Middle Eastern history Books
Duke University Press Visions of Beirut
Book SynopsisHatim El-Hibri explores how the creation and circulation of images has shaped the urban spaces and cultural imaginaries of Beirut, showing how images can be used to consolidate or destabilize regimes of power.Trade Review“Hatim El-Hibri weaves a narrative that articulates concealment and infrastructure onto a conceptual terrain that transcends the empirical context of Lebanon. This engaging, groundbreaking, and indispensable book makes a truly meaningful and influential intervention in global media studies, Middle East studies, and urban studies.” -- Marwan M. Kraidy, author of * The Naked Blogger of Cairo: Creative Insurgency in the Arab World *“Visions of Beirut is a compelling work of careful analysis and creative connections that proposes a historically informed set of powerful readings about the transformations of Beirut's public(s) and spaces. Hatim El-Hibri masterfully deconstructs outmoded assumptions about Lebanon's political economy and societies, unravelling instead the everyday visual infrastructures that sustain and reproduce forces such as sectarianism and financialization. The outcome is an important contribution that implores us to think critically about how image, its mediation, and infrastructures are remaking cities in today's world.” -- Mona Fawaz, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at the American University of Beirut“Visions of Beirut comes at a crucial moment for the city and for the country, coinciding with the most stringent economic crisis Lebanon has ever faced and in the aftermath of one of the largest nonnuclear explosions ever recorded.... The recent events confirm, once again, El-Hibri’s treatise and the validity of its theoretical framework." -- Aya Jazaierly * Information & Culture *“Visions of Beirut offers a lot to its readers. It will be of great interest to scholars of global media, Middle Eastern studies, and urban studies and will make an excellent addition to many graduate-level syllabi.” -- Blake Atwood * International Journal of Middle East Studies *Table of ContentsNote on Translation and Transliteration vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. The Social Life of Maps of Beirut 21 2. Images of Before/After in the Economy of Postwar Construction 64 3. Concealment, Liveness, and Al Manar TV 105 4. The Open Secret of Concealment at the Mleeta Museum 144 Conclusion 178 Notes 183 References 217 Index 247
£72.25
Duke University Press Palestine Is Throwing a Party and the Whole World
Book SynopsisKareem Rabie examines how Palestine's desire to fully integrate its economy into global markets through large-scale investment projects represented a shift away from political state building with the hope that a thriving economy would lead to a free and functioning Palestinian state.Trade Review“Palestine Is Throwing a Party is a brilliant, carefully researched, and thoughtful book. Kareem Rabie uses the lens of urban planning and development to show us how global processes of unequal capital accumulation, racialized labor and property regimes within Israel/Palestine, and the managerial rule of Palestinian technocrats and capitalists collaborating with Israel all persistently reproduce the violent systems of settler-colonial expropriation in Israel/Palestine since 1948.” -- Laleh Khalili, author of * Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula *“Drawing on his exceptional knowledge and understanding of Palestine, along with a considerable amount of original, innovative, and detailed fieldwork, Kareem Rabie presents thought-provoking insights on the question of urbanism in Palestine. This extremely interesting study makes an important contribution.” -- Adam Hanieh, author of * Money, Markets, and Monarchies: The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Political Economy of the Contemporary Middle East *"[A] detailed, often dense but intellectually penetrating look at how that conference heralded a significant change in both economic and political strategy." -- Ian Black * Tel Aviv Review of Books *"The capitalist concept of Palestine, despite its exclusion, is part of the normalised state-building process, which in turn normalises dealings with Israel. Rabie's book is a pragmatic approach that does not necessarily condone the alteration of Palestinian territory, but takes a dispassionate look at the facts." -- Ramona Wadi * Middle East Monitor *"By applying the analytic of settler colonialism without essentializing indigenous identity, and by theorizing the effects of global capitalism on Palestinian class formation, Palestine is Throwing a Party shows the way forward. Though there is nothing optimistic about its portrayal of relations between Palestinians and Israelis as a dark, distorting mirror, its reminder that the two groups are forever shaping one another against a backdrop of steep global inequalities will be crucial for any politics of democratic decolonization." -- Matan Kaminer * +972 Magazine *"Palestine Is Throwing a Party exemplifies the best of what ethnography can do: theoretically nuanced analysis derived from the specificities of social life rather than imposed on them. One of the many strengths of this ethnography is the way Rabie eschews easy invocations of a universal version of capitalism, instead making 'universalism' into an ethnographic object: first, by examining how capitalist investors in the West Bank invoke it to make their profit-seeking projects appear desirable, cosmopolitan, and inevitable, even as these projects are contingent and uncertain; and second, to illuminate how the liberalism of the Israeli legal system works to enhance Israel’s domination." -- Lisa Rofel * Journal of Palestine Studies *"Palestine is Throwing a Party can contribute to a wide range of literatures. . . . It should prove crucial reading to all those interested in the future of Palestine . . . as well as political economy approaches more broadly." -- Dana El Kurd * International Journal of Middle East Studies *"Brilliant . . . . Rabie’s book forces scholars to more deeply reflect upon and analyze contemporary forms of settler colonialism and the partial, constrained sovereignties under which indigenous peoples all over the world currently live and struggle." -- Les W. Field * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Rabie carefully disentangles the claims and political-economic goals of stability and freedom. This complicates the picture but is essential because it helps us understand what is going on in Palestine today and contributes to a discussion on the contours of a political future not confined to the nation-state form. In doing so, Rabie offers ways to think otherwise and imagine emancipatory futures." -- Timothy Seidel * American Anthropologist *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 1. The Site 37 2. Developers and Designers 54 3. Image, Process, and Precedent 67 4. Public Urban Planning 81 5. Housing Shortage and National Priority 93 6. Public-Private Partnership 105 7. Buyers and Villagers 131 8. Critique, Capital, and the Landscape 149 9. Settlers and the Land 163 10. The Law, Mirroring, and the State 183 Conclusion 199 Acknowledgments 213 Notes 217 References 235 Index 255
£72.25
Duke University Press Familial Undercurrents
Book SynopsisNot long after her father died, Afsaneh Najmabadi discovered that her father had a secret second family and that she had a sister she never knew about. In Familial Undercurrents, Najmabadi uncovers her family's complex experiences of polygamous marriage to tell a larger story of the transformations of notions of love, marriage, and family life in mid-twentieth-century Iran. She traces how the idea of marrying for love and the desire for companionate, monogamous marriage acquired dominance in Tehran's emerging urban middle class. Considering the role played in that process by late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century romance novels, reformist newspapers, plays, and other literature, Najmabadi outlines the rituals and objects---such as wedding outfits, letter writing, and family portraits---that came to characterize the ideal companionate marriage. She reveals how in the course of one generation men's polygamy had evolved from an acceptable open practice to a taboo best kept secret. ATrade Review“Afsaneh Najmabadi’s creative mélange of history and memoir makes a compelling case for microhistory and even more specifically for personal history as a living document and an archive to be explored in uncovering Iranian social history. I greatly appreciate how Najmabadi has brought history to life.” -- Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, author of * Conceiving Citizens: Women and the Politics of Motherhood in Iran *“Few scholars elevate the personal to the theoretical with the economy and elegance of Afsaneh Najmabadi. She translates a claim that her father had a secret second family into a journey of research, producing exquisite reflections on urban/space transformations that facilitated familial change. Stories are not just stories, as Najmabadi interrogates them to extract and advance their enduring theoretical significance. She sweeps into history and history making.” -- Suad Joseph, general editor of the * Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures *“This well-written book is both informative and entertaining. Recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.” -- G. M. Farr * Choice *Table of ContentsCast of Characters ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xvii In Lieu of an Introduction 1 1. Marrying for Love 13 2. Objects: Letters, Wedding Clothes, and Photographs 41 3. Meanings of Marriage: Forming a Family or Providing Sexual Pleasure 75 4. Urban Transformations 111 Epilogue: Naming Marriage, Naming Kin 127 Notes 131 Bibliography 149 Index 155
£70.55
Duke University Press Architecture and Development
Book SynopsisAyala Levin charts the settler colonial imagination and practices that undergirded Israeli architectural development aid in Africa.Trade Review“A remarkable addition to the growing literature on the intrinsic plurality of global development experiences. Placing architectural expertise at the center of knowledge transfer between the newly-formed nation-states of Israel and on the African continent, Ayala Levin depicts state building as a parallel activity being undertaken by both provider and receiver of expertise, undoing received notions about ‘developed’ and ‘underdeveloped’ contexts. The sections comparing Israeli approaches toward kibbutzim at home and rural-urban migration patterns in Sierra Leone and Nigeria are nothing short of spectacular.” -- Arindam Dutta, author of * The Bureaucracy of Beauty: Design in the Age of Its Global Reproducibility *“In this rich and wonderfully detailed study, Ayala Levin provides a careful, learned, and multidisciplinary assessment of Israel’s architectural and developmental impact in Africa in which the characters and mindsets of Israeli architects and planners come alive. Scholars of Israeli-African relations, African development studies, African and Israeli architecture, and urban planning in the global South will find Levin’s exposé of Israeli-African geopolitics to be a valuable contribution.” -- Garth Myers, author of * Rethinking Urbanism: Lessons from Postcolonialism and the Global South *“Levin takes the reader on a well-detailed and multifaceted journey.” -- Gabriel Schwake * Connections *"Architecture and Development provides far more than the sum of its case studies: this volume presents excellent scholarship. ... It significantly enriches our knowledge of Israeli and African planning and architecture. It critically reveals fascinating connections between national ideologies and international relations and provides new perspectives on global junctions of architecture culture and knowledge production." -- Inbal Ben Asher Gitler * Israel Studies Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction. Settler Colonial Expertise in the Theater of Development 1 1. Fast-Tracking the Nation-State: The Design and Construction of the Sierra Leone Parliament 25 2. Rootedness and Open-Ended Planning: The Sierra Leone National Urbanization Plan 68 3. Planning a Postcolonial University Campus: The University of Ife, Nigeria 97 4. Designing the University of Ife: Climate, Regeneration, and Ornament 125 5. Israeli Aid, Private Entrepreneurship, and Architectural Education in Addis Ababa 165 Postscript. Ghosts of Modernity 195 Notes 219 Bibliography 269 Index 295
£75.65
Duke University Press Staple Security
Book SynopsisJessica Barnes explores the central role that bread and wheat play in Egyptian daily life as well as the anxieties surrounding the possibility that the nation could run out these staples.Trade Review"The book’s forte lies in the wider use of a range of sources, including ethnography, interviews with various actors in Egypt, participant observation, newspapers and archival materials. . . . Another strength is how the book draws connections with issues of staple security in countries in Africa but also from other continents. Barnes also provides extensive illustrations that are well linked to the content of each chapter. The concept of staple security is of value to anyone interested in the subject of food and politics as well as food histories." -- Chama Kaluba Jickson * H-Environment *"Barnes’s Staple Security is an important contribution to the existing literature that unravels the myriad relationships, histories, and politics coalescing around one commodity or staple, similar, for example, to studies of sugar, coffee, and rice. One could imagine scholars and students from agrifood studies, Middle East and North Africa studies, anthropology, and geography finding much value in this text." -- Megan A. Carney * American Anthropologist *Table of ContentsA Note on Transliteration and Units vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 1. Staple Becomings 39 2. Gold of the Land 81 3. Grain on the Move 113 4. Subsidized Bread (with Mariam Taher) 153 5. Homemade Bread 191 Conclusion 225 Notes 239 References 271 Index 289
