iBooks Top Middle East History Ebooks

Chart of the most popular and best selling Middle East history ebooks at the Apple iBookstore.

Chart list of the top Middle Eastern history ebook ebook best sellers was last updated:

History Ebook Best Sellers

Top Middle East History Ebook Best Sellers

1

The Question of Palestine - Edward W. Said Cover Art

The Question of Palestine

The Question of Palestine by Edward W. Said

This original and deeply provocative book was the first to make Palestine the subject of a serious debate--one that remains as critical as ever. "A compelling call for identity and justice." —Anthony Lewis "Books such as Mr. Said's need to be written and read in the hope that understanding will provide a better chance of survival." — The New York Times Book Review With the rigorous scholarship he brought to his influential Orientalism and an exile's passion (he is Palestinian by birth), Edward W. Said traces the fatal collision between two peoples in the Middle East and its repercussions in the lives of both the occupier and the occupied--as well as in the conscience of the West. He has updated this landmark work to portray the changed status of Palestine and its people in light of such developments as the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the intifada, the Gulf War, and the ongoing MIddle East peace initiative. For anyone interested in this region and its future, The Question of Palestine remains the most useful and authoritative account available.

2

Like Dreamers - Yossi Klein Halevi Cover Art

Like Dreamers

Like Dreamers The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation by Yossi Klein Halevi

Winner of the Everett Family Jewish Book of the Year Award (a National Jewish Book Award) and the RUSA Sophie Brody Medal. In Like Dreamers , acclaimed journalist Yossi Klein Halevi interweaves the stories of a group of 1967 paratroopers who reunited Jerusalem, tracing the history of Israel and the divergent ideologies shaping it from the Six-Day War to the present. Following the lives of seven young members from the 55th Paratroopers Reserve Brigade, the unit responsible for restoring Jewish sovereignty to Jerusalem, Halevi reveals how this band of brothers played pivotal roles in shaping Israel’s destiny long after their historic victory. While they worked together to reunite their country in 1967, these men harbored drastically different visions for Israel’s future. One emerges at the forefront of the religious settlement movement, while another is instrumental in the 2005 unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. One becomes a driving force in the growth of Israel’s capitalist economy, while another ardently defends the socialist kibbutzim. One is a leading peace activist, while another helps create an anti-Zionist terror underground in Damascus. Featuring an eight pages of black-and-white photos and maps, Like Dreamers is a nuanced, in-depth look at these diverse men and the conflicting beliefs that have helped to define modern Israel and the Middle East.

3

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama - Nathan Thrall Cover Art

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama
Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall

Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker , The Economist, Time , The New Republic, and the Financial Times. Immersive and gripping, an intimate story of a deadly accident outside Jerusalem that unravels a tangle of lives, loves, enmities, and histories over the course of one revealing, heartbreaking day. Five-year-old Milad Salama is excited for a school trip to a theme park on the outskirts of Jerusalem. On the way, his bus collides with a semitrailer. His father, Abed, gets word of the crash and rushes to the site. The scene is chaos—the children have been taken to different hospitals in Jerusalem and the West Bank; some are missing, others cannot be identified. Abed sets off on an odyssey to learn Milad’s fate. It is every parent’s worst nightmare, but for Abed it is compounded by the maze of physical, emotional, and bureaucratic obstacles he must navigate because he is Palestinian. He is on the wrong side of the separation wall, holds the wrong ID to pass the military checkpoints, and has the wrong papers to enter the city of Jerusalem. Abed’s quest to find Milad is interwoven with the stories of a cast of Jewish and Palestinian characters whose lives and histories unexpectedly converge. In A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, Nathan Thrall—hailed for his “severe allergy to conventional wisdom” ( Time )—offers an indelibly human portrait of the struggle over Israel/Palestine and a new understanding of the tragic history and reality of one of the most contested places on earth.

4

My Promised Land - Ari Shavit Cover Art

My Promised Land

My Promised Land The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “ A deeply reported, deeply personal history of Zionism and Israel that does something few books even attempt: It balances the strength and weakness, the idealism and the brutality, the hope and the horror, that has always been at Zionism’s heart.”—Ezra Klein, The New York Times Winner of the Natan Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Ari Shavit’s riveting work, now updated with new material, draws on historical documents, interviews, and private diaries and letters, as well as his own family’s story, to create a narrative larger than the sum of its parts: both personal and of profound historical dimension. As he examines the complexities and contradictions of the Israeli condition, Shavit asks difficult but important questions: Why did Israel come to be? How did it come to be? Can it survive?    Culminating with an analysis of the issues and threats that Israel is facing , My Promised Land uses the defining events of the past to shed new light on the present. Shavit’s analysis of Israeli history provides a landmark portrait of a small, vibrant country living on the edge, whose identity and presence play a crucial role in today’s global political landscape.

5

Palestinian Walks - Raja Shehadeh Cover Art

Palestinian Walks

Palestinian Walks Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh

“A rare historical insight into the tragic changes taking place in Palestine.” —Jimmy Carter From one of Palestine’s leading writers, a lyrical, elegiac account of one man’s wanderings through the landscape he loves—once pristine, now forever changed by settlements and walls—updated with a new afterword by the author. “I often come to walk in these hills,” I said to the man who was doing all the talking and seemed to be the commander. “In fact I was once here with my wife, it was 1999, and some of your soldiers shot at us.” “It was over on that side,” the soldier pointed out. “I was there,” he said, smiling. When Raja Shehadeh first started hill walking in Palestine, in the late 1970s, he was not aware that he was traveling through a vanishing landscape. In recent years, his hikes have become less than bucolic and sometimes downright dangerous. That is because his home is Ramallah, on the Palestinian West Bank, and the landscape he traverses is now the site of a tense standoff between his fellow Palestinians and settlers newly arrived from Israel. In this original and evocative book, we accