifices made in vain.Trade ReviewA detailed account of the political and cultural events that occurred in the Middle East just before and during World War I. It concerns the way in which Arabs were caught up in Europe’s first major war of the twentieth century, and how this proved to be a turning point in Middle Eastern history, but one not of the Arab peoples’ own making…What is startling, though, is how so much of what World War I unleashed—struggles over identity, sectarian or otherwise, national border disputes, rights of minorities, the place of women in society—still reverberates to this day… Fawaz explores the war’s effect on the region’s ordinary people: fishermen, villagers, entrepreneurs, émigrés, soldiers and draft dodgers are woven into a rich tapestry. She takes us aboard ships and into train stations, along the lines outside bakeries and into crowded prison camps. These are the vantage points from which Fawaz observes the scope and scale of the war. In minute detail, she recounts the devastation it wrought, including the way common catastrophes of locusts, famine and disease were exacerbated by the exploits of Europeans, such as the prolonged Anglo-French naval blockade. Fawaz is always at pains to present the ingenuities and the tenacity of ordinary Arab people under these pressures… As Fawaz does, [historians] should draw on local sources, languages and experiences to restore the Middle East’s full complexity rather than reinforcing the blinkered, one-sided narrative of butchers and beheaders. -- Tom Finn * The Nation *Magnificent… [Fawaz] write[s] perceptively and sympathetically about a complex and sophisticated society unfamiliar to most Americans… [She] recounts the effects of the Great War upon a Middle East grown prosperous and relatively free during a period of industrialization and Ottoman political decline. -- Robin Darling Young * Commonweal *Intensely moving… [Fawaz] does an astounding amount of research into primary sources that haven’t to my knowledge been synthesized before to an extent this masterful. Great figures stride through the history of the Middle East in the years of the First World War and its aftermath… But the main focus of Fawaz’s book is the plight of ordinary people caught up in the often calamitous changes the war swept into the entire remains of the Ottoman Empire… Her book is a first-rate work of historical investigation, but it also functions as a kind of doleful question mark shadowing the present day, which has the dubious advantage of being able to see live video feed of the disruptions and sufferings being inflicted on the descendants of the same ordinary folk Fawaz so skillfully uncovers. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Monthly *Drawing on poetry, plays, and works of contemporary fiction, Fawaz supplements traditional historical sources the better to capture the experience and popular memory of the Great War. The result is one of the finest social histories of war in the modern Middle East yet published. -- Eugene Rogan * Middle East Journal *[Fawaz] write[s] as vividly and knowledgeably about political developments as about land tenure. [She] bring[s] ordinary men and women as well as military and political leaders to life…The long devastating war that destroyed this last Muslim Empire also killed off many dreams and plans, and Fawaz pays homage to them by salvaging the stories of ordinary men and women whose lives were cut short or changed forever. -- Donna Robinson Divine * New Rambler *In A Land of Aching Hearts, Fawaz gives us, not a chronological account of the Great War in the Middle East, but rather a look at the war as it was experienced by and as it affected the peoples of the region, a seriously neglected subject… A Land of Aching Hearts would make interesting reading for anyone interested in the origins of the modern Middle East, the Great War, or the human experience of war. -- A. A. Nofi * Strategy Page *Fawaz argues that the Great War was a socially transformational experience that, like the contemporary political transformation, is fundamental to understanding the region’s societies today…Fawaz describes the era of modernity and change which began before the war, summarizes the war’s major military campaigns in the region, and touches on various individual accounts of the conflict. She also examines the impacts on daily life caused by the war, including widespread famine, increased crime, decreased wealth, increased unemployment, and the large scale evasion of conscription. * Publishers Weekly *World War I changed the history of Europe, but left an even more indelible impression on the Middle East. The conflicts that tear at the region today—the struggles over freedom, land, and identity—all have their roots in the Great War. In this landmark account, Fawaz paints a vivid picture of how the war swept over the Middle East and forever changed its face. Smart, well-written, and brimming with insight, A Land of Aching Hearts stands apart from other histories because it insists on the war's relevance for today’s world. -- Vali Nasr, author of The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in RetreatA profoundly impressive book that sets a new standard for the social history of World War I. A Land of Aching Hearts does justice to the history of the people of the Middle East by focusing upon a side of the war that has received little attention. From stories of battles, political infighting, and the machinations of profiteers to heartbreaking images of famine, poverty, and disease, Fawaz covers the entirety of the war experience. By placing local events within their regional and international contexts, she shows how a new Middle East emerged after the fighting ceased. -- Abdul-Karim Rafeq, College of William and MaryA magisterial account of the manifold ways in which exposure to, and participation in, the fighting shaped the lives of peoples and societies in the Arab world…Fawaz has produced an excellent account packed with information that will provide enduring value to scholars, students, and the general public. Current policymakers would also do well to engage with the book’s major themes as they grapple with a region in the renewed throes of upheaval…It is to be hoped that officials and onlookers from the region and beyond absorb the rich pickings offered by Fawaz of the conflict that effectively created the modern Middle East but also laid the foundations of many of its subsequent fissures. -- Kristian Coates Ulrichsen * International Journal of Middle East Studies *A fine history of the Middle East in the Great War which shows the extent of the suffering of the region, the mass hunger, the starvations, the plagues of locusts. -- Robert Fisk * The Independent *
£32.36
Harvard University Press Revolution Until Victory