£73.95
Duke University Press This Flame Within
Book SynopsisIn This Flame Within Manijeh Moradian revises conventional histories of Iranian migration to the United States as a post-1979 phenomenon characterized by the flight of pro-Shah Iranians from the Islamic Republic and recounts the experiences of Iranian foreign students who joined a global movement against US imperialism during the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on archival evidence and in-depth interviews with members of the Iranian Students Association, Moradian traces what she calls “revolutionary affects”—the embodied force of affect generated by experiences of repression and resistance—from encounters with empire and dictatorship in Iran to joint organizing with other student activists in the United States. Moradian theorizes “affects of solidarity” that facilitated Iranian student participation in a wide range of antiracist and anticolonial movements and analyzes gendered manifestations of revolutionary affects within the emergence of Third WorlTrade Review"This wonderful book examines the history of the left wing of the Iranian diaspora in the U.S., developing a theory of revolutionary affect in the process. Moradian is a wonderful writer and interviewer who combines analytic sophistication with an unusual kind of political and intellectual generosity." -- Lisa Duggan * Commie Pinko Queer newsletter *"This Flame Within takes seriously the power, pleasure, and melancholy of social movements. It would work especially well in upper-level undergraduate and graduate seminars. Moradian’s MFA in creative nonfiction and many years of organizing work in progressive feminist of color and anti-war social movements help her construct a beautifully written academic book that is also a generous and tender recording of social history." -- Neda Maghbouleh * Gender and Society *"A useful contribution to the many legacies of the Iranian revolution, and not just of the secular masculine left. Examining This Flame Within allows one to ask how revolutionary knowledge is transmitted across generations, how new generational understandings draw on lessons from historical legacies on which they claim to build, and how so-called defeats and victories in the past actually have complicated and multiple legacies for future action." -- Michael M. J. Fischer * Public Books *Table of ContentsAbbreviations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction. Before We Were “Terrorists” 1 1. Revolutionary Affects and the Archive of Memory 33 2. Revolt in the Metropole 69 3. Making the Most of an American Education 95 4. The Feeling and Practice of Solidarity 128 5. Political Cultures of Revolutionary Belonging 176 6. Intersectional Anti-Imperialism: Alternative Genealogies of Revolution and Diaspora 215 Conclusion. Revolutionary Affects and the Remaking of Diaspora 247 Notes 275 Bibliography 301 Index 323
£73.95
Duke University Press Between Banat
Book SynopsisMejdulene Bernard Shomali examines homoeroticism and nonnormative sexualities between Arab women in transnational Arab literature, art, and film to show how women, femmes, and nonbinary people disrupt stereotypical and Orientalist representations of the Arab woman.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. A Thousand and One Scheherazades: Arab Femininities and Foreclosing Discourses 27 2. Between Women: Homoeroticism in Golden Era Egyptian Cinema 58 3. Longing in Arabic: Ambivalent Identities in Arabic Novels 90 4. Love Letters: Queer Intimacies and the Arabic Language 119 5. Sahq: Queer Femme Futures 138 Notes 175 Bibliography 187 Index 199
£74.70
Duke University Press Invited to Witness
Book SynopsisJennifer Lynn Kelly explores the significance of contemporary solidarity tourism in Palestine/Israel, showing how such tourism functions both as political strategy and emergent industry.Trade Review“In this sophisticated academic study, Jennifer Lynn Kelly probes the complexities of solidarity tourism in Palestine. . . . Kelly’s impressive field research yields a nuanced analysis rather than an uncritical celebration of solidarity tourism." -- Walter L. Hixson * Washington Report on Middle East Affairs *"This book offers deep insights into the Palestinian memories of loss, and the cultural boundaries between insiders and outsiders. . . . The author succeeds in using a variety of materials (interviews, films, history, literature, etc.), mobilizing different tools of cultural studies to reveal the impasses of telling the past and the present of Palestine." -- Abdessamad Belhaj * Social Identities *"Kelly makes a major contribution to the study of so-called solidarity tourism in Palestine, exploring its well-researched effect on national identity, lived experience, political strategy, and economic influence throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories. . . . Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty." -- B. Osborne * Choice *"A guide to how non-Palestinian researchers can conduct research that neither essentializes or erases Palestinian knowledge and experience. … Kelly's book is a welcome addition to the literature on global phenomenon in Palestine." -- Charles Finn * Postcolonial Interventions *"[Kelly's book] will inspire students to examine the past and benevolently imagine the future unflinchingly." -- Lynne Rogers * Al Jadid *"Kelly’s Invited to Witness is ripe with Palestinian moments that speak of the intricacy, beauty, and courage embedded in our ways of being and doing things. . . . the most illuminating aspect of Kelly’s book becomes what she herself represents in her study: a cultural translator, a US citizen writing to other 'Americans' about the responsibility involved in visiting and writing about Palestine. You cannot just witness it—you have to actively pursue its liberation and reflect it in your actions, scholarship, and your intentional conversations with others." -- Eman Ghanayem * Public Books *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. The Colonial Calculus of Veracity: Delegations under Erasure and the Desire for Evidentiary Weight 21 2. Asymmetrical Itineraries: Militarism, Tourism, and Fragmentation under Occupation 59 3. Recitation against Erasure: Planting, Harvesting, and Narrating the Continuities of Displacement 87 4. Itineraries under Duress: Tours across Three Occupations of One City 112 5. Colonial Ruins and a Decolonized Future: Witnessing and Return in Historic Palestine 138 6. “Welcome to Gaza”: On the Politics of Invitation and the Right to Tourism 179 7. Witnesses in Palestine: Imperfect Analogies, Acts of Translation, and Refusals to Perform 211 Conclusion: On Futurity, Failure, and Precarious Hope 245 Notes 253 Bibliography 287 Index 311
£73.95
Duke University Press Unknowing and the Everyday
Book SynopsisSeema Golestaneh examines how Sufi mystical experience in Iran and the idea of unknowing—the idea that it is ultimately impossible to fully understand the divine—shapes contemporary life.Trade Review"Golestaneh’s writing throughout the book is lucid and effective, frequently poetic. ... A beautifully crafted memoir of a wandering Sufi of an academic, lost in the charmingly mystical landscape of contemporary Isfahan." -- Guangtian Ha * International Journal of Middle East Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Prologue xv Introduction 1 1. Sufism in Iran, Iran in Sufism 29 2. Unknowing of Text, Unknowing of Authority 59 3. Unknowing of Self, Unknowing of Body 96 4. Unknowing of Memory 135 5. Unknowing of Place 165 Postscript 189 Notes 193 Bibliography 211 Index 225
£70.55
Duke University Press Architecture and Development
Book SynopsisIn Architecture and Development Ayala Levin charts the settler colonial imagination and practices that undergirded Israeli architectural development aid in Africa. Focusing on the “golden age” of Israel’s diplomatic relations in and throughout the continent from 1958 to 1973, Levin finds that Israel positioned itself as a developing-nation alternative in the competition over aid and influence between global North and global South. In analyses of the design and construction of prestigious governmental projects in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia, Levin details how architects, planners, and a trade union--owned construction company staged Israel as a new center of nonaligned expertise. These actors and professionals paradoxically capitalized on their settler colonial experience in Palestine, refashioning it as an alternative to Western colonial expertise. Levin traces how Israel became involved in the modernization of governance, education, and agriculture in Trade Review“A remarkable addition to the growing literature on the intrinsic plurality of global development experiences. Placing architectural expertise at the center of knowledge transfer between the newly-formed nation-states of Israel and on the African continent, Ayala Levin depicts state building as a parallel activity being undertaken by both provider and receiver of expertise, undoing received notions about ‘developed’ and ‘underdeveloped’ contexts. The sections comparing Israeli approaches toward kibbutzim at home and rural-urban migration patterns in Sierra Leone and Nigeria are nothing short of spectacular.” -- Arindam Dutta, author of * The Bureaucracy of Beauty: Design in the Age of Its Global Reproducibility *“In this rich and wonderfully detailed study, Ayala Levin provides a careful, learned, and multidisciplinary assessment of Israel’s architectural and developmental impact in Africa in which the characters and mindsets of Israeli architects and planners come alive. Scholars of Israeli-African relations, African development studies, African and Israeli architecture, and urban planning in the global South will find Levin’s exposé of Israeli-African geopolitics to be a valuable contribution.” -- Garth Myers, author of * Rethinking Urbanism: Lessons from Postcolonialism and the Global South *“Levin takes the reader on a well-detailed and multifaceted journey.” -- Gabriel Schwake * Connections *"Architecture and Development provides far more than the sum of its case studies: this volume presents excellent scholarship. ... It significantly enriches our knowledge of Israeli and African planning and architecture. It critically reveals fascinating connections between national ideologies and international relations and provides new perspectives on global junctions of architecture culture and knowledge production." -- Inbal Ben Asher Gitler * Israel Studies Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction. Settler Colonial Expertise in the Theater of Development 1 1. Fast-Tracking the Nation-State: The Design and Construction of the Sierra Leone Parliament 25 2. Rootedness and Open-Ended Planning: The Sierra Leone National Urbanization Plan 68 3. Planning a Postcolonial University Campus: The University of Ife, Nigeria 97 4. Designing the University of Ife: Climate, Regeneration, and Ornament 125 5. Israeli Aid, Private Entrepreneurship, and Architectural Education in Addis Ababa 165 Postscript. Ghosts of Modernity 195 Notes 219 Bibliography 269 Index 295
£20.69
Duke University Press Staple Security
Book SynopsisEgyptians often say that bread is life; most eat this staple multiple times a day, many relying on the cheap bread subsidized by the government. In Staple Security, Jessica Barnes explores the process of sourcing domestic and foreign wheat for the production of bread and its consumption across urban and rural settings. She traces the anxiety that pervades Egyptian society surrounding the possibility that the nation could run out of wheat or that people might not have enough good bread to eat, and the daily efforts to ensure that this does not happen. With rich ethnographic detail, she takes us into the worlds of cultivating wheat, trading grain, and baking, buying, and eating bread. Linking global flows of grain and a national bread subsidy program with everyday household practices, Barnes theorizes the nexus between food and security, drawing attention to staples and the lengths to which people go to secure their consistent availability and quality.Trade Review"The book’s forte lies in the wider use of a range of sources, including ethnography, interviews with various actors in Egypt, participant observation, newspapers and archival materials. . . . Another strength is how the book draws connections with issues of staple security in countries in Africa but also from other continents. Barnes also provides extensive illustrations that are well linked to the content of each chapter. The concept of staple security is of value to anyone interested in the subject of food and politics as well as food histories." -- Chama Kaluba Jickson * H-Environment *"Barnes’s Staple Security is an important contribution to the existing literature that unravels the myriad relationships, histories, and politics coalescing around one commodity or staple, similar, for example, to studies of sugar, coffee, and rice. One could imagine scholars and students from agrifood studies, Middle East and North Africa studies, anthropology, and geography finding much value in this text." -- Megan A. Carney * American Anthropologist *Table of ContentsA Note on Transliteration and Units vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 1. Staple Becomings 39 2. Gold of the Land 81 3. Grain on the Move 113 4. Subsidized Bread (with Mariam Taher) 153 5. Homemade Bread 191 Conclusion 225 Notes 239 References 271 Index 289
