Suggestions for books about the Middle East

[Saiban]

More specifically, histories of the areas and peoples contained between Egypt, the Black Sea, and Afghanistan. Has anyone read anything good that they'd like to recommend on those subjects?

I've been seeing a lot of references to Edward Said's Orientialism (http://www.amazon.com/Orientalism-Edward-W-Said/dp/039474067X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245646938&sr=8-1), so I've been kind of thinking about reading that. I read Bernard Lewis's What Went Wrong (http://www.amazon.com/What-Went-Wrong-Between-Modernity/dp/0060516054/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245647409&sr=8-1) not too long ago, and I've noticed that he seems to garner strong reactions. I've read both of Thomas Ricks' books on the Iraq War (Fiasco (http://www.amazon.com/Fiasco-American-Military-Adventure-Iraq/dp/0143038915/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245647442&sr=8-1) and The Gamble (http://www.amazon.com/Gamble-Petraeus-American-Adventure-2006-2008/dp/1594201978/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245647451&sr=8-1)) , and a few others on that conflict, so I'm not so much looking for stuff about that, though I'd be happy to give suggestions to others. Books on specific events or conflicts, in the style of Ricks' Fiasco, are good, but I'm more interested in broader topics.


To those who may object to a thread of this nature being on the P&R forums, I would like to point out that any discussion on modern scholarship vis-a-vis the Middle East has a high likelihood of starting a debate that extends far beyond the bounds of non-fiction writing as a form and into the realms of foreign policy and relations between the Middle East and the West.

[CSL]

While I haven't read Edward Said's book (yet, I'm sure I've read one or two chapters out of it) I'm fairly sure from what you are looking at getting it isn't the right book for you. It's more of a strongly historiographical look at the perceptions of westerners towards what might be called the "orient" which has in the past meant basically anything east of Latin Christianity since before the time of the Crusades and can be as varied as talking about Jerusalem, the wider middle-east, India, or even China. It's also going to be far, far less about the area of the "orient" and it's peoples and more an introspective look at the way westerners have perceived the area(s) they are describing through a historical context - for instance how can we see strains of colonialism, religious and ethnic preconceptions, etc through western practice of otherizing cultures that haven't broadly belonged to a Latin or Christian basis.

You can read the first five pages through Amazon so give that a spin though. No doubt it's interesting, but compared to everything else you've listed as reading it doesn't seem like a good fit.

That said I'd suggest at the very least a nice one-volume history of the Ottoman Empire to get grounded the Arab speaking world up until 1910 or so - the Turks controlled Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Libya up until that time and had controlled Egypt for several hundred years. If you are also interested in Turkey you'll probably want to get a hold of a biography of Ataturk at some point. Reading Fromkin's book on the partitioning of Arabia in lieu of WWI would probably be good as well, and I'd suggest going to the library and getting Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan at some point too for the chapters on that particular point. (It's a very good book throughout though)

For Iran and I'd link this to the current situation, you should read "All the Shah's Men" by Stephen Kinzer. I haven't read it in a few years but it is very, very good and not overly long. It describes the government of Mohammed Mossadegh, who had by the early 1950s begun nationalized British controlled oil interests in the country and generally asserting Iranian independence - the country had before then been essentially a colonial interest of both Britain and Russia. Britain appeals to the US to help get rid of Mossadegh. Truman says shove off, Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers say sure thing and Mossadegh gets put under arrest and the Shah gaining large powers at the expense of what might have turned into a modernized, democratic Iran. You'll get a better understanding of how the Shah got booted out in the process and realize why the Iranians don't like American meddling and why Obama's stance right now is now overly conservative but just very, very smart on his part.

Oh and get a really good book on the history of Islam as well. Screw Said's Orientalism at least until you've read a good book or four on Islam and its developments. Unfortunately I can't offer suggestions on that particular thought, but someone should be along shortly with some.

[CSL]

Also, now I'm hoping you've started an Edward Said discussion. As it will likely be less boring than the one in historiography class.

[triggercut]

David Fromkin's "A Peace To End All Peace" is a pretty amazing and vivid survey of the emergence of the Middle East from 1912 to modern times.

If you want to read something a little different and want a better understanding of the current mess in Iran, I can't recommend enough Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel-as-memoir, "Persepolis".

[Eric P]

dp sorry

[Eric P]

i enjoyed Power Faith and Fantasy, which was about America's involvement in the middle east from 1776 to early 20th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power,_Faith_and_Fantasy

[Hechicera]

I'd recommend Ahmed Rashid's two latest. "Taliban" and "Descent into Chaos". Many of the middle-eastern writers give less page-time to Afghanistan/Pakistan, and that is what he covers. For the broader view start with his more recent Descent into Chaos. But the section in "Taliban" on the Taliban and Islam are also very good background reading. Especially in "Taliban", he covers historical peoples and eras that are relevant, as well as wider modern political webs of power. "Descent into Chaos" does cover ethic backgrounds, cultural differences there, and the Colonial to post-Colonial eras well.

After reading him you can't really look at the clash of civilization theories the same way, and he does reference those ideas.