Book SynopsisThe PLO is now almost a government in Gaza and the West Bank. In this in-depth account of its ideology, strategy, and tactics, its relationship to other Arabstates, and its confrontations with Israel, Barry Rubin documents how the PLO was transformed from revolutionary organization into the administrator of its own territory.Trade ReviewAs a concise documentary work, [this book] elegantly and thoroughly chronicles the history of the PLO, noting the ideological and operative distinctions between its principal component, Fatah, and other more radical branches. -- David B. Green * New York Times Book Review *Rubin…meticulously traces the agonizingly erratic course by which the PLO finally arrived at the negotiating table. He also seeks to explain the PLO’s seeming inability to abandon maximalist aims—the recovery of all of Palestine and the eradication of the Israeli state… A lucid and concise…account of the PLO leadership’s management of Palestinian fortunes during the era now coming to a close. -- Shaul Bakhash * Newsday *Barry Rubin has a justified reputation as a quick study and a flowing writer… [This] is the best early analysis of the makings of the Israeli–PLO accords. -- Michael Widlanski * Jerusalem Post *Provides an excellent guide to PLO intentions. In compact and readable form, Rubin reliably reviews three decades worth of PLO complexities. More than that, he breaks new ground by getting behind the PLO’s external face—the personality of PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and the record of terror—and concentrating on its internal dynamics… In short, if you want to read one study about the elusive organization called the Palestine Liberation Organization, Revolution Until Victory? is the way to go. -- Daniel Pipes * Washington Times *The question remains: why did the PLO choose the path of accommodation rather than that of armed struggle? The answers are found in Barry Rubin’s Revolution Until Victory?…an impressive analysis of that Palestinian umbrella group. -- Sheldon Kirshner * Canadian Jewish News *An excellent and timely analytical political history of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), one which investigates and interprets its political circumstances, strategies, and doctrines from an inception in the late 1950s to the earthshaking events of 1993 culminating in the Rabin–Arafat handshake on the White House lawn. Above all, it provides the reader a vivid portrayal of the seemingly endless twistings and turnings and reversals of PLO policies. -- Robert E. Harkavy * Political Science Quarterly *
£999.99
Harvard University Press The Roman Near East
Book SynopsisFrom Augustus to Constantine, the Roman Empire in the Near East expanded step by step, southward to the Red Sea and eastward across the Euphrates to the Tigris. In a remarkable work of interpretive history, Fergus Millar shows us this world as it was forged into the Roman provinces of Judea, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Syria.Trade ReviewA grand book on a grand topic… To do justice to such a topic, one needs not only a complete understanding of how the Roman Empire functioned, but also mastery of the extensive, complex, scattered, and difficult evidence for the local cultures… Very few ancient historians possess such mastery… This is a book that only Fergus Millar could have written. The breadth of expertise displayed, and the willingness to view the history of a major region of the Roman Empire from the perspective of the provinces rather than the imperial center, are hallmarks of Millar’s work, and are impossible to overpraise. There can be no question that The Roman Near East will be for a long time to come the standard work on the subject. -- Seth Schwartz * Times Literary Supplement *This learned, honest, and carefully constructed work studies the various regions of the [eastern] empire and their inhabitants. It asks who they actually were…and how far they had a local culture distinct from the Greco-Roman. The results are surprising… The book is full of original interpretations… [Readers] will be richly rewarded. -- Clive Foss * The Guardian *This work has been long awaited and will fill a very great need. It is an authoritative synoptic view of the entire Roman Near East, with reference to the most important recent discussions and discoveries. -- G. W. Bowersock, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton[An] extraordinary book… Millar’s book provides above all the essential political, religious, and cultural framework for understanding how the three most enduring religious legacies of the ancient world for the modern world…developed in a context that was neither Eastern nor Western. -- Guy MacLean Rogers * American Historical Review *This pioneering volume follows a steady stream of other important contributions by the noted Camden Professor of Ancient History at Oxford, but its unique character and subject may make it his most durable and popular work. It transcends a mere political history of the region by exploring in depth the cultural and linguistic diversity of the population that inhabited the Near East…This is indisputably now the standard and essential guide for the Roman era in English for both scholars and students of the Near East. -- David E. Graf * Religious Studies Review *Destined to become a classic. -- Howard P. Krug * Seminary Studies *Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations 1. Prologue: In Search of the Orient I. Empire 2. The Bridgehead and the Dependent Kingdoms, 31 BC-AD 74 2.1. From the Battle of Actium to the Death of Herod the Great 2.2. From the Death of Herod the Great to the End of Tiberius' Reign 2.3. From the Reign of Gaius to the Outbreak of the Jewish War 2.4. The Jewish War and Its Aftermath 3. Imperialism and Expansion, AD 74-195 3.1. Vespasian: A New Near Eastern Empire 3.2. Trajan : Expansion and Rearrangement in the Southern Near East 3.3. The Roman Presence, AD 114-161 3.4. Emperors and Pretenders in the Near East from Lucius Verus to Septimius Severus: The Conquest of Mesopotamia 4. Rome And Mesopotamia: From Parthia To Persia 4.1. The Severan Near East as a Military Structure 4.2. Emperors on Campaign, from Caracalla to Philip the Arab Shapur's Invasions and the Empire of Palmyra, AD 252-273 5. The Tetrarchy and Constantine 5.1. The Tetrarchy: Persian Wars and Fortified Lines 5.2. The Near East in the Tetrarchic Empire, AD 284-312 5.3. Licinius and Constantine, AD 313-337: Retrospect from a Christianised Empire II. Regions and Communities 6. Communal and Cultural Identities 7. The Tetrapolis and Northern Syria 7.1. The Geographical Context 7.2. Local Cult-Centres: Hierapolis and Doliche 7.3. Villages and Rural Temples 7.4. The Major Cities: Apamea 8. The Phoenician Coast and Its Hinterland 8.1. History and Geography 8.2. Phoenicia: The Southern Region 8.3. The Northern Coastline and Its Hinterland 8.4. The Major Cities: Byblos and Berytus 8.5. Sidon and Tyre 9. Eastern Syria Phoenice: Mountain, Oasis and Steppe 9.1. Geographical Connections 9.2. Emesa and Elagabal 9.3. Damascus and Its Region Palmyra 10. From Judaea to Syria Palaestina 10.1. History, Religion and Geography 10.2. Judaea before the First Revolt 10.3. From the First Jewish Revolt to the Second 10.4. Syria Palaestina 11. Arabia 11.1. Regions and Cultures 11.2. The Kingdom of Nabataea 11.3. The Decapolis in the First Century 11.4. The New Province of Arabia 11.5. The Nomadic Presence 12. The Euphrates and Mesopotamia 12.1. Geography, Culture and Language 12.2. Dura-Europos in the Parthian Period 12.3. The Middle Euphrates and the Coming of Rome 12.4. Roman Dura-Europos 12.5. Edessa as a Kingdom and Roman Colony until the Middle of the Third Century 12.6. Social and Religious Currents in the Fourth Century 13. Epilogue: East and West 13.1. East? 13.2. West? Appendix A. The Inscriptions of the Tetrarchic Land-Surveyors Appendix B. Documents from the Bar Kochba War Appendix C. Materials for the History of Roman Edessa and Osrhoene, AD 163-337 Maps I. The Near East: Areas Covered by Maps II-XII II. The Roman Near East: Main Sites and Geographical Features III. Northwestern Syria and Mount Amanus IV. The Phoenician Coast and Western Syria Phoenice V. The Central Syrian Steppe, Pabnyra and the Euphrates VI. Judaea/Syria Palaestina, Western Arabia VII. Southeastern Syria Phoenice, Northern Arabia VIII. Petra and South-Central Arabia IX. Arabia, with Sinai, the Red Sea and the Hedjaz X. Eastern Syria, the Euphrates and Western Mesopotamia XI. Central Mesopotamia and Mons Masius XII. The Eastern Syrian Steppe and the Middle Euphrates General Index Index of Literary Sources Index of Documents