£19.79
Duke University Press This Flame Within
Book SynopsisIn This Flame Within Manijeh Moradian revises conventional histories of Iranian migration to the United States as a post-1979 phenomenon characterized by the flight of pro-Shah Iranians from the Islamic Republic and recounts the experiences of Iranian foreign students who joined a global movement against US imperialism during the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on archival evidence and in-depth interviews with members of the Iranian Students Association, Moradian traces what she calls “revolutionary affects”—the embodied force of affect generated by experiences of repression and resistance—from encounters with empire and dictatorship in Iran to joint organizing with other student activists in the United States. Moradian theorizes “affects of solidarity” that facilitated Iranian student participation in a wide range of antiracist and anticolonial movements and analyzes gendered manifestations of revolutionary affects within the emergence of Third WorlTrade Review"This wonderful book examines the history of the left wing of the Iranian diaspora in the U.S., developing a theory of revolutionary affect in the process. Moradian is a wonderful writer and interviewer who combines analytic sophistication with an unusual kind of political and intellectual generosity." -- Lisa Duggan * Commie Pinko Queer newsletter *"This Flame Within takes seriously the power, pleasure, and melancholy of social movements. It would work especially well in upper-level undergraduate and graduate seminars. Moradian’s MFA in creative nonfiction and many years of organizing work in progressive feminist of color and anti-war social movements help her construct a beautifully written academic book that is also a generous and tender recording of social history." -- Neda Maghbouleh * Gender and Society *"A useful contribution to the many legacies of the Iranian revolution, and not just of the secular masculine left. Examining This Flame Within allows one to ask how revolutionary knowledge is transmitted across generations, how new generational understandings draw on lessons from historical legacies on which they claim to build, and how so-called defeats and victories in the past actually have complicated and multiple legacies for future action." -- Michael M. J. Fischer * Public Books *Table of ContentsAbbreviations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction. Before We Were “Terrorists” 1 1. Revolutionary Affects and the Archive of Memory 33 2. Revolt in the Metropole 69 3. Making the Most of an American Education 95 4. The Feeling and Practice of Solidarity 128 5. Political Cultures of Revolutionary Belonging 176 6. Intersectional Anti-Imperialism: Alternative Genealogies of Revolution and Diaspora 215 Conclusion. Revolutionary Affects and the Remaking of Diaspora 247 Notes 275 Bibliography 301 Index 323
£20.69
Duke University Press Revolution Squared
Book SynopsisDrawing on historical analysis and his own participation in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Atef Shahat Said examines how limited reformist demands and the failure of Egyptians to fully grasp their clout reduced the revolution’s potential.Trade Review“Revolution Squared is an exciting book that presents a new and insightful framework for understanding the 2011 uprising in Egypt and its aftermath. Atef Shahat Said’s first-person narratives and astute sociological analysis offer a compelling perspective on the organization and longue durée of the revolutionary process. This is absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary uprisings, in Egypt and beyond.” -- Jessica Winegar, author of * Creative Reckonings: The Politics of Art and Culture in Contemporary Egypt *“Atef Shahat Said’s thoughtful book Revolution Squared examines the hopes and disappointments of Egypt’s pro-democracy activists, theorizing revolution and counterrevolution alongside the activists’ own attempts to understand how they succeeded so dramatically in 2011 and were defeated so decisively in 2013.” -- Charles Kurzman, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillTable of ContentsNote on Transliteration xii Acknowledgments xv Introduction. Revolution as Lived Contingency 1 1. Prelude to Revolutionary Possibilities: Tahrir and Political Protest in Egypt 31 2. Peak of Revolutionary Possibilities: Squared I: How the Revolution Was “Bound” within Tahrir 57 3. Sovereignty in the Street: Popular Committees, Revolutionary Ambivalence, and Unrealized Power 87 4. The Two Souls of the Egyptian Revolution: Democratic Demands, Radical Strikes 112 5. Waning Revolutionary Possibilities: Squared II: Counterrevolutionary Coercion and Elections without Democratization 147 6. Square Zero: The State, Counterrevolutionary Paranoia, and the Withdrawal of Activists 178 Conclusion: Revolution as Experience 210 Appendix 1. Brief Timeline of the Egyptian Revolution, 2011–2018 227 Appendix 2. A Note on Positionality 231 Appendix 3. Notes on Methods, or How I Conducted Historical Ethnography of a Revolution 235 Appendix 4. Major Political Coalitions in Egypt, 2000–2010 251 Notes 263 References 289 Index 325
£81.90
Duke University Press Revolution Squared
Book SynopsisDrawing on historical analysis and his own participation in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Atef Shahat Said examines how limited reformist demands and the failure of Egyptians to fully grasp their clout reduced the revolution's potential.Trade Review“Revolution Squared is an exciting book that presents a new and insightful framework for understanding the 2011 uprising in Egypt and its aftermath. Atef Shahat Said’s first-person narratives and astute sociological analysis offer a compelling perspective on the organization and longue durée of the revolutionary process. This is absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary uprisings, in Egypt and beyond.” -- Jessica Winegar, author of * Creative Reckonings: The Politics of Art and Culture in Contemporary Egypt *“Atef Shahat Said’s thoughtful book Revolution Squared examines the hopes and disappointments of Egypt’s pro-democracy activists, theorizing revolution and counterrevolution alongside the activists’ own attempts to understand how they succeeded so dramatically in 2011 and were defeated so decisively in 2013.” -- Charles Kurzman, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillTable of ContentsNote on Transliteration xii Acknowledgments xv Introduction. Revolution as Lived Contingency 1 1. Prelude to Revolutionary Possibilities: Tahrir and Political Protest in Egypt 31 2. Peak of Revolutionary Possibilities: Squared I: How the Revolution Was “Bound” within Tahrir 57 3. Sovereignty in the Street: Popular Committees, Revolutionary Ambivalence, and Unrealized Power 87 4. The Two Souls of the Egyptian Revolution: Democratic Demands, Radical Strikes 112 5. Waning Revolutionary Possibilities: Squared II: Counterrevolutionary Coercion and Elections without Democratization 147 6. Square Zero: The State, Counterrevolutionary Paranoia, and the Withdrawal of Activists 178 Conclusion: Revolution as Experience 210 Appendix 1. Brief Timeline of the Egyptian Revolution, 2011–2018 227 Appendix 2. A Note on Positionality 231 Appendix 3. Notes on Methods, or How I Conducted Historical Ethnography of a Revolution 235 Appendix 4. Major Political Coalitions in Egypt, 2000–2010 251 Notes 263 References 289 Index 325
£21.59
New York University Press Leg over Leg Volumes One and Two 1 Library of
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIts contemporaneity is astonishing... It would be doing Leg over Leg a massive disservice to not make it clear how funny it is. This is a book that for all its challenges, all its insight into humanity, all its place in history, had me regularly laughing out loud. * Music and Literature *Humphrey Davies's masterful translation makes accessible this unique and fascinating work, deserving of wider recognition and study... The translation adroitly and sympathetically captures the linguistic exuberance and literary inventiveness of the original. * Banipal Magazine *The heroic achievement of award-winning translator Humphrey Davies marks the first ever English translation of this pivotal work... An accessible, informative, and highly entertaining read. * Banipal Magazine *...Leg over Leg by the Lebanese intellectual Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, [has] long been held to be untranslatable and so [is] appearing, in [its] entirety, in English for the first time. -- Lydia Wilson * Times Literary Supplement *Al-Shidyaq, born in Lebanon in the early years of the nineteenth century, was a Zelig of the Arabic literary world, and his Leg over Leg is a bawdy, hilarious, epically word-obsessed, and unclassifiable book, which has never been translated into English before. -- Sal Robinson * Moby Lives *Humphrey Davies has rendered one of the most challenging texts of Arabic literature, al-Shidyaq's al-Saq 'ala l-saq, accessible to a wide range of readers for the first time.... The reader is plunged into al-Shidyaq's critical, humorous, uninhibited, sometimes bitter but profoundly humane, and utterly original masterpiece. -- Hilary Kilpatrick * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Humphrey Davies's translation, published in four dual-language volumes, is a triumph. He skillfully renders punning, rhyming prose without breaking the spell Leg over Leg stands out for both its stylistic brazenness and the excellence of the translation. With this bilingual edition, the Library of Arabic Literature helps fill a large cultural gap and alters our view of Arabic literature and the formal trajectory of the novel outside the West. Any reader for whom the term 'world literature' is more than an empty platitude must read Humphrey Davies's translation. -- John Yargo * Los Angeles Review of Books *We're having a particularly good season for literary discoveries from the past, with recent publications of Volumes 1 and 2 of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq's 'Leg over Leg' (1855)… -- Martin Riker * New York Times Book Review *It is not too early to state that the publication of this work, in this edition, is a game-changer. This is a foundational work of modern Arabic literature and its publication in English is long overdue but given how it is presented here, it was perhaps worth the wait. This edition, with helpful endnotes, the original Arabic text, and in a translation that both reads well and appears to closely mirror the original, seems, in almost every way, ideal. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that this is the most important literary publication of a translation into English, in terms of literary history and our understanding of it, in years. * The Complete Review *Table of ContentsTable of Contents Chapter 1: Raising a Storm 36 Chapter 2: A Bruising Fall and a Protecting Shawl 64 Chapter 3: Various Amusing Anecdotes 72 Chapter 4: Troubles and a Tambour 84 Chapter 5: A Priest and a Pursie, Dragging Pockets and Dry Grazing 92 Chapter 6: Food and Feeding Frenzies 108 Chapter 7: A Donkey that Brayed, a Journey Made, a Hope Delayed 116 Chapter 8: Bodega, Brethren, and Board 124 Chapter 9: Unseemly Conversations and Crooked Contestations 134 Chapter 10: Angering Women Who Dart Sideways Looks, and Claws like Hooks 148 Chapter 11: That Which Is Long and Broad 162 Chapter 12: A Dish and an Itch 174 Chapter 13: A Maqamah, or, a Maqamah on "Chapter 13" 190 Chapter 14: A Sacrament 202 Chapter 15: The Priest's Tale 212 Chapter 16: The Priest's Tale Continued 222 Chapter 17: Snow 244 Chapter 18: Bad Luck 254 Chapter 19: Emotion and Motion 282 Chapter 20: The Difference between Market-men and Bag-men 312
£16.14
New York University Press Ain elGedida
Book SynopsisThe fourth volume in the Amheida series, Ain el-Gedida: 2006-2008 Excavations of a Late Antique Site in Egypt''s Western Desert (Amheida IV) presents the systematic record and interpretation of the archaeological evidence from the excavations at Ain el-Gedida, a fourth-century rural settlement in Egypt''s Dakleh Oasis uniquely important for the study of early Egyptian Christianity and previously known only from written sources.Nicola Aravecchia (Washington University), the Deputy Field Director of NYU''s Amheida Excavations, offers a history of the site and its excavations, followed by an integrated topographical and archaeological interpretation of the site and its significance for the history of Christianity in Egypt. In the second half of the volume a team of international experts presents catalogs and interpretations of the archaeological finds, including ceramics (Delphine Dixneuf, CRNS), coins (David M. Ratzan, NYU), ostraca and graffiti (Roger S. Bagnall,
£63.00
New York University Press Moments of Silence