[lesslucid]

"The Arabs" by Peter Mansfield was my textbook for a subject on this stuff when I was at uni, and if my memory serves then the book was pretty good, even if the course was not quite stellar.

[Saiban]

While I haven't read Edward Said's book (yet, I'm sure I've read one or two chapters out of it) I'm fairly sure from what you are looking at getting it isn't the right book for you. It's more of a strongly historiographical look at the perceptions of westerners towards what might be called the "orient" which has in the past meant basically anything east of Latin Christianity since before the time of the Crusades and can be as varied as talking about Jerusalem, the wider middle-east, India, or even China. It's also going to be far, far less about the area of the "orient" and it's peoples and more an introspective look at the way westerners have perceived the area(s) they are describing through a historical context - for instance how can we see strains of colonialism, religious and ethnic preconceptions, etc through western practice of otherizing cultures that haven't broadly belonged to a Latin or Christian basis.

You can read the first five pages through Amazon so give that a spin though. No doubt it's interesting, but compared to everything else you've listed as reading it doesn't seem like a good fit.

That said I'd suggest at the very least a nice one-volume history of the Ottoman Empire to get grounded the Arab speaking world up until 1910 or so - the Turks controlled Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Libya up until that time and had controlled Egypt for several hundred years. If you are also interested in Turkey you'll probably want to get a hold of a biography of Ataturk at some point. Reading Fromkin's book on the partitioning of Arabia in lieu of WWI would probably be good as well, and I'd suggest going to the library and getting Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan at some point too for the chapters on that particular point. (It's a very good book throughout though)

For Iran and I'd link this to the current situation, you should read "All the Shah's Men" by Stephen Kinzer. I haven't read it in a few years but it is very, very good and not overly long. It describes the government of Mohammed Mossadegh, who had by the early 1950s begun nationalized British controlled oil interests in the country and generally asserting Iranian independence - the country had before then been essentially a colonial interest of both Britain and Russia. Britain appeals to the US to help get rid of Mossadegh. Truman says shove off, Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers say sure thing and Mossadegh gets put under arrest and the Shah gaining large powers at the expense of what might have turned into a modernized, democratic Iran. You'll get a better understanding of how the Shah got booted out in the process and realize why the Iranians don't like American meddling and why Obama's stance right now is now overly conservative but just very, very smart on his part.

Oh and get a really good book on the history of Islam as well. Screw Said's Orientalism at least until you've read a good book or four on Islam and its developments. Unfortunately I can't offer suggestions on that particular thought, but someone should be along shortly with some.

Actually, a "strongly historiographical look at the perceptions of westerners" would be a very valuable thing, I think. The fact is, I AM a Westerner, and I think an examination of the common mistaken ideas and biases that Westerners have about the region would be good. I don't know if it would be better to have that first, though, or to look at the histories Said is criticizing to better understand his criticism.

I realize that Said's book is about "the Orient" and not just the Mid East, but I think that due to its subject matter that it has more resonance with people interested in the Mid East than South or East Asia. The Arab countries and Iran arguably have far more natural wealth than say China or India or Taiwan or Korea, and have been far less able to exploit it than those countries in a manner which improves the overall wealth and power of their nations. I think that it could be argued that the post-colonial era has been far crueler to the Middle East than it has been to the rest of the "Orient", which makes a book like Orientialism more relevant in that area. Also, Said was a Palestinian.

I'm glad you reminded me of Fromkin, I really need to read some of his stuff. Also, Margaret MacMillan is a great suggestion that I had forgotten about. I don't think I've heard of All the Shah's Men before, but I will definitely have to check that out.

And as you say, a book on the history of Islam would be GREAT. Problem is, I don't know of any good ones, either!

[Saiban]

David Fromkin's "A Peace To End All Peace" is a pretty amazing and vivid survey of the emergence of the Middle East from 1912 to modern times.

If you want to read something a little different and want a better understanding of the current mess in Iran, I can't recommend enough Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel-as-memoir, "Persepolis".

I actually have both parts of Persepolis. It is really an absolutely fantastic book/graphic novel, and I think I learned a lot about Iran and the Islamic Revolution from reading it. Still haven't seen the movie, though.

Lots of good suggestions in this thread so far.

[wildpokerman]

How about the Kite Runner and the Satanic Verses?

Just kidding, I haven't read either one of them.

[Kalle]

Robert Fisk's "The Great War for Civilization" is a very angry take on the conflicts of the region. It's by no means a complete account, but for an indepth look at the wars that have shaped the region, the international players who sought to benefit from them, and as a personal account of Fisk's own near-suicidal war journalism it's a compelling read.

[Saiban]

Robert Fisk's "The Great War for Civilization" is a very angry take on the conflicts of the region. It's by no means a complete account, but for an indepth look at the wars that have shaped the region, the international players who sought to benefit from them, and as a personal account of Fisk's own near-suicidal war journalism it's a compelling read.

Yeah, I've read The Great War for Civilization. It's a very depressing book. Fisk has a bit of a reputation for being anti-Western, I think, but after reading that book, I don't really blame him.