£37.36
Harvard University Press The Naked Blogger of Cairo
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewMarwan Kraidy’s The Naked Blogger of Cairo: Creative Insurgency in the Arab World is a deep dive into the cultural politics of the Arab uprisings…Kraidy’s sharp insights and rich descriptions of a new Arab generation’s irrepressible creative urges will amply reward the effort. Reading Kraidy’s accounts of the politically charted cultural gambits of wired Arab youth rekindles some of the seemingly lost spirit of the early days of the Arab uprisings and offers hope for the future. -- Marc Lynch * Washington Post *The Naked Blogger of Cairo is an astonishingly accessible work for one that is also deeply intellectual and scholarly…Kraidy combines intellectual erudition with style and wit…The Naked Blogger of Cairo is a superb and important work not just for scholars but for anyone who cares about the relationships between art, the body, and revolution. -- Hans Rollman * PopMatters *The Naked Blogger of Cairo is yet another testament to the range and ingenuity of Marwan Kraidy’s scholarship. He is without a doubt our most insightful critic of Arab media, and this book is essential reading for our times. -- Michael Curtin, University of California, Santa BarbaraIn The Naked Blogger of Cairo, Marwan Kraidy offers a fascinating account of the workings of power and resistance in a digitally connected Middle East that will shake confidence in conventional narratives about the cultural dynamics of the Arab uprisings. It is an original contribution and essential reading for those who want to move beyond clichéd frames and facile analyses. -- Mohamed Zayani, Georgetown University
£24.26
Harvard University Press On Earth or in Poems
Book SynopsisThe idea of al-Andalus—medieval Muslim Iberia—has many uses, inspiring artists and activists who imagine a place and time of peaceful coexistence among Europeans, North Africans, and Middle Easterners; Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Eric Calderwood explores the consolidation of this reputation and its impact on artistic and political aspiration.Trade ReviewCalderwood shows that al-Andalus has been deployed effectively across this wide range of contexts to engage in debates about Arab and Berber identities in the Middle East and North Africa, to articulate a feminism autochthonous to the Muslim world, to reflect on the loss of a Palestinian homeland, and to explain musical productions and to motivate collaborations across different traditions, languages, and cultures. -- Elizabeth Spragins * Public Books *With extraordinary linguistic range, Calderwood brings us the voices of Arabs and Muslims who have turned to the distant past of Spain to imagine their future. Rather than dismissing al-Andalus as a confused heap of notions or narrowing its vision to Romantic utopianism, Calderwood turns to the subjunctive mood, the mood of what might be, to argue for the future of al-Andalus as time and place ahead of us with infinite capacity. -- Hussein Fancy, Yale UniversityIn this beautifully conceived and deftly written book, Calderwood brings to light a rich range of sources, many previously unavailable in English, Spanish, or French translation. On Earth or in Poems provides interpretations that are innovative, insightful, and useful for scholars and students of medieval Spain, as well as of contemporary Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. -- David A. Wacks, University of OregonA timely intervention in medieval studies and contemporary cultural studies alike, Calderwood’s book exemplifies the best work being done in the expanding field of global medievalism. -- S. J. Pearce, New York University
£32.26
Harvard University Press The Arts of Iran in Istanbul and Anatolia
Book SynopsisMuch medieval Persianate artwork—including books illustrated with exquisite miniature paintings—was disassembled and dispersed as isolated art objects. In The Arts of Iran in Istanbul and Anatolia, a literary historian and six art historians trace the journey from the destructive dispersal of fragments to the joys of restoration.
£18.86
Harvard University Press The Rise of the Arabic Book
Book SynopsisThe history of the book has overwhelmingly focused on Europe. But during the Middle Ages, a crucial period of its development, the book was far more popular among speakers of Arabic. Beatrice Gruendler corrects this scholarly oversight, exploring the material resources that underlay the rich world of Medieval Arabic letters.Trade Review[A] superb history of the creation of the Arabic book in the ninth century…Gruendler is a leading authority on Classical Arabic literature of the early period and her chosen excerpts are both astute and illuminating—and often unexpectedly amusing (and sometimes downright scurrilous)…A major work of scholarship which is also a delight to read. -- Eric Ormsby * Literary Review *A persuasive, in-depth, and insightful study of an important part of media history that is often overlooked…It will be of use for scholars and students of Arabic, other languages of Islamic culture, and research on the early development of book culture around the world. -- Jocelyn Sharlet * Journal of Arabic Literature *An exciting and original look at the subject of Abbasid book production from one of the leading authorities on classical Arabic literature. Gruendler brings to life the role of the stationers as book makers and book sellers, humble craftsmen usually overlooked by historians, whose labors enabled Arabic book culture to flourish. This fascinating work inaugurates a new way of looking at the subject. -- Hugh Kennedy, author of Caliphate: The History of an IdeaA window into the vibrant intellectual history of the classical Arabic book, from the pen of an eminent scholar of Abbasid belles lettres. -- Tahera Qutbuddin, author of Arabic Oration: Art and FunctionBeatrice Gruendler expertly plumbs classical and medieval Arabic sources to tell the fascinating story of how authors and autodidacts, book addicts and book doubters, poets and papermakers, and scholars and stationers of ninth-century Baghdad—the city of a hundred bookshops—contributed to the phenomenal rise of the Arabic book. This volume is destined to be indispensable for all who are interested in the global history of the book. -- Shawkat M. Toorawa, Professor of Arabic, Yale UniversityThe breathtaking book revolution that took hold of the Arabic Near East from the ninth century CE onward led to an explosive growth in manuscripts, libraries, and all forms of written culture. In this extraordinary new book, Beatrice Gruendler traces the rise of the Arabic codex, bringing into focus not only the fascinating material objects themselves but also the people who made and used them. After reading this wide-ranging and deeply erudite work, no one who studies the history of the book and of global humanities in general will be able to ignore the Arabic contribution. -- Glenn W. Most, coeditor of The Classical Tradition
£32.36
Harvard University Press The Caliphate of Man