Book SynopsisExplores how writers, filmmakers and artists have attempted to reckon with the legacy of a devastating warThe Iran-Iraq War was the longest conventional war of the 20th century. The memory of it may have faded in the wake of more recent wars in the region, but the harrowing facts remain: over one million soldiers and civilians dead, millions more permanently displaced and disabled, and an entire generation marked by prosthetic implants and teenage martyrdom. These same facts have been instrumentalized by agendas both foreign and domestic, but also aestheticized, defamiliarized, readdressed and reconciled by artists, writers, and filmmakers across an array of identities: linguistic (Arabic, Persian, Kurdish), religious (Shiite, Sunni, atheist), and political (Iranian, Iraqi, internationalist). Official discourses have unsurprisingly tried to dominate the process of production and distribution of war narratives. In doing so, they have ignored and silenced other voices. Centering on novelTrade Review"Stories of the life experiences of religious minorities, refugees, displaced and exiled population, prisoners, children, women, and the diverse ethnicities of both Iran and Iraq, during the war, were ignored and neglected in the official histories. Moments of Silence: Authenticity in the Cultural Expressions of the Iran–Iraq War, 1980–1988 is an attempt to reflect parts of that untold story … the book offers some essays that are a substantive contribution to the literature of the war and the Middle East. Those who wish to broadly understand different aspects of the Iran–Iraq war will benefit from reading it." -- International Journal of Communication
£23.74
New York University Press The Life of Ibn Hanbal
Book SynopsisThe Life of Ibn ?anbal is a translation of the biography of Ibn Hanbal by the Baghdad preacher, scholar, and storyteller Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597/1200), newly abridged for a paperback readership by translator Michael Cooperson. A?mad ibn ?anbal (d. 241/855), renowned for his profound knowledge of hadithsthe reports of the Prophet's sayings and deedsis a major figure in the history of Islam. He was famous for living according to his own strict interpretation of the Prophetic model and for denying himself the most basic comforts, even though his family was prominent and his city, Baghdad, was then one of the wealthiest in the world. Ibn ?anbal's piety and austerity made him a folk hero, especially after he resisted the attempts of two caliphs to force him to accept rationalist doctrine. His subsequent imprisonment and flogging is one of the most dramatic episodes of medieval Islamic history, and his principled resistance influenced the course of Islamic law, the rise of SunniTrade ReviewCooperson's translation is uncommonly deft. On the whole, this translation is a grand success. It will be valuable for teachers to illustrate early Islamic piety, early Islamic law, early Sunni theology, and everyday life in Baghdad. -- Christopher Melchert * Journal of Islamic Studies *Michael Cooperson's fluid translation is accompanied by substantial notes and a glossary of names and terms. * Banipal Magazine *Gives readers a unique vantage point into the life and piety of the namesake of the Hanbali school of Sunni law...Ibn al-Jawzi, drawing on earlier reports, reconstructs the life and morality of his hero as a complex, earnest, and playful man; Coopersons dynamic and accessible translation brings this last quality to the surface to an extent that would surprise many modern readers with preconceptions about Hanbalism. * Marginalia *Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in ḥadīth, history, theology, and law, and to anyone who appreciates a good read. * Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt *
£14.24
New York University Press The Book of Travels
Book SynopsisThe adventures of the man who created AladdinThe Book of Travels is ?anna Diyab's remarkable first-person account of his travels as a young man from his hometown of Aleppo to the court of Versailles and back again, which forever linked him to one of the most popular pieces of world literature, the Thousand and One Nights. Diyab, a Maronite Christian, served as a guide and interpreter for the French naturalist and antiquarian Paul Lucas. Between 1706 and 1716, Diyab and Lucas traveled through Syria, Cyprus, Egypt, Tripolitania, Tunis, Italy, and France. In Paris, ?anna Diyab met Antoine Galland, who added to his wildly popular translation of the Thousand and One Nights several tales related by Diyab, including Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. When Lucas failed to make good on his promise of a position for Diyab at Louis XIV's Royal Library, Diyab returned to Aleppo. In his old age, he wrote this engaging account of his youthfulTrade ReviewDiyab’s memoir of his Mediterranean adventures is a mixture of clear-eyed observation and wide-eyed innocence, nicely captured by Muhanna’s lucid yet folksy English version...Throughout The Book of Travels, realistic details are suffused with a sense of the marvelous. * New York Review of Books *It is a joy to celebrate [Ḥannā Diyāb's] work in Elias Muhanna's vibrant translation. * Middle East Eye *
£999.99
New York University Press The Discourses
Book SynopsisWide-ranging essays on Moroccan history, Sufism, and religious life Al-?asan al-Yusi was arguably the most influential and well-known Moroccan intellectual figure of his generation. In 1084/1685, at the age of roughly fifty-four, and after a long and distinguished career, this Amazigh scholar from the Middle Atlas began writing a collection of short essays on a wide variety of subjects. Completed three years later and gathered together under the title Discourses on Language and Literature (al-Muhadarat fi l-adab wa-l-lughah), they offer rich insight into the varied intellectual interests of an ambitious and gifted Moroccan scholar, covering subjects as diverse as genealogy, theology, Sufism, history, and social mores. In addition to representing the author's intellectual interests, The Discourses also includes numerous autobiographical anecdotes, which offer valuable insight into the history of Morocco, including the transition from the Saadian to the Alaouite dynasty, which occurred during al-Yusi's lifetime. Translated into English for the first time, The Discourses offers readers access to the intellectual landscape of the early modern Muslim world through an author who speaks openly and frankly about his personal life and his relationships with his country's rulers, scholars, and commoners.An English-only edition.Trade ReviewExquisitely rendered into English . . . As is the norm for the series, the volume is beautifully produced. * Religious Studies Review *
£12.34
New York University Press The Book of Travels
Book SynopsisThe adventures of the man who created AladdinThe Book of Travels is ?anna Diyab's remarkable first-person account of his travels as a young man from his hometown of Aleppo to the court of Versailles and back again, which forever linked him to one of the most popular pieces of world literature, the Thousand and One Nights. Diyab, a Maronite Christian, served as a guide and interpreter for the French naturalist and antiquarian Paul Lucas. Between 1706 and 1716, Diyab and Lucas traveled through Syria, Cyprus, Egypt, Tripolitania, Tunis, Italy, and France. In Paris, ?anna Diyab met Antoine Galland, who added to his wildly popular translation of the Thousand and One Nights several tales related by Diyab, including Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. When Lucas failed to make good on his promise of a position for Diyab at Louis XIV's Royal Library, Diyab returned to Aleppo. In his old age, he wrote this engaging account of his youthfulTrade Review"Diyab’s memoir of his Mediterranean adventures is a mixture of clear-eyed observation and wide-eyed innocence, nicely captured by Muhanna’s lucid yet folksy English version...Throughout The Book of Travels, realistic details are suffused with a sense of the marvelous." * New York Review of Books *"It is a joy to celebrate [Ḥannā Diyāb's] work in Elias Muhanna's vibrant translation." * Middle East Eye *
£37.05
New York University Press The Book of Charlatans
Book SynopsisUncovering the professional secrets of con artists and swindlers in the medieval Middle East The Book of Charlatans is a comprehensive guide to trickery and scams as practiced in the thirteenth century in the cities of the Middle East, especially in Syria and Egypt. Al-Jawbari was well versed in the practices he describes and may have been a reformed charlatan himself. Divided into thirty chapters, the book reveals the secrets of everyone from Those Who Claim to be Prophets to Those Who Claim to Have Leprosy and Those Who Dye Horses. The material is informed in part by the author's own experience with alchemy, astrology, and geomancy, and in part by his extensive research. The work is unique in its systematic, detailed, and inclusive approach to a subject that is by nature arcane and that has relevance not only for social history but also for the history of science. Covering everything from invisible writing to doctoring gemstones and quack medicine, TheTrade ReviewA mesmerising account of...quacks and tricksters. * The Spectator *Provides us with an unusual glimpse into the street life of medieval Islamic societies rarely captured in more elevated Arabic literary sources. * New York Review of Books *As insightful and entertaining in the 21st century as it was when it was first written… Offers a unique window into the lives of everyday and marginalized people in the Middle East, Northern Africa and West Asia. * AramcoWorld *The Library of Arabic Literature’s production of al-Jawbarī’s unique volume and Davies’s brilliant translation boast of a substantial 'behind-the-scenes' meticulousness that results in a most rewarding reading experience, not only in capturing the underworld of Arabic literature and culture but also in introducing us to the 'stray, less common, words and adding to [our] eloquence' as the protagonists of the maqāmāt do in their wanderings. This edition also showcases Davies’s deceptively effortless style that we also observed in the Library of Arabic Literature’s production of al-Shidyāq’s Leg over Leg. * Speculum *
£13.29
New York University Press Leg over Leg
Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2016 National Translation Award given by the American Literary Translators'' AssociationThe life, birth, and early years of ''the Fariyaq''the alter ego of the Arab intellectual Ahmad Faris al-ShidyaqLeg over Leg recounts the life, from birth to middle age, of the Fariyaq, alter ego of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, a pivotal figure in the intellectual and literary history of the modern Arab world. The always edifying and often hilarious adventures of the Fariyaq, as he moves from his native Lebanon to Egypt, Malta, Tunis, England, and France, provide the author with grist for wide-ranging discussions of the intellectual and social issues of his time, including the ignorance and corruption of the Lebanese religious and secular establishments, freedom of conscience, women's rights, sexual relationships between men and women, the manners and customs of Europeans and Middle Easterners, and the differences between contemporary European anTrade ReviewIt is not too early to state that the publication of this work, in this edition, is a game-changer. This is a foundational work of modern Arabic literature and its publication in English is long overdue but given how it is presented here, it was perhaps worth the wait. This edition, with helpful endnotes, the original Arabic text, and in a translation that both reads well and appears to closely mirror the original, seems, in almost every way, ideal I dont think Im exaggerating when I say that this is the most important literary publication of a translation into English, in terms of literary history and our understanding of it, in years * The Complete Review *...Leg Over Leg by the Lebanese intellectual Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, [has] long been held to be untranslatable and so [is] appearing, in [its] entirety, in English for the first time. -- Lydia Wilson * Times Literary Supplement *Al-Shidyaq, born in Lebanon in the early years of the nineteenth century, was a Zelig of the Arabic literary world, and his Leg Over Leg is a bawdy, hilarious, epically word-obsessed, and unclassifiable book, which has never been translated into English before. -- Sal Robinson * Moby Lives *Humphrey Davies has rendered one of the most challenging texts of Arabic literature, al-Shidyaq's al-Saq 'ala l-saq, accessible to a wide range of readers for the first time.... The reader is plunged into al-Shidyaq's critical, humorous, uninhibited, sometimes bitter but profoundly humane, and utterly original masterpiece. -- Hilary Kilpatrick * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Humphrey Davies translation, published in four dual-language volumes, is a triumph. He skillfully renders punning, rhyming prose without breaking the spell Leg Over Leg stands out for both its stylistic brazenness and the excellence of the translation. With this bilingual edition, the Library of Arabic Literature helps fill a large cultural gap and alters our view of Arabic literature and the formal trajectory of the novel outside the West. Any reader for whom the term & world literature is more than an empty platitude must read Humphrey Davies's translation. -- John Yargo * Los Angeles Review of Books *We're having a particularly good season for literary discoveries from the past, with recent publications of Volumes 1 and 2 of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq's 'Leg Over Leg' (1855)… -- Martin Riker * New York Times Book Review *Humphrey Daviess masterful translation makes accessible this unique and fascinating work, deserving of wider recognition and study [] The translation adroitly and sympathetically captures the linguistic exuberance and literary inventiveness of the original * Banipal Magazine *The heroic achievement of award-winning translator Humphrey Davies marks the first ever English translation of this pivotal work An accessible, informative, and highly entertaining read * Banipal Magazine *Its contemporaneity is astonishing... It would be doing Leg Over Leg a massive disservice to not make it clear how funny it is. This is a book that for all its challenges, all its insight into humanity, all its place in history, had me regularly laughing out loud. * Music and Literature *Table of ContentsTable of Contents Leg Over Leg, Volume Three 1 Contents of the Book 4 Firing Up a Furnace 8 Love and Marriage 52 Contagion 108 Analepsis 126 Travel, and the Correction of a Common Misconception 134 A Banquet and Various Kinds of Hot Sauce 158 That Stinging Sensation You Feel When You Get Hot Sauce up Your Nose 174 Dreams 176 The Second Dream 184 The Third Dream 190 Physicking the Foul of Breath 200 A Voyage and a Conversation 214 A Maqamah to Make One Stand 250 Raveningly Ravenously Famished 272 The Journey from the Monastery 280 Ecstasy 288 An Incitement to Nudity 290 A Drain 300 Assorted Wonders 326 A Metropolitan Theft 344 Book Four Chapter 1: Unleashing a Sea 10 Chapter 2: A Farewell 28 Chapter 3: Assorted Pleas for Mercy 50 Chapter 4: The Rules for Retelling 62 Chapter 5: The Superiority of Women 72 Chapter 6: A Discussion 84 Chapter 7: Compare and Contrast 96 Chapter 8: A Voyage Festinate and Language Incomprehensibly and Inscrutably Intricate 112