Book SynopsisIslamist thinkers used to debate the doctrine of the caliphate of man, which holds that God is sovereign but has appointed the multitude of believers as His vicegerent. Andrew March argues that the doctrine underpins a democratic vision of popular rule over governments and clerics. But is this an ideal regime destined to survive only in theory?Trade ReviewIn exploring the relationship between divine and popular sovereignty in the writings of some major Muslim intellectuals, this highly original book sheds new light on the fraught and much talked about question of democracy in Muslim societies. Andrew March has produced the most comprehensive, historically informed, and sophisticated study yet of the idea of sovereignty in modern Islamic thought. -- Muhammad Qasim Zaman, author of Islam in Pakistan: A HistoryIn this highly readable book based on deep research, Andrew March gives an accessible story of Islamic political theology and the value it holds for millions around the world today. Muslim political thought is often dismissed by Western politicians and the media, but we ignore it at our peril. This is indispensable reading. -- Ebrahim Moosa, author of What Is a Madrasa?This cutting-edge work of comparative political philosophy squarely places modern Islamic political thought in the wider context of modern democratic thought and articulates for the first time a uniquely Islamic theory of democratic governance. Eschewing both apology and exoticization, March successfully draws on a range of political thinkers—Muslim and non-Muslim—and sheds light on points of convergence and divergence among various Islamist theories of state. -- Mohammad Fadel, University of Toronto Faculty of LawInterrogating the works of Rashid Rida, Sayyid Qutb, Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, Abul A’la Maududi, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini and others, March captures the diversity and tensions of modern political Islamist thought…A valuable book that explores the idea of Caliphate as a democratic notion within Islamist thought while critiquing materialistic notions of democracy. -- Usman Butt * Middle East Monitor *March sheds important light on Islamic theories of governance…He relies on an impressive array of political thinkers, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to show the richness and the complexity of Islamist theories of state…This is a very important study. -- Aaron W. Hughes * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *March’s exposition of the evolution of the high ideological politics of twentieth-century Islamism is remarkably erudite, well researched, and deftly written. -- A. Azfar Moin * Journal of Law and Religion *
£34.81
Princeton University Press Women in the Middle East
Book SynopsisWritten by a pioneer in the field of Middle Eastern women's history, this book presents a concise and comprehensive history of the lives of the region's women since the rise of Islam. It shows why hostile or apologetic responses are completely inadequate to the diversity and richness of the lives of Middle Eastern women.Trade Review"This remarkable book enriches the field of Middle Eastern studies... To read these interviews from almost two decades ago is to be struck by how much the world and Middle Eastern studies have changed since. For the new prominence of scholarship about women, no little credit is due Nikki Keddie."--Haleh Esfandiari, Wilson Quarterly "All readers will enjoy the superb photographs, most of which were taken by the author during the 1970s...Graduate students will benefit from reading Keddie's nuanced understanding of the field's development from her perspective in 1978 and nearly a quarter of a century later."--M.L. Russell, Choice "This collection of papers is a useful reminder both of the evolving scholarship dealing with women in the Middle East, and of the significant contributions that Keddie has made to that scholarship. It is an important addition to the library of anyone interested in this subject."--John O. Voll, Journal of Social HistoryTable of ContentsList of Illustrations xi Preface xiii Introduction 1 BOOK ONE: Women in the Middle East: A History 7 Introduction: Issues in Studying Middle Eastern Women's History 9 I. Regional Background and the Beginnings of Islam 13 II. From the Pious Caliphs through the Dynastic Caliphates 26 III. From the Turkish and Mongol Invasions to 1798 48 IV. Change in the Long Nineteenth Century 1798-1914 60 V. 1914-45: Nationalism and Women's Movements 75 VI. 1945-Today: New States and Trends, Women's Activism, and the Rise of Islamism 102 Conclusion 166 Notes to Book One 171 Bibliography of Books 193 BOOK TWO: Approaches to the Study of Middle Eastern Women 201 Part 1. Shifting Boundaries in Sex and Gender 203 Part 2. Scholarship, Relativism, and Universalism 225 Part 3. Women in the Limelight: Recent Books on Middle Eastern Women's History since 1800 251 Part 4. Problems in the Study of Middle Eastern Women 279 Part 5. Sexuality and Shi?i Social Protest in Iran (coauthored with Parvin Paidar [Nahid Yeganeh]) 297 BOOK THREE: Autobiographical Recollections 325 Part 1. Autobiographical Interview 327 Part 2. Supplement to the Interview 347 Bibliography of Works by Nikki R. Keddie since 1995 355 Index 357
£38.25
Princeton University Press Jihad in Islamic History
Book SynopsisWhat is jihad? Does it mean violence, as many non-Muslims assume? Or does it mean peace, as some Muslims insist? This book focuses on the early history of jihad, shedding light on the controversies over jihad. It shows that those who argue that jihad means only violence or only peace are both wrong.Trade Review"...short, incisive, and highly readable book."--Ahmed Rashid, New York Review of Books "Viewing what has become an increasingly crowded field, [Bonner] points out that the word jihad has acquired different resonances for a wide variety of actors, from the Islamist radicals for whom it forms the heart of a militant ideology to mystical quietists who regard the 'greater jihad' as the struggle against the 'lower self' of baser human impulses."--Malise Ruthven, New York Review of Books "Bonner's Jihad in Islamic History is a first-class work that should be highly useful as an introduction to the basic issues and history of the subject, and despite its conciseness contains information interesting even for the more specialized scholar."--David Cook, Middle East Journal "Bonner ... provides a cogent yet detailed historical survey of the concept and practice of jihad in Muslim societies. His book is a much-needed counter to the poorly researched or downright biased and alarmist cluster of publications that were quickly written and released after September 11, 2001... The book is easily accessible to the nonspecialist, and is ideal for use in an upper-level undergraduate topics course in Middle Eastern and Islamic history or Islamic religious thought. Bonner's work is also a useful primer for specialists which does not sacrifice quality for brevity."--Christopher Anzalone, Religious Studies Review "Michael Bonner brings to the subject a sober, forensic approach grounded in sound historiography and a firm grasp of primary sources... The author is to be commended for having provided an accessible, broad historical survey of the mercurial term 'jihad' and its deployment over time. Both the specialist and the nonspecialist will benefit from this study. This slim book is not exhaustive in its approach, nor does it claim to be. But it asks all the right questions and broadly indicates the directions in which future scholarship on jihad as both an institution and a multivalent concept may fruitfully venture."--Asma Afsaruddin, Speculum "[T]his is a very interesting and useful little book both from the perspective of history and the emergence of Islamic thought and culture. It also includes a useful bibliography and index. The author should be congratulated for his thoughtful and stimulating contribution to the contemporary discourse on the Islamic concept of Jihad, warfare and peace."--Muhammad Khan, Muslim News "At a time in history when there is a crucial struggle for the soul of the Islamic world, Bonner has provided a road map for scholars and students alike attempting to make sense of the myriad of competing claims. This is a welcome addition to the literature on jihad indeed."--Lewis Brownstein, Ph.D., Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa "Bonner has been very successful in preparing an introduction to the doctrine and practises of jihad in early Islamic history that can initiate students to the first period Islamic history and early interpretations of jihad. Moreover, there is also a useful commented bibliography at the end of each chapter."--Michelangelo Guida, Turkish Journal of Islamic StudiesTable of ContentsList of Maps xi Symbols and Accent Marks xiii Preface xv CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 What Is Jihad? 1 Just War and Holy War 4 Warfare and Jihad 6 Fields of Debate 10 Historiography and Origins 14 Readings 18 CHAPTER TWO: The Quran and Arabia 20 Combat in the Quran 21 Gift and Reciprocity 27 Fighting and Recompense 30 "The Beggar and the Warrior" 32 Readings 34 CHAPTER THREE: Muhammad and His Community 36 Sira and Maghazi: Sacred History 37 Hadith: The Norm 45 Themes of Jihad in the Hadith 49 Fighting with One's Money 51 Readings 54 CHAPTER FOUR: The Great Conquests 56 The Course of Conquest 58 Explanations 60 Approaches to the Islamic Sources 64 Approaches to the Non-Islamic Sources 67 Readings 71 CHAPTER FIVE: Martyrdom 72 Martyrdom before Islam 73 Martyrdom in Quran and Tradition 74 Contexts of Martyrdom in Islam 76 Martyrs and Neomartyrs 79 Readings 82 CHAPTER SIX: Encounter with the Other 84 Conquest Society and Fiscal Regime 84 Treatment of Non-Muslims 87 Abode of Islam, Abode of War 92 Convivencia 93 Readings 95 CHAPTER SEVEN: Embattled Scholars 97 Syria and the Byzantine Frontier 98 Arabia 102 Iraq: The Synthesis of al-Shafi"i 106 North Africa 108 Spain 111 Central Asia 112 The Embattled Scholars: Conclusions 114 Readings 116 CHAPTER EIGHT: Empires, Armies, and Frontiers 118 The Umayyad Caliphate: Imperial Jihad 119 Revolution and Jihad 124 The "Abbasid Caliphate and Its Military Crisis 127 Frontier Societies: Against Byzantium 131 Frontier Societies: Spain and North Africa 134 Ribat 136 The Crusades 137 Ottoman Origins 144 Corsairs in the Mediterranean 149 The Western Sudan 151 Empires, Armies, and Frontiers: Conclusions 153 Readings 155 CHAPTER NINE: Colonial Empire, Modern State, New Jihad 157 Resistance and Reform 157 Fundamentalism and Islamism 161 Readings 165 CHAPTER TEN: Conclusions 167 Bibliography 175 Index 191
£25.20
Princeton University Press Memphis Under the Ptolemies
Book SynopsisDrawing on archaeological findings and an unusual combination of Greek and Egyptian evidence, this book examines the economic life and multicultural society of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis in the era between Alexander and Augustus.Trade ReviewWinner of the 1989 James H. Breasted Prize, American Historical Association "This thoroughly revised edition of a masterpiece of historical writing examines with precision and verve the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis in the period between Alexander and Augustus... She is especially sensitive to the syncretic, sometimes cacophonous, metropolitan life produced by a population drawn from throughout the Mediterranean basin, and by the confrontation of classical civilization itself on the verge of cultural upheaval, as Roman power gradually eclipsed Greek prestige and influence--with a civilization that reached back millennia. The result is a meticulous, vivid portrait of a profoundly foreign world."--The Atlantic "[A] masterful analysis of the surviving evidence for ancient Memphis."--John F. Oates, American Journal of Philology "[T]his book greatly enhances understanding of Egyptian history in the Ptolemaic period and the author is to be congratulated on her skill in welding the disparate sources into such an attractive whole."--Amelie Kuhrt, History "[A] book of utmost importance to all readers interested in ancient civilizations... Thompson's concentration on the Hellenistic period provides a penetrating study of all aspects of this city from the time of Alexander to Augustus."--C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, Choice "This, in so many ways, is a book aimed at students and for that target audience is successful, and would make a sensible purchase."--Kate Phizackerley, Egyptological.com "Scott Soames' new book, What Is Meaning?, is an important book, both in the issues it raises and in its shortcomings. It is the first serious discussion of meaning (not 'semantic content' or some other term designed to sidestep the real issue) by a leading analytic philosopher of language in a long while, and its findings lead to a more realistic understanding of meaning and language."--Sergeiy Sandler, European Legacy "The text of the book is closely packed and authoritative in its presentation of the facts. Whilst this is not an 'easy read' the text is surprisingly readable and engaging. Indeed there is so much to be learned from these pages that one wants to turn the page and read on, and once a chapter is started it is difficult to put the book down... In short a masterful piece of scholarship looking at a complex and often overlooked period of Egyptian history. A book that any serious student of the Ptolemaic Period, or the Hellenistic world, would greatly benefit from reading."--Victor Blunden, Ancient Egypt "Princeton University Press has done students of Ptolemaic Egypt a great service by publishing a second edition of this rich and important book."--Andrew Erskine, European LegacyTable of ContentsList of Illustrations and Tables viii Prefaces ix Acknowledgments xv Abbreviations xvi A Note on Transliteration xix Chapter 1: The Second City 1 Chapter 2: Economic Life in Memphis 29 Chapter 3: Ethnic Minorities 76 Chapter 4: Ptolemies and Temples 99 Chapter 5: The Undertakers 144 Chapter 6: Apis and Other Cults 177 Chapter 7: Between Two Worlds: The Sarapieion 197 Chapter 8: Roman Memphis: An Epilogue 247 Appendixes A. Memphite Professions Additional to Those Recorded in the Zenon Archive 259 B. The Undertakers' Archive 260 C. A Property Settlement in 197 B.C. 262 D. Apis Bulls of the Ptolemaic Period 263 Bibliography 285 Index 319
£31.50
Princeton University Press City of the RamMan The Story of Ancient Mendes
Book SynopsisTells the story of the ancient Egyptian city of Mendes, home of the mysterious cult of the 'fornicating ram who mounts the beauties'. This book describes the discoveries of the great temple of the ram and the 'Mansion of the Rams', where the embalmed bodies of the avatars of the god were buried.Trade Review"For those unfamiliar with Ancient Egyptian archaeology, this book is a welcome summary of Redford's work and his interpretation of its results. He brings the city of Mendes to life for the first time outside the classical accounts, and successfully synthesizes a huge amount of material."--Penny Wilson, Times Literary Supplement "[T]he book has certainly to be praised for giving a view ... of an ancient Egyptian city, its history and its excavations."--Robert Gozzoli, Brynr Mawr Classical Review "Combining information from written records and evidence from his excavations at Mendes as well as a thorough grounding in the history of ancient Egypt, Redford offers something unique--namely, a narrative covering several thousand years of Egyptian history from the focal point of a single important city, Mendes."--Choice "This is a book aimed at the expert as well as the more casual reader... [A] very readable text, ... this book is sure to become a well-used reference work for anyone interested in the site of Mendes in particular, but also in the sometimes complex history of the Nile Delta."--Ancient EgyptTable of ContentsList of Illustrations vii List of Sidebars xiii Preface xv Introduction xvii List of Abbreviations xxi Chapter One: The Beginnings 1 Chapter Two: The Advent of Horus 8 Chapter Three: In the Time of the Residence 18 Chapter Four: The Collapse 42 Chapter Five: The Mysterious Centuries: The Middle Kingdom 58 Chapter Six: Mendes under the Empire Pharaohs 67 Chapter Seven: The Great Chiefs of the Meshwesh 95 Chapter Eight: Egypt in the Time of Troubles 111 Chapter Nine: The Ram, Lord of Djedet 124 Chapter Ten: The Saite Revival 138 Chapter Eleven: Mendes, the Capital of Egypt 144 Chapter Twelve: The Great Disaster 179 Chapter Thirteen: Dusk and Darkness: The End of Mendes 188 Notes and Further Readings 211 Index 231