£15.99
New York University Press What Isa ibn Hisham Told Us
Book SynopsisWith What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us, the Library of Arabic Literature brings readers an acknowledged masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Mu?ammad al-Muwayli?i, this exceptional title was first introduced in serialized form in his family's pioneering newspaper Mi?ba? al-Sharq (Light of the East), on which this edition is based, and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and its mordant wit, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us was embraced by Egypt's burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of Egyptian school students.Bridging classical genres and the emerging tradition of modern Arabic fiction, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is divided into two parts, the second of which was only added to the text with the fourth edition of 1927. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the book relates the excursions of its narrator ?Isa ibn HishamTrade Review[Allen's] craftsmanship is on full display in these magisterial translations . . . of supreme literary complexity. * Journal of Arabic Literature *While illustrating his novel with local examples from that time, al-Muwaylihi's effective critique is as broad and relevant as much classical Western satire; surprisingly much of it feels very modern, the various arguments and examples easily imaginable in contemporary settings . . . A cohesive (and still very far-reaching) work that also offers a lot of entertainment value. Its an enjoyable read, with some great anecdotes and very funny scenes and a lot of interesting arguments. * The Complete Review *Has a compelling charm—humane, earnest, observant, and erudite. * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Table of ContentsTable of Contents Mi?ba? al-sharq21, September 8, 18982 Mi?ba? al-sharq23, September 22, 189810 Mi?ba? al-sharq24, September 29, 189820 Mi?ba? al-sharq30, November 10, 189826 Mi?ba? al-sharq31, November 17, 189834 Mi?ba? al-sharq32, November 24, 189844 Mi?ba? al-sharq34, December 8, 189858 Mi?ba? al-sharq35, December 15 189878 Mi?ba? al-sharq39, January 12, 189996 Mi?ba? al-sharq40, January 19, 1899118 Mi?ba? al-sharq41, January 26, 1899132 Mi?ba? al-sharq42, February 2, 1899142 Mi?ba? al-sharq43, February 9, 1899154 Mi?ba? al-sharq44, February 16, 1899170 Mi?ba? al-sharq48, March 23, 1899192 Mi?ba? al-sharq49, March 30, 1899208 Mi?ba? al-sharq50, April 6, 1899220 Mi?ba? al-sharq54, May 11, 1899234 Mi?ba? al-sharq55, May 18, 1899250 Mi?ba? al-sharq57, June 1, 1899268 Mi?ba? al-sharq58, June 8, 1899294
£32.30
New York University Press The Expeditions
Book SynopsisOne of the earliest surviving biographies of Prophet Mu?ammad, translated into readable, modern English for the first timeThe Expeditions is one of the oldest biographies of the Prophet Mu?ammad to survive into the modern era. Its primary author, Ma?mar ibn Rashid (96-153/714-770), was a prominent scholar from Basra in southern Iraq who was revered for his learning in prophetic traditions, Islamic law, and the interpretation of the Qur?an. This fascinating foundational seminal work contains stories handed down by Ma?mar to his most prominent pupil, ?Abd al-Razzaq of Sanaa, relating Mu?ammad's early life and prophetic career as well as the adventures and tribulations of his earliest followers during their conquest of the Near East.This new translation, which renders the original text into readable, modern English for the first time, is accompanied by numerous annotations elucidating the cultural, religious, and historical contexts of the events and individuaTrade ReviewThis book is a must for scholars in the field, and those who would join them. * Religious Studies Review *A welcome addition to the sparse English language treatment of early Prophetic biography...Impressive [and] interesting. * Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt *
£15.40
New York University Press A Physician on the Nile
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIn A Physician on the Nile, Mackintosh-Smith, an award-winning writer and translator, provides no less than an exemplary access to the enthralling as well as abhorring diversity of ʿAbd al-Laṭīf’s words. * Journal of Near Eastern Studies *
£13.29
New York University Press Scientific Traditions in the Ancient
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£63.00
New York University Press Understanding the U.S. Wars in Iraq and
Book SynopsisChoice Outstanding Academic Title of 2016Investigates the causes, conduct, and consequences of the recent American wars in Iraq and AfghanistanUnderstanding the United States' wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is essential to understanding the United States in the first decade of the new millennium and beyond. These wars were pivotal to American foreign policy and international relations. They were expensive: in lives, in treasure, and in reputation. They raised critical ethical and legal questions; they provoked debates over policy, strategy, and war-planning; they helped to shape American domestic politics. And they highlighted a profound division among the American people: While more than two million Americans served in Iraq and Afghanistan, many in multiple deployments, the vast majority of Americans and their families remained untouched by and frequently barely aware of the wars conducted in their name, far from American shores, in regions about which they know liTrade Review"A truly exceptional and immensely important contribution to the literature on U.S. foreign policy in the twenty-first century. Bailey and Immerman have compiled an all-star cast to help us better grasp the causes, conduct, and, most significantly, consequences of the recent American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This collection of fine essays will be essential reading for years to come." -- Gregory A. Daddis,Academy Professor, West Point"An impressive compendium that furthers the intellectual effort to come to grips with the roots and legacies of America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and that provides a wide spectrum of perspectives on how and why the world has changed so dramatically since 11 September 2001." -- General David H. Petraeus,U.S. Army (Ret)"Today, we are engaged in wrenching debates about what to do in Syria and Iraq. This volume provides indispensable background for assessing the costs and benefits, the risks and opportunities of engaging in 'low intensity' conflicts with elusive adversaries in places in which we are unfamiliar and among people who regard us with suspicion. This is an important collection of essays to analyze and debate as we face momentous decisions." -- Melvyn P. Leffler,Edward Stettinius Professor of American History, University of Virginia"Bailey and Immermans edited collection of essays on the countrys two most recent wars is simply outstandingThere have been numerous recent accounts of both wars, but this new book brings the two conflicts together in a way not done before. For both established scholars and informed general readers, this collection is an excellent source of thoughtful and learned assessments of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A mandatory contribution to the current literature on the topic. Summing Up: Essential." * Choice *
£23.74
New York University Press Contemporary Israel
Book SynopsisFor a country smaller than Vermont, with roughly the same population as Honduras, modern Israel receives a remarkable amount of attention. For supporters, it is a unique bastion of democracy in the Middle East, while detractors view it as a racist outpost of Western colonialism. The romanticization of Israel became particularly prominent in 1967, when its military prowess shocked a Jewish world still reeling from the sense of powerlessness dramatized by the Holocaust. That imagery has grown ever more visible, with Israel's supporters idealizing its technological achievements and its opponents attributing almost every problem in the region, if not beyond, to its imperialistic aspirations.The contradictions and competing views of modern Israel are the subject of this book. There is much to consider about modern Israel besides the Middle East conflict. Over the past generation, a substantial body of scholarship has explored numerous aspects of the country, including its approacheTrade ReviewLike any complicated country, Israel is a land of myths and realities. In this volume, Frederick Greenspahn has assembled an outstanding collection of essays that will help readers to distinguish between the two. Israel has changed enormously over its sixty-some years of statehood. As the chapters demonstrate, many images inherited from the past, frozen into the memories of people who pay attention to the country, no longer conform to everyday reality. This volume is a good place to start in making sense of Israel as it is, not as an idealized or mythical entity but as a country coping with an astonishing array of social challenges. -- Kenneth D. Wald,Samuel R. "Bud" Shorstein Professor of American Jewish Culture & Society, University of FloridaOne of the best new anthologies in the burgeoning field of Israel Studies. For both those unfamiliar with the interdisciplinary study of modern Israel, and those more versed in this scholarship, the books authorsall leading researchers in the fieldoffer a wealth of information and insight on Israels diverse population, its contested national and sub-national identities, and its transforming public and private spaces. . . . A refreshing volume that steers clear of the stale partisan polemics that characterizes much of the current discourse on Israel, this work offers a rich, complex, and deep grasp of Israels multifaceted society and its relationship with both state institutions and the Jewish diaspora. -- Miriam Elman,Syracuse University
£23.74
New York University Press The Principles of Sufism
Book Synopsis''A''ishah al-Ba''uniyyah (d. 923/1517) of Damascus was one of the great women scholars in Islamic history. A mystic and prolific poet and writer, ''A''ishah composed more works in Arabic than any other woman before the twentieth century. Yet despite her extraordinary literary and religious achievements, ''A''ishah al-Ba''uniyyahremains largely unknown. For the first time her key work, The Principles of Sufism, is available in English translation.The Principles of Sufism is a mystical guide book to help others on their spiritual path. She recounts the fundamental stages and states of the spiritual novice's transformative journey, emphasizing the importance of embracing both human limitations and God's limitless love. Drawing on lessons and readings from centuries-old Sufi tradition, ''A''ishah advises the seeker to repent of selfishness and turn to a sincere life of love. In addition to his lucid translation, Th. Emil Homerin provides an insightful introducTrade ReviewWith this masterful edition and translation of The Principles of Sufism, Homerin makes available to the English-reading public the most important work of al-Baʿuniyyah, a 16th-century scholar and mystic who lived in Damascus for most of her life. . . . Homerin's elegant and readable translation is made especially valuable by the side-by-side presentation of the Arabic and English texts. He offers a brief overview of al-Baʿuniyyah's life and work, positioning her as one of the greatest women scholars in Muslim history. * Choice *This bilingual edition brings to English readership a rare feast: a short treatise on four fundamentals of the Sufi path--Repentance, Sincerity, Remembrance, and Love--strung together with copious quotations from the works of great masters. * Islamic Sciences *Th. Emil Homerin's recent contribution to the field of Sufi studies and Islamic studies generally is his discovery of 'A'ishah al-Bauniyyah this truly remarkable mystical poetess whose mastery of Sufi poetic diction, intellectual tradition and imagery is fascinating. * Der Islam *Homerin's work is an outstanding example of superb translation and editing. Homerin offers the original Arabic manuscript in addition to his translation, which brings to life and grants direct access into the subtleties of original language for non-Arab readership. * Journal of Religion History *An outstanding example of superb translation and editing. * Journal of Religious Studies *Brings to English-speaking audiences a fascinating piece written by one of the most remarkable figures of post-classical Islam. * Journal of Sufi Studies *The translation of the prose and poems is excellent, and both the expert and the general reader can profit from the lucid presentation of the text in English. No doubt, this book is a great contribution to the study of Sufism in the Mamluk period. . . . Homerin deserves our gratitude for bringing to our knowledge 'A'isha al-Ba'uniyyah and for presenting an outstanding edition and translation of one of her treatises. * Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam *
£12.99
New York University Press Ancient Western Asia Beyond the Paradigm of
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£59.50
New York University Press What Isa ibn Hisham Told Us
Book SynopsisTrenchant and witty critiques of life in Cairo under British ruleWhat ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is a masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Mu?ammad al-Muwayli?i, this highly original work was first introduced in serialized form in his family's pioneering newspaper Mi?ba? al-Sharq (Light of the East) and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and mordant wit, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us was embraced by Egypt's burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of school students.Bridging classical genres and modern Arabic fiction, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is divided into two parts. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the first part of the book relates the excursions of its narrator, ?Isa ibn Hisham, and his companion, the Pasha, through a rapidly westernizing Cairo and provides vivid commentary on a society negotTrade Review"Has a compelling charm—humane, earnest, observant, and erudite." * Journal of the American Oriental Society *"[Allen's] craftsmanship is on full display in these magisterial translations . . . of supreme literary complexity." * Journal of Arabic Literature *"While illustrating his novel with local examples from that time, al-Muwaylihi's effective critique is as broad and relevant as much classical Western satire; surprisingly much of it feels very modern, the various arguments and examples easily imaginable in contemporary settings . . . A cohesive (and still very far-reaching) work that also offers a lot of entertainment value. It's an enjoyable read, with some great anecdotes and very funny scenes and a lot of interesting arguments." * The Complete Review *
£13.99
New York University Press Moments of Silence
Book SynopsisExplores how writers, filmmakers and artists have attempted to reckon with the legacy of a devastating warThe Iran-Iraq War was the longest conventional war of the 20th century. The memory of it may have faded in the wake of more recent wars in the region, but the harrowing facts remain: over one million soldiers and civilians dead, millions more permanently displaced and disabled, and an entire generation marked by prosthetic implants and teenage martyrdom. These same facts have been instrumentalized by agendas both foreign and domestic, but also aestheticized, defamiliarized, readdressed and reconciled by artists, writers, and filmmakers across an array of identities: linguistic (Arabic, Persian, Kurdish), religious (Shiite, Sunni, atheist), and political (Iranian, Iraqi, internationalist). Official discourses have unsurprisingly tried to dominate the process of production and distribution of war narratives. In doing so, they have ignored and silenced other voices. Centering on novelTrade ReviewStories of the life experiences of religious minorities, refugees, displaced and exiled population, prisoners, children, women, and the diverse ethnicities of both Iran and Iraq, during the war, were ignored and neglected in the official histories. Moments of Silence: Authenticity in the Cultural Expressions of the Iran–Iraq War, 1980–1988 is an attempt to reflect parts of that untold story … the book offers some essays that are a substantive contribution to the literature of the war and the Middle East. Those who wish to broadly understand different aspects of the Iran–Iraq war will benefit from reading it. -- International Journal of Communication
£66.60
New York University Press Leg over Leg
Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2016 National Translation Award given by the American Literary Translators'' AssociationThe life, birth, and early years of ''the Fariyaq''the alter ego of the Arab intellectual Ahmad Faris al-ShidyaqLeg over Leg recounts the life, from birth to middle age, of the Fariyaq,' alter ego of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, a pivotal figure in the intellectual and literary history of the modern Arab world. The always edifying and often hilarious adventures of the Fariyaq, as he moves from his native Lebanon to Egypt, Malta, Tunis, England and France, provide the author with grist for wide-ranging discussions of the intellectual and social issues of his time, including the ignorance and corruption of the Lebanese religious and secular establishments, freedom of conscience, women's rights, sexual relationships between men and women, the manners and customs of Europeans and Middle Easterners, and the differences between contemporary European anTrade ReviewAl-Shidyaq, born in Lebanon in the early years of the nineteenth century, was a Zelig of the Arabic literary world, and his Leg Over Leg is a bawdy, hilarious, epically word-obsessed, and unclassifiable book, which has never been translated into English before * MobyLives *The heroic achievement of award-winning translator Humphrey Davies marks the first ever English translation of this pivotal work An accessible, informative, and highly entertaining read. * Banipal Magazine *...Leg Over Leg by the Lebanese intellectual Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, [has] long been held to be untranslatable and so [is] appearing, in [its] entirety, in English for the first time. -- Lydia Wilson * Times Literary Supplement *Humphrey Davies translation, published in four dual-language volumes, is a triumph. He skillfully renders punning, rhyming prose without breaking the spellLeg Over Leg& stands out for both its stylistic brazenness and the excellence of the translation. With this bilingual edition, the Library of Arabic Literature helps fill a large cultural gap and alters our view of Arabic literature and the formal trajectory of the novel outside the West. Any reader for whom the term & world literature is more than an empty platitude must read Humphrey Davies's translation. -- John Yargo * Los Angeles Review of Books *We're having a particularly good season for literary discoveries from the past, with recent publications of Volumes 1 and 2 of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq's 'Leg Over Leg' (1855)… -- Martin Riker * New York Times Book Review *With this impressive edition and translation, Humphrey Davies has rendered one of the most challenging texts of Arabic literature, al-Shidyaq's al-Saq 'ala l-saq, accessible to a wide range of readers for the first time.... The reader is plunged into al-Shidyaq's critical, humorous, uninhibited, sometimes bitter but profoundly humane, and utterly original masterpiece. -- Hilary Kilpatrick * Journal of the American Oriental Society *It is not too early to state that the publication of this work, in this edition, is a game-changer. This is a foundational work of modern Arabic literature and its publication in English is long overdue but given how it is presented here, it was perhaps worth the wait. This edition, with helpful endnotes, the original Arabic text, and in a translation that both reads well and appears to closely mirror the original, seems, in almost every way, ideal I dont think Im exaggerating when I say that this is the most important literary publication of a translation into English, in terms of literary history and our understanding of it, in years. * The Complete Review *Table of ContentsTable of Contents Letter from the General Editor iii Leg Over Leg, Volume Three 1 Contents of the Book 4 Firing Up a Furnace 8 Love and Marriage 52 Contagion 108 Analepsis 126 Travel, and the Correction of a Common Misconception 134 A Banquet and Various Kinds of Hot Sauce 158 That Stinging Sensation You Feel When You Get Hot Sauce up Your Nose 174 Dreams 176 The Second Dream 184 The Third Dream 190 Physicking the Foul of Breath 200 A Voyage and a Conversation 214 A Maqamah to Make One Stand 250 Raveningly Ravenously Famished 272 The Journey from the Monastery 280 Ecstasy 288 An Incitement to Nudity 290 A Drain 300 Assorted Wonders 326 A Metropolitan Theft 344 Notes 353 Glossary 381 Index 385 About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute 394 About the Typefaces 395 About the Editor-Translator 396
£33.25
New York University Press Consorts of the Caliphs
Book SynopsisConsorts of the Caliphs is a seventh/thirteenth-century compilation of anecdotes about thirty-eight women who were, as the title suggests, consorts to those in power, most of them concubines of the early Abbasid caliphs and wives of latter-day caliphs and sultans. This slim but illuminating volume is one of the few surviving texts by Ibn al-Sa''i (d. 674/1276). Ibn al-Sa''i was a prolific Baghdadi scholar who chronicled the academic and political elites of his city, and whose career straddled the final years of the Abbasid dynasty and the period following the cataclysmic Mongol invasion of 656/1258.In this work, Ibn al-Sa''i is keen to forge a connection between the munificent wives of his time and the storied lovers of the so-called golden age of Baghdad. Thus, from the earlier period, we find Harun al-Rashid pining for his brother's beautiful slave, Ghadir, and the artistry of such musical and literary celebrities as ''Arib and Fadl, who bested the male poets and singTrade ReviewYet another wonderful collaborative project of the Library of Arabic Literature Clear from this volumes pages is that there was great appreciation of the original text and the entire process of editing and translating was a labor of love; the readerspecialist or non-specialistreaps these fruits by getting to know another great text of Arabic classical literature. * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Table of ContentsLetter from the General Editor iiiAbbreviations xForeword xiPreface xvAcknowledgments xviIntroduction xviiiMaps xxviNote on the Edition xxxiNote on the Translation xxxivNotes to the Front Matter xlConsorts of the Caliphs 1?ammadah bint ?Isa 4Ghadir 6?Inan, daughter of ?Abd Allah 10Gha?i? 20Haylanah 22?Arib al-Ma?muniyyah 24Bid?ah al-Kabirah 32Buran 38Mu?nisah al-Ma?muniyyah 54Qurrat al-?Ayn 56Faridah 58Is?aq al-Andalusiyyah 60Fa?l al-Sha?irah al-Yamamiyyah 64Bunan 74Ma?bubah 76Nashib al-Mutawakkiliyyah 84Fa?imah 86Faridah 88Nabt 90Khallafah 94?irar 96Qa?r al-Nada 98Khamrah 100?I?mah Khatun 104Mah-i Mulk 106Khatun 108Banafsha al-Rumiyyah 110Sharaf Khatun al-Turkiyyah 114Saljuqi Khatun 116Shahan 120Dawlah 124?ayat Khatun 126Bab Jawhar 128Qabi?ah 130Sitt al-Nisa? 134Sarirah al-Ra?iqiyyah 138Khatun al-Safariyyah 140Khatun 142Zubaydah 144Notes 147The Abbasid Caliphs 154The Early Saljuqs 156Chronology of Women Featured in Consorts of the Caliphs 157Glossary of Names 159Glossary of Places 185Glossary of Realia 191Bibliography 196Further Reading 201Index of Qur?anic Verses 205Index of Arabic Verses 206Index 211About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute 222About the Typefaces 223About the Editor and Translators 224
£26.59
New York University Press Amheida III
Book SynopsisThis archaeological report provides a comprehensive study of the excavations carried out at Amheida House B2 in Egypt''s Dakhleh Oasis between 2005 and 2007, followed by three study seasons between 2008 and 2010. The excavations at Amheida in Egypt''s western desert, begun in 2001 under the aegis of Columbia University and sponsored by NYU since 2008, are investigating all aspects of social life and material culture at the administrative center of ancient Trimithis. The excavations so far have focused on three areas of this very large site: a centrally located upper-class fourth-century AD house with wall paintings, an adjoining school, and underlying remains of a Roman bath complex; a more modest house of the third century; and the temple hill, with remains of the Temple of Thoth built in the first century AD and of earlier structures. Architectural conservation has protected and partly restored two standing funerary monuments, a mud-brick pyramid and a tower tomb, both of the Roma
£999.99
New York University Press Tajrid sayf alhimmah listikhraj ma fi dhimmat
Book SynopsisTajrid sayf al-himmah li-stikhraj ma fi dhimmat al-dhimmah is a scholarly, Arabic-only edition of a text by ''Uthman ibn Ibrahim al-Nabulusi, which is also available in English translation from the Library of Arabic Literature as The Sword of Ambition. In this work addressed to the Ayyubid sultan, al-Nabulusi argues against employing Coptic and Jewish officials, leaving no rhetorical stone unturned as he pours his deep knowledge of history, law, and literature into the work.An Arabic edition with English scholarly apparatus.