£37.80
Princeton University Press Einstein Before Israel
Book SynopsisTraces Albert Einstein's involvement with Zionism from his initial contacts with the movement at the end of World War I to his emigration from Germany in 1933 in the wake of Hitler's rise to power. This book offers a nuanced picture yet of Einstein's complex and sometimes stormy relationship with Jewish nationalism.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2012 "It is a welcome study as the man fascinates--whether as a scientist or as an activist."--R. Balashankar, Organiser "Few individuals can be as qualified to write about the outlook on the world of Albert Einstein--the man rather than the scientist--as Rosenkranz. Senior editor of the Einstein Papers Project at Caltech and former curator of the Albert Einstein Archives at Hebrew University, the author single-mindedly treats an understudied aspect of the great man's loyalties regarding his Jewish identity and the Zionist movement."--Choice "Rosenkranz had exceptional access to archival materials enabling him to disentangle the complexity of Einstein's exposure to the development of Zionist thought as he interacted with many of its movement's leaders... This is an essential component to an overall intellectual biography of Einstein's personal development and unique attachment to Zionism and an essential addition to an academic collection and worthy for selected synagogue libraries."--Sanford R. Silverburg, Association of Jewish Libraries ReviewsTable of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: "A Vivid Sense of Strangeness" 9 Einstein's Path to the Zionist Movement Chapter 2: A Different Kind of Nationalism 46 Einstein's Induction and Mobilization into the Zionist Movement Chapter 3: The "Prize-Winning Ox" in "Dollaria" 86 Einstein's Fundraising Trip to the United States in 1921 Chapter 4: S ecular Pilgrim or Zionist Tourist? 139 Einstein's Tour of Palestine in 1923 Chapter 5: The "Botched University" 181 Einstein's Involvement in the Hebrew University, 1924-1929 Chapter 6: "A Genuine Symbiosis" 209 Einstein on the 1929 Clashes in Palestine Chapter 7: The "Bug-Infested House" 230 Einstein's Involvement in the Hebrew University, 1930-1933 Conclusion 252 Epilogue 270 Notes 275 Bibliography 313 Index 337
£38.25
Princeton University Press Against Massacre
Book SynopsisLooks at the rise of humanitarian intervention in the nineteenth century, from the fall of Napoleon to the First World War. Examining the concept from a historical perspective, this title explores the understudied cases of European interventions and noninterventions in the Ottoman Empire.Trade Review"Scholars of international relations, law, and other disciplines have explored the phenomenon of humanitarian intervention, in which one or more states acting on behalf of the international community invades a sovereign state in response to the mass killing of civilians. Rodogno takes a historical approach to the issue in this deeply researched study of how the European Great Powers (primarily Great Britain and France) dealt with the massacres of civilians within the Ottoman Empire between 1825 and 1914."--Choice "Enthusiasm for humanitarian interventions in foreign conflicts tends to go in waves, as David Rodogno demonstrates in this erudite and well-researched book."--James Pettifer, Journal of Ecclesiastical History "Against Massacre fills a significant lacuna in the vast and growing literature on humanitarian intervention and will find readers among international relations historians and scholars."--Daniel J. Whelan, American Historical Review "[T]his is an important and groundbreaking work that deserves a wide readership among Ottomanists, Balkanists, scholars of international relations, and public policy experts with interests in the possibilities and limits of intervening to stop mass violence against civilians."--Max Bergholz, Historian "Against Massacre is a major contribution to a history of humanitarianism. Based on a multitude of Western sources, it profits from the new researches on late Ottoman history."--Hans-Lukas Kieser, Comparativ "Through a closer examination of the issue of humanitarian intervention in the nineteenth century, this book has made a valuable contribution to the political history of humanitarian intervention."--Pinar Senisik, Insight Turkey "This book is an easy read. It flows along nicely and will be popular with students and the chattering classes alike, for it says all the right things."--Kate Fleet, Journal of Islamic StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter One: The International Context of Nineteenth-Century Humanitarian Interventions 18 Chapter Two: Exclusion of the Ottoman Empire from the Family of Nations,and Legal Doctrines of Humanitarian Intervention 36 Chapter Three: Intervention on Behalf of Ottoman Greeks (1821-33) 63 Chapter Four: Intervention in Ottoman Lebanon and Syria (1860-61) 91 Chapter Five: The First Intervention in Crete (1866-69) 118 Chapter Six: Nonintervention during the Eastern Crisis (1875-78) 141 Chapter Seven: Intermezzo-The International Context (1878-1908) 170 Chapter Eight: Nonintervention on Behalf of the Ottoman Armenians (1886-1909) 185 Chapter Nine: The Second Intervention in Crete (1896-1900) 212 Chapter Ten: Nonforcible Intervention in the Ottoman Macedonian Provinces (1903-08) 229 Epilogue 247 Abbreviations 277 Notes 279 Bibliography 345 Index 385
£46.75
Princeton University Press Founding Gods Inventing Nations
Book SynopsisFrom the dawn of writing in Sumer to the sunset of the Islamic empire, this title traces four thousand years of speculation on the origins of civilization. It looks at the ways the conquerors and those they conquered reshaped their myths of civilization's origins in response to the social and political consequences of empire.Trade Review"McCants's richly textured analysis points to some cultural anomalies that can lead to provocative reflections."--Donald J. Dietrich, European LegacyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter One: Gifts of the Gods: The Origins of Civilization in Ancient Near Eastern and Greek Mythology 10 Chapter Two: The Beneficent Sky God: Cultural History in the Qur'an 29 Chapter Three: Who Was First? Protography and Discovery Catalogs 57 Chapter Four: Inventing Nations: Postconquest Native Histories of Civilization's Origins 85 Chapter Five: "The Sciences of the Ancients": Speculation on the Origins of Philosophy, Medicine, and the Exact Sciences 120 Conclusion 145 Bibliography 149 Index 167
£37.80
Princeton University Press The Koran in English
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Comprehensive... Lawrence has done pathbreaking work for English-speaking students of the Qur'an."--Publishers WeeklyTable of ContentsIllustrations ix Preface xi 1 Muhammad and Revelation 1 2 The Orientalist Koran 29 3 The South Asian Koran 50 4 The Virtual Koran and Beyond 81 5 The Koran Up Close 104 6 The Politics of Koran Translation 122 7 The Graphic Koran 135 Conclusion 165 Acknowledgments 173 Appendix: The Koran in English by Author and Date 177 Notes 191 Index 233