£55.80
New York University Press What Isa ibn Hisham Told Us
Book SynopsisWith What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us, the Library of Arabic Literature brings readers an acknowledged masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Mu?ammad al-Muwayli?i, this exceptional title was first introduced in serialized form in his family's pioneering newspaper Mi?ba? al-Sharq (Light of the East), on which this edition is based, and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and its mordant wit, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us was embraced by Egypt's burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of Egyptian school students.Bridging classical genres and the emerging tradition of modern Arabic fiction, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is divided into two parts, the second of which was only added to the text with the fourth edition of 1927. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the book relates the excursions of its narrator ?Isa ibn HishamTrade ReviewWhile illustrating his novel with local examples from that time, al-Muwaylihi's effective critique is as broad and relevant as much classical Western satire; surprisingly much of it feels very modern, the various arguments and examples easily imaginable in contemporary settings . . . A cohesive (and still very far-reaching) work that also offers a lot of entertainment value. It's an enjoyable read, with some great anecdotes and very funny scenes and a lot of interesting arguments. * The Complete Review *[Allen's] craftsmanship is on full display in these magisterial translations . . . of supreme literary complexity. * Journal of Arabic Literature *Has a compelling charm—humane, earnest, observant, and erudite. * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Table of ContentsTable of Contents Mi?ba? al-sharq 80, November 9, 1899 2 Mi?ba? al-sharq 87, January 4, 1900 18 Mi?ba? al-sharq 88, January 11, 1900 34 Mi?ba? al-sharq 89, January 18, 1900 50 Mi?ba? al-sharq 90, January 25, 1900 68 Mi?ba? al-sharq 91, February 8, 1900 82 Mi?ba? al-sharq 92, February 15, 1900 96 Mi?ba? al-sharq 103, May 11, 1900 118 Mi?ba? al-sharq 104, May 18, 1900 136 Mi?ba? al-sharq 105, May 25, 1900 150 Mi?ba? al-sharq 106, June 1, 1900 162 Mi?ba? al-sharq 107, June 8, 1900 182 Mi?ba? al-sharq 116, August 17, 1900 192 Mi?ba? al-sharq 117, August 34, 1900 224 Mi?ba? al-sharq 118, August 31, 1900 242 Mi?ba? al-sharq 121, September 21, 1900 260 Mi?ba? al-sharq 123, October 5, 1900 272 Mi?ba? al-sharq 126, October 26, 1900 284 Mi?ba? al-sharq 130, November 23, 1900 298 Mi?ba? al-sharq 133, December 14, 1900 314 Mi?ba? al-sharq 192, February 14, 1902 330
£32.30
New York University Press The Life and Times of Abu Tammam
Book SynopsisA robust defense of a poetic geniusAbu Tammam (d. 231 or 232/845 or 846) is one of the most celebrated poets in the Arabic language. Born in Syria to Greek Christian parents, he converted to Islam and quickly made his name as one of the premier Arabic poets in the caliphal court of Baghdad, promoting a new style of poetry that merged abstract and complex imagery with archaic Bedouin language. Both highly controversial and extremely popular, this sophisticated verse influenced all subsequent poetry in Arabic and epitomized the modern style (badi?), an avant-garde aesthetic that was very much in step with the intellectual, artistic, and cultural vibrancy of the Abbasid dynasty.In The Life and Times of Abu Tammam, translated into English for the first time, the courtier and scholar Abu Bakr Mu?ammad ibn Ya?yaal-?uli (d. 335 or 336/946 or 947) mounts a robust defense of modern poetry and of Abu Tammam's significance as a poet against his detractors, whilTrade ReviewAnother welcome addition to the Library of Arabic Literature....In the field of Arabic poetry and poetics in general, and classical Arabic poetry and criticism in particular, I expect the impact of this project to be groundbreaking. The study of Arabic poetry, both modern and classical, has the potential of being significantly affected by the introduction of voices like al-Sulis, especially when presented in fresh and timely translations as is the case here. -- Hoda Fakhreddine * Journal of the American Oriental Society *
£12.99
New York University Press Understanding the U.S. Wars in Iraq and
Book SynopsisChoice Outstanding Academic Title of 2016Investigates the causes, conduct, and consequences of the recent American wars in Iraq and AfghanistanUnderstanding the United States' wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is essential to understanding the United States in the first decade of the new millennium and beyond. These wars were pivotal to American foreign policy and international relations. They were expensive: in lives, in treasure, and in reputation. They raised critical ethical and legal questions; they provoked debates over policy, strategy, and war-planning; they helped to shape American domestic politics. And they highlighted a profound division among the American people: While more than two million Americans served in Iraq and Afghanistan, many in multiple deployments, the vast majority of Americans and their families remained untouched by and frequently barely aware of the wars conducted in their name, far from American shores, in regions about which they know liTrade ReviewA truly exceptional and immensely important contribution to the literature on U.S. foreign policy in the twenty-first century. Bailey and Immerman have compiled an all-star cast to help us better grasp the causes, conduct, and, most significantly, consequences of the recent American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This collection of fine essays will be essential reading for years to come. -- Gregory A. Daddis,Academy Professor, West PointAn impressive compendium that furthers the intellectual effort to come to grips with the roots and legacies of America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and that provides a wide spectrum of perspectives on how and why the world has changed so dramatically since 11 September 2001. -- General David H. Petraeus,U.S. Army (Ret)Today, we are engaged in wrenching debates about what to do in Syria and Iraq. This volume provides indispensable background for assessing the costs and benefits, the risks and opportunities of engaging in 'low intensity' conflicts with elusive adversaries in places in which we are unfamiliar and among people who regard us with suspicion. This is an important collection of essays to analyze and debate as we face momentous decisions. -- Melvyn P. Leffler,Edward Stettinius Professor of American History, University of VirginiaBailey and Immermans edited collection of essays on the countrys two most recent wars is simply outstandingThere have been numerous recent accounts of both wars, but this new book brings the two conflicts together in a way not done before. For both established scholars and informed general readers, this collection is an excellent source of thoughtful and learned assessments of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A mandatory contribution to the current literature on the topic. Summing Up: Essential. * Choice *
£70.30
New York University Press Leg over Leg
Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2016 National Translation Award given by the American Literary Translators'' AssociationThe life, birth, and early years of ''the Fariyaq''the alter ego of the Arab intellectual Ahmad Faris al-ShidyaqLeg over Leg recounts the life, from birth to middle age, of the Fariyaq,' alter ego of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, a pivotal figure in the intellectual and literary history of the modern Arab world. The always edifying and often hilarious adventures of the Fariyaq, as he moves from his native Lebanon to Egypt, Malta, Tunis, England and France, provide the author with grist for wide-ranging discussions of the intellectual and social issues of his time, including the ignorance and corruption of the Lebanese religious and secular establishments, freedom of conscience, women's rights, sexual relationships between men and women, the manners and customs of Europeans and Middle Easterners, and the differences between contemporary European anTrade ReviewIt is not too early to state that the publication of this work, in this edition, is a game-changer. This is a foundational work of modern Arabic literature and its publication in English is long overduebut given how it is presented here, it was perhaps worth the wait. This edition, with helpful endnotes, the original Arabic text, and in a translation that both reads well and appears to closely mirror the original, seems, in almost every way, ideal I dont think Im exaggerating when I say that this is the most important literary publication of a translation into English, in terms of literary history and our understanding of it, in years. * The Complete Review *...Leg Over Leg by the Lebanese intellectual Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, [has] long been held to be untranslatable and so [is] appearing, in [its] entirety, in English for the first time. -- Lydia Wilson * Times Literary Supplement *Humphrey Davies translation, published in four dual-language volumes, is a triumph. He skillfully renders punning, rhyming prose without breaking the spellLeg Over Legstands out for both its stylistic brazenness and the excellence of the translation. With this bilingual edition, the Library of Arabic Literature helps fill a large cultural gap and alters our view of Arabic literature and the formal trajectory of the novel outside the West. Any reader for whom the term & world literature is more than an empty platitude must read Humphrey Davies's translation. -- John Yargo * Los Angeles Review of Books *We're having a particularly good season for literary discoveries from the past, with recent publications of Volumes 1 and 2 of Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq's 'Leg Over Leg' (1855)… -- Martin Riker * New York Times Book Review *The heroic achievement of award-winning translator Humphrey Davies marks the first ever English translation of this pivotal work An accessible, informative, and highly entertaining read. * Banipal Magazine *Al-Shidyaq, born in Lebanon in the early years of the nineteenth century, was a Zelig of the Arabic literary world, and his Leg Over Leg is a bawdy, hilarious, epically word-obsessed, and unclassifiable book, which has never been translated into English before * MobyLives *Its contemporaneity is astonishing... It would be doing Leg Over Leg a massive disservice to not make it clear how funny it is. This is a book that for all its challenges, all its insight into humanity, all its place in history, had me regularly laughing out loud. * Music and Literature *Table of ContentsBook Four 1 Contents of the Book Chapter 1: Unleashing a Sea Chapter 2: A Farewell Chapter 3: Assorted Pleas for Mercy Chapter 4: The Rules for Retelling 62 Chapter 5: The Superiority of Women 72 Chapter 6: A Discussion 84 Chapter 7: Compare and Contrast 96 Chapter 8: A Voyage Festinate and Language Incomprehensibly and Inscrutably Intricate Chapter 9: Form and Shapes 126 Chapter 10: A Passage and an Explanation 142 Chapter 11: A Translation and Some Advice 154 Chapter 12: Philosophical Reflections 172 Chapter 13: A Maqamah to Make You Walk 190 Chapter 14: Elegy for a Son 202 Chapter 15: Mourning 218 Chapter 16: The Tyrannical Behavior of the English 230 Chapter 17: A Description of Paris 248 Chapter 18: A Complaint and Complaints Chapter 19: A Metropolitan Theft and Miscellaneous Events Chapter 20: Selection of Poems and Verses Written by the Fariyaq in Paris as Previously Alluded To 308 Conclusion Letter to "Sidi Shaykh Mu?ammad, Sayyidna Metropolitan Bu?rus," etc. List of the Synonymous and Lexically Associated Words in This Book
£33.25
New York University Press Coming of Age in Iran
Book SynopsisAn inside look at young Iranians navigating poverty and stigma in a time of crisis Crippling sanctions, inflation, and unemployment have increasingly burdened young people in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In Coming of Age in Iran, Manata Hashemi takes us inside the lives of poor Iranian youth, showing how these young men and women face their future prospects.Drawing on first-hand accounts, Hashemi follows their stories, one by one, as they struggle to climb up the proverbial ladder of success. Based on years of ethnographic research among these youth in their homes, workspaces, and places of leisure, Hashemi shows how public judgments can give rise to meaningful changes for some while making it harder for others to escape poverty. Ultimately, Hashemi sheds light on the pressures these young men and women face, showing how many choose to comply withrather than resistsocial norms in their pursuit of status and belonging.Coming of Age in Iran tellTrade ReviewThe major contribution of Hashemi’s book lies in a vast spectrum of examples unfolding the mechanisms through which the low-income youth, on the one hand, internalize the conformity versus performance game; and, on the other hand, redefine the meaning of dignity beyond its immediate connection with capital accumulation. By putting the moral self at the core of its analysis, Coming of Age in Iran adds further nuances to the literature on bottom-up responses to economic deprivation ... the stories presented in the book are a thought-provoking invitation to reassess the value of shifting and evolving subjectivities for understanding broader social transformations. * Iranian Studies *Manata Hashemi’s Coming of Age in Iran is a fascinating and timely study of working class youth negotiating the difficult conditions of their work, status, and self-respect. Hashemi combines a keen attention to gender and class as well as to the details of local and regional identity, in Tehran and beyond. Understanding themselves as modern individuals who must make their way in a world of limited economic opportunities, dilute religiosity, and faded revolutionary dreams, Hashemi shows how these young men and women save face and find dignity, publicly performing community norms of accommodation while privately searching for the elusive goal of individual opportunity. -- Norma Claire Moruzzi, author of Speaking through the Mask: Hannah Arendt and the Politics of Social IdentityWhat does it mean to be young, poor, and aspirational in Iran? In this rich ethnography, Manata Hashemi answers by describing how young people ‘perform’ upward mobility, convey moral virtue and largely obey dominant social and cultural norms. This nuanced book offers a different picture of Iranian youth: conformists rather than rebels, they are intent on maintaining their dignity as they negotiate their precarious circumstances. -- Diane Singerman, author of Cairo Contested: Governance, Urban Space, and Global ModernityManata Hashemi is an astute observer who provides readers a clear understanding of youth in Iran ... a highly informative account of Iranian youth struggling in poverty and can be viewed as a significant contribution to ethnographic and sociology scholarship. * Social Forces *As an ethnic Iranian with knowledge of Persian and the local context in Iran, Hashemi is more than qualified to produce such an important piece of work…Hashemi argues that Iranian youth should not be summarily characterized with lopsided tags such as marginalization, hopelessness, and exclusion because there is a culture of acceptance of dominant social norms amongst them, which constitutes agency, individuality, and subjectivity. * Social Identities *On balance, Hashemi’s research and insights shed a great deal of light on a tapestry of cultures, customs, and evolving moral frameworks within the context of youth culture. The book is commendable for providing a deeper understanding of the struggle of Iranian youth to cope with poverty while maintaining their dignity. -- Mahmood Monshipouri * Middle East Journal *
£62.90
New York University Press Risible Rhymes
Book SynopsisWritten in mid-seventeenth-century Egypt, Risible Rhymes is in part a short, comic disquisition on rural verse, mocking the pretensions and absurdities of uneducated poets from Egypt's countryside.The interest in the countryside as a cultural, social, economic, and religious locus in its own right that is hinted at in this work may be unique in pre-twentieth-century Arabic literature. As such, the work provides a companion piece to its slightly younger contemporary, Yusuf al-Shirbini's Brains Confounded by the Ode of Abu Shaduf Expounded, which also takes examples of mock-rural poems and subjects them to grammatical analysis. The overlap between the two texts may indicate that they both emanate from a common corpus of pseudo-rural verse that circulated in Ottoman Egypt. Risible Rhymes also examines various kinds of puzzle poemsanother popular genre of the dayand presents a debate between scholars over a line of verse by the fourth/tenth-centuTrade ReviewLucid and imaginative...the translation is thankfully reliable and delightfully readable...a remarkable achievement in many ways. -- Li Guo * Journal of the American Oriental Society *
£22.79
New York University Press Amheida II
Book SynopsisThis archaeological report provides a comprehensive study of the excavations carried out at Amheida House B2 in Egypt''s Dakhleh Oasis between 2005 and 2007, followed by three study seasons between 2008 and 2010.The excavations at Amheida in Egypt''s western desert, begun in 2001 under the aegis of Columbia University and sponsored by NYU since 2008, are investigating all aspects of social life and material culture at the administrative center of ancient Trimithis. The excavations so far have focused on three areas of this very large site: a centrally located upper-class fourth-century AD house with wall paintings, an adjoining school, and underlying remains of a Roman bath complex; a more modest house of the third century; and the temple hill, with remains of the Temple of Thoth built in the first century AD and of earlier structures. Architectural conservation has protected and partly restored two standing funerary monuments, a mud-brick pyramid and a tower tomb, both
£45.00
New York University Press Coming of Age in Iran
Book SynopsisAn inside look at young Iranians navigating poverty and stigma in a time of crisis Crippling sanctions, inflation, and unemployment have increasingly burdened young people in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In Coming of Age in Iran, Manata Hashemi takes us inside the lives of poor Iranian youth, showing how these young men and women face their future prospects.Drawing on first-hand accounts, Hashemi follows their stories, one by one, as they struggle to climb up the proverbial ladder of success. Based on years of ethnographic research among these youth in their homes, workspaces, and places of leisure, Hashemi shows how public judgments can give rise to meaningful changes for some while making it harder for others to escape poverty. Ultimately, Hashemi sheds light on the pressures these young men and women face, showing how many choose to comply withrather than resistsocial norms in their pursuit of status and belonging.Coming of Age in Iran tellTrade ReviewThe major contribution of Hashemi’s book lies in a vast spectrum of examples unfolding the mechanisms through which the low-income youth, on the one hand, internalize the conformity versus performance game; and, on the other hand, redefine the meaning of dignity beyond its immediate connection with capital accumulation. By putting the moral self at the core of its analysis, Coming of Age in Iran adds further nuances to the literature on bottom-up responses to economic deprivation ... the stories presented in the book are a thought-provoking invitation to reassess the value of shifting and evolving subjectivities for understanding broader social transformations. * Iranian Studies *Manata Hashemi’s Coming of Age in Iran is a fascinating and timely study of working class youth negotiating the difficult conditions of their work, status, and self-respect. Hashemi combines a keen attention to gender and class as well as to the details of local and regional identity, in Tehran and beyond. Understanding themselves as modern individuals who must make their way in a world of limited economic opportunities, dilute religiosity, and faded revolutionary dreams, Hashemi shows how these young men and women save face and find dignity, publicly performing community norms of accommodation while privately searching for the elusive goal of individual opportunity. -- Norma Claire Moruzzi, author of Speaking through the Mask: Hannah Arendt and the Politics of Social IdentityWhat does it mean to be young, poor, and aspirational in Iran? In this rich ethnography, Manata Hashemi answers by describing how young people ‘perform’ upward mobility, convey moral virtue and largely obey dominant social and cultural norms. This nuanced book offers a different picture of Iranian youth: conformists rather than rebels, they are intent on maintaining their dignity as they negotiate their precarious circumstances. -- Diane Singerman, author of Cairo Contested: Governance, Urban Space, and Global ModernityManata Hashemi is an astute observer who provides readers a clear understanding of youth in Iran ... a highly informative account of Iranian youth struggling in poverty and can be viewed as a significant contribution to ethnographic and sociology scholarship. * Social Forces *As an ethnic Iranian with knowledge of Persian and the local context in Iran, Hashemi is more than qualified to produce such an important piece of work…Hashemi argues that Iranian youth should not be summarily characterized with lopsided tags such as marginalization, hopelessness, and exclusion because there is a culture of acceptance of dominant social norms amongst them, which constitutes agency, individuality, and subjectivity. * Social Identities *On balance, Hashemi’s research and insights shed a great deal of light on a tapestry of cultures, customs, and evolving moral frameworks within the context of youth culture. The book is commendable for providing a deeper understanding of the struggle of Iranian youth to cope with poverty while maintaining their dignity. -- Mahmood Monshipouri * Middle East Journal *
£23.74
New York University Press Ethnic Boundaries in Turkish Politics
Book SynopsisThe Kurdish Movement in Turkey's growing alliance with Islam One of the fault lines of Turkish politics traditionally has been the divide between religious and secular movements. However, as Zeki Sarigil argues, the secular Kurdish movement in Turkey has increasingly become aligned with Islam. As a result, Islam has become part of the movement's political discourse, strategies and actions. Ethnic Boundaries in Turkish Politics traces the evolving relations between the leftist, secular Kurdish movement and Islam, from an apathetic and/or antagonistic attitude in the 1970s and 1980s to an increasingly Islam-friendly approach in the 1990s to an attitude of accommodation and the rise of Kurdish-Islamic synthesis in the early 2000s. Based on 104 interviews in several provinces in Turkey (primarily Ankara, Diyarbakir, Istanbul, and Tunceli) between 2011 and 2015 as well as ethnographic data, public opinion surveys and statements from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Kurdish leaders, SaTrade ReviewThe Kurdish armed insurgency in Turkey is one of the longest and most complicated conflicts in the post-World War II era. The PKK-led insurgency, which was initiated by a small group of college students in the 1970s, has not only survived the harsh conditions of the Middle East but also thrived in the past 40 years, becoming a key non-state actor in the region. This book is about this strong secular insurgency and the groups it has inspired, addressing the question of religion. Zeki Sarigil very effectively frames the Kurdish ethno-nationalist movement in Turkey into the wider context of ethnic armed conflict, nationalism, and religion. It stands out from most of the existing studies that primarily utilize a historical approach to the Kurdish conflict by its multi-method approach to examine an important aspect of the Kurdish movement that has not yet been systematically studied. -- Mehmet Gürses,Associate Professor of Political Science, Florida Atlantic UniversityThis ambitious book poses a set of original and essential questions for students of Kurdish politics: Why, how, and with what consequences has the secularist Kurdish movement given up its anti-religious stance and policies? How has religion, once considered reactionary by the Turkish state and the Kurdish movement, become a boundary contested area for these two actors? How have the elite members of these groups utilized Islamic teachings to capture the support of ordinary Kurds? Sarigil deftly crafts an indispensable ethnic boundary-making analysis with extensive fieldwork and interviews conducted over five years . . . definitely a must-read for followers of Kurdish politics. -- Ekrem Karakoç,Associate Professor of Political Science, Binghamton University
£26.59
New York University Press Changing Qatar
Book SynopsisA cultural study of modern Qatar and how it navigates change and tradition Qatar, an ambitious country in the Arabian Gulf, grabbed headlines as the first Middle Eastern nation selected to host the FIFA World Cup. As the wealthiest country in the worldand one of the fastest-growingit is known for its capital, Doha, which boasts a striking, futuristic skyline. In Changing Qatar, Geoff Harkness takes us beyond the headlines, providing a fresh perspective on modern-day life in the increasingly visible Gulf. Drawing on three years of immersive fieldwork and more than a hundred interviews, he describes a country in transition, one struggling to negotiate the fluid boundaries of culture, tradition, and modernity. Harkness shows how Qataris reaffirmand challengetraditions in many areas of everyday life, from dating and marriage, to clothing and humor, to gender and sports. A cultural study of citizenship in modern Qatar, this book offers an illuminating portrait that cannot be found elsewheTrade Review"This book reads very well. The author’s writing style is engaging, easy to follow and thought provoking....Given the dearth of information on Qatar, I believe this book will have wide appeal and provide useful and interesting insight into a little known country and culture." -- Christine Lindholm, Associate Dean for Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts"Changing Qatar changes not just how we think about the Arabian Gulf but how we think about political order, gender and the role of great wealth in making up cities and the people within them. It is a singular accomplishment—shrewd, engrossing, and rich with ideas and substance." -- Harvey Molotch, co-editor of The New Arab Urban: Gulf Cities of Wealth, Ambition, and Distress
£73.80
New York University Press The Book of Travels
Book SynopsisThe adventures of the man who created AladdinThe Book of Travels is ?anna Diyab's remarkable first-person account of his travels as a young man from his hometown of Aleppo to the court of Versailles and back again, which forever linked him to one of the most popular pieces of world literature, the Thousand and One Nights. Diyab, a Maronite Christian, served as a guide and interpreter for the French naturalist and antiquarian Paul Lucas. Between 1706 and 1716, Diyab and Lucas traveled through Syria, Cyprus, Egypt, Tripolitania, Tunis, Italy, and France. In Paris, ?anna Diyab met Antoine Galland, who added to his wildly popular translation of the Thousand and One Nights several tales related by Diyab, including Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. When Lucas failed to make good on his promise of a position for Diyab at Louis XIV's Royal Library, Diyab returned to Aleppo. In his old age, he wrote this engaging account of his youthfulTrade ReviewDiyab’s memoir of his Mediterranean adventures is a mixture of clear-eyed observation and wide-eyed innocence, nicely captured by Muhanna’s lucid yet folksy English version...Throughout The Book of Travels, realistic details are suffused with a sense of the marvelous. * New York Review of Books *It is a joy to celebrate [Ḥannā Diyāb's] work in Elias Muhanna's vibrant translation. * Middle East Eye *
£22.79