£20.90
Princeton University Press The Love of Strangers What Six Muslim Students
Book SynopsisIn July 1815, six Iranian students arrived in London under the escort of their chaperone, Captain Joseph D'Arcy. Their mission was to master the modern sciences behind the rapid rise of Europe. Over the next four years, they lived both the low life and high life of Regency London, from being down and out after their abandonment by D'Arcy to charminTrade Review"[A] microhistory of a Persian journey through Regency England ... [with] attention to the pluralization of religious practices in a period of intensified global connection. Within this context, Salih's account offers a valuable perspective on the familiar outlines of Regency England."--Paulo Lemos Horta, Times Literary Supplement "This story of four years of discovery by Muslims visiting Europe for the first time makes for entertaining and instructive reading."--Leslie Mitchell, Literary Review "Nile Green ... has followed the Iranian students through Regency England with the determination and skill of a forensic detective. Using the diary of Mirza Salih as his primary guide, he has managed to trace his subjects through disparate archives, scattered letters, newspaper articles and even paintings. Such a feat is not to be underestimated."--The New York Times "A mesmerizing and winsome work."--The Star Tribune "In Salih's diary, Green unearths a genuinely valuable outsider's portrait of Regency England, its culture, manners and burgeoning industry... This is a fascinating record of a profound, strange and charming encounter of East and West."--Shahidha Bari, Times Higher Education "[D]iligently researched and elegantly written."--Aram Bakshian Jr., The Washington Times "This fascinating study of six Iranian students in Regency London provides a positive counterpoint to two scholarly frameworks for interpreting encounters between East and West... This book is a valuable contribution to the study of East-West encounters generally, and one that complicates the narratives that usually frame them."--Choice "A marvelous book by one of the finest historians of the region. It is a major contribution to our understanding of early relations between the Muslim East and 'the West,' as well as an enchanting tale of tolerance, diversity, and freedom of exchange. Green's prose is engaging and elegant, and he wears his erudition lightly. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the humanity of encounters among cultures."--Daniel Newman, Los Angeles Review of BooksTable of ContentsPreface xi Introducing Mr. D'Arcy's Persians 1 KNOWLEDGE Chapter 1 In Search of a Teacher 23 Chapter 2 The Madrasas of Oxford 83 FAITH Chapter 3 Among the Dissenters 133 Chapter 4 Evangelical Engagements 177 FRIENDSHIP Chapter 5 Diplomatic Friendships 227 Chapter 6 The Love of Strangers 266 Afterlives 305 A Note on Sources and Method 319 Acknowledgments 323 Notes 327 Index 377
£999.99
Princeton University Press In Search of the Phoenicians
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Charles J. Goodwin Award of Merit, Society for Classical Studies""[A] marvellous book. . . . Entertaining and accessible. . . . In Search of the Phoenicians represents the best of ancient history writing today."---David Mattingly, Times Literary Supplement"Quinn’s narrative is both exhilarating and cautionary because it shows how antiquity can be reimagined to promote ideological prejudices. One of the many lessons of her work is that ancient history is rarely stable, and dogmas that were current in both the remote and proximate past are constantly subject to correction or rejection."---G.W. Bowersock, New York Review of Books"[An] extraordinary book. . . . In Search of the Phoenicians demonstrates both how important the interpretation of antiquity is for the present, and how important the history of interpretation is for understanding the past."---Robert L. Cioffi, London Review of Books"Quinn's ambitious study ties history and political science together to reveal the ways that antiquity remains relevant today." * Publishers Weekly *"For some high-fibre holiday reading, I shall be packing . . . In Search of the Phoenicians, which dares to ask whether the famous ancient people really existed, and promises to expose the modern fantasies and ideologies that created them."---Mary Beard, The Guardian"Filled with informative, arresting images and deep-thinking argumentation, Quinn's In Search of the Phoenicians makes a compelling, wide-ranging case that suggests ‘Phoenician’ was a political rather than a personal description." * Foreword Reviews *"'Quinn's analysis of how ideas of modern nationhood have corrupted our understanding of past identities is expert and wide-ranging.""---Dominic Green, Minerva"Quinn’s story is most compelling when she plays to her strength as a historian and archaeologist. . . . She leaves no stone unturned, from archaeological ruins and funerary inscriptions to poetry and drama, in her quest to understand how Phoenicians have . . . become a people."---Justin Marozzi, The Spectator"What makes Quinn’s book especially interesting is her investigation of the later uses of the idea of a Phoenician people by modern nationalists from Ireland to Lebanon. The people who lived in the ancient cities of ‘Phoenicia’ didn’t think of themselves as Phoenicians, but a remarkable number of people in other times and places have found that invented identity useful in making their own claims of nationhood."---Daniel Larison, The American Conservative"Composed of a set of politically independent city-states around the Mediterranean--most notably, Tyre, Arwad, Byblos, and Carthage--Phoenicia is typically thought of as a unified precursor to the Greek civilization that ultimately eclipsed it. In a new book, however, Josephine Quinn, an associate professor of ancient history at the University of Oxford, argues that the entire idea of a proto-nationalist ‘Phoenician’ identity or culture may not have existed at all. Rather, evidence suggests that it is unlikely that Phoenicians saw themselves as a collective that rose above the level of the city or indeed family. As such, Quinn argues that the histories of Phoenicia that invented and sustained this narrative of a Phoenician national identity are themselves worthy of study. . . . Quinn’s In Search of the Phoenicians will serve as a comprehensive introduction to the literary, artistic, dramatic, and technological cultures of these ancient societies." * The New Criterion *"In this provocative, brilliant and original book, Josephine Quinn not only sheds new light on the ancient civilization of Phoenicia but actually questions its very existence." * Arab News *"Quinn’s In Search of the Phoenicians can serve as useful reminder that turning to the lure of a mythical past for finding a path to the future can be fraught with risk."---Thomas Schellen and Riad Al-Khouri, Executive Magazine"Quinn's relaxed, engaging and authoritative prose style means that In Search of the Phoenicians is an enjoyable and intellectually rewarding read." * History Today *"A learned and carefully written scholarly work on identity in the city states commonly lumped together as Phoenician, theoretically informed by current ideas of ethnicity’s constructed nature."---T. Doran, Choice"Quinn provides an important contribution to theories of identity, colonialism and its impact."---Aron Tillema, Reading Religion"Cleverly written . . . . Analytical astuteness."---Michael Sommer, Journal of Hellenic Studies
£28.80
Princeton University Press ISIS
Book SynopsisTrade Review2017 Gold Medal Winner in Current Events (Political/Economic/Foreign Affairs), Independent Publisher Book Awards A CNN Fareed Zakaria GPS Book of the Week, August 7, 2016 One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 One of Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Books of 2016 in Current Affairs Honorable Mention for the 2017 PROSE Award in Government and Politics, Association of American Publishers "Well-researched and lucidly argued."--Malise Ruthven, New York Review of Books "A specific, timely, well-rendered exegesis of the unfolding global threat."--Kirkus (starred review) "This timely history gives a clear-sighted account of the ascent of the so-called Islamic State (IS)--one with far-reaching implications. The book's findings and conclusions have profound relevance... Written and edited with pellucid clarity, ISIS: A History is an important book that will have broad appeal."--Chris Harmer, LSE Review of Books "[Written] with energy and clarity, and out of uncommonly extensive knowledge."--Robert Fulford, National Post "[Gerges's] argument is all at once persuasive, deeply depressing, yet hopeful."--Daniel Flitton, Sydney Morning Herald "Perhaps the most informative, clearly expressed, sober book on the subject."--William Armstrong, Hurriyet Daily News "[Gerges's] book is one of the most coherent, comprehensive and persuasive histories of ISIS to date and deserves to be widely read."--Richard Cockett, Literary Review "[The book's] strength stems from the sheer breadth of the survey offered by Gerges."--Shiraz Maher, New Statesman "Gerges is clear, and it is here that the book excels, that Isis cannot be explained in isolation but must be examined in the larger sociopolitical context in which it emerged... ISIS: A History makes a welcome contribution to the debate, and will be of interest to both general readers and specialists."--Christina Hellmich, Times Higher Education "This is quite simply the definitive book on the group by a very smart, well-informed guide to the region, superbly researched, well-written and intelligent throughout. Everyone opining about ISIS should be required to read this book first."--Fareed Zakaria, CNN Global Public Square "The achievement of Fawaz Gerges... in his compelling, insightful book is to highlight the social and sectarian pressures that led so many Iraqi and Syrian Sunnis to turn to Isis as protectors."--Michael Burleigh, Times "Terrific."--Michael Brull, New Matilda "This is a comprehensive account of how ISIS emerged in the Middle East, triggered by the US invasion of Iraq, Syria's civil war, the collapse of the Arab Spring, and sectarian Sunni-Shi'a struggles. Gerges systematically details the complex social and political dynamics leading to ISIS's prominence among the Salafi-jihadist family of rivals... This authoritative, empirically rich study based on primary Arabic sources should be must reading for policy makers, strategists, scholars, journalists, students, and anyone seriously concerned about the human condition."--Choice "Gerges has made an important contribution to the burgeoning literature on ISIS."--Michael Degerald, Middle East Policy "This hugely important study is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the powerful political, sectarian and religious forces currently convulsing the Arab Middle East."--P. D. Smith, The GuardianTable of ContentsPreface to the Paperback Edition ix Acknowledgments xv Introduction: Down the Rabbit Hole and into the History of ISIS 1 1 The World According to ISIS 23 2 Where ISIS Came From: Zarqawi to Baghdadi 50 3 How Broken Iraqi Politics Fueled the Revival of ISIS 98 4 Baghdadi's Evolution: From Invisible to Infamous 129 5 Baathists and ISIS Jihadists: Who Converted Whom? 144 6 How the Syrian War Empowered ISIS 170 7 Misappropriating the Arab Spring Uprisings 202 8 ISIS versus Al Qaeda: Redefining Jihad and the Transition from the Global to the Local 222 Conclusion: The Future of ISIS 260 Notes 295 Index 353
£15.29
Princeton University Press The Translator of Desires
Book Synopsis"A complete facing-page translation of the Tarjuman, which consists of sixty-one poems composed between 1202 and 1215 CE and published in 1215 at the earliest. The first word of the title can refer to a translator, interpreter, or biographer, on the one hand, and to a translation, interpretation, or biography on the other"--Trade Review"Michael Sells, a highly regarded expert on the history and literature of Islam, and translator of this splendid book, provides all we might need to understand the poems in their broader historical context. . . . It is the clarity of his translations that bring these poems back for us, their marvels intact."---Allan Graubard, American Book Review
£55.25
Princeton University Press Longing for the Lost Caliphate
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the 2017 Award for Excellence in Religion Historical Studies, American Academy of Religion""After a brief review of the institution of the caliphate, this exceptional monograph explores how Muslims viewed the caliphate after the Mongol destruction of the Abbasid caliphate. . . . The role of the caliph in the Ottoman Empire has also been underappreciated. Hassan explores this role but focuses her attention on how the dismissal of the caliphate in 1924 with the rise of Ataturk and Kemalism affected Muslims not only in Turkey but also in other parts of the Muslim world. She concludes her book with an examination of current movements that seek to restore the caliphate, such as ISIS and Hizb al-Tahrir." * Choice *"This book is an excellent study that represents a significant contribution to our understanding about the caliphate, and Hassan’s use of memory in the study of religion provides a methodological model of inquiry for scholars to follow."---Susan Gunasti, Critical Research on Religion"Hassan is a gifted writer and does a wonderful job of evoking the melancholy and sadness attendant to loss. . . . In all these and other ways, Hassan’s book is a commendable effort to rescue the caliphate from the crass and often obtuse analysis on offer in the contemporary West and to identify it properly as one of the more significant and consequential cultural symbols in the history of human civilization."---Khurram Hussain, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
£31.50
Princeton University Press Coming of Age in Medieval Egypt
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Jordan Schnitzer Book Award in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History and Culture, Association for Jewish Studies""Winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award in Women’s Studies (Barbara Dobkin Award)""Finalist for the Dionisius A. Agius Book Prize, Society for the Medieval Mediterranean""Finalist for the 2017 National Jewish Book Award in Scholarship (Nahum Sarna Memorial Award)""Honorable Mention for the 2018 AAR Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion: Historical Studies, American Academy of Religion""One of Choice Reviews' Outstanding Academic Titles of 2018""Eve Krakowski’s masterful new book . . . presents an impressive cascade of new insights regarding the Jewish community in old Cairo—their concerns, negotiations, and accommodations with the dominant Fatimid society."---Amit Gvaryahu, Marginalia"Coming of Age in Medieval Egypt is an excellent book based on solid research and replete with brilliant insights. It marks a new, groundbreaking phase in the historical study of the Geniza society and constitutes a major contribution to the social and legal history of Islamicate cultures as well as to gender studies more generally."---Miriam Frenkel, Al-Masāq
£25.20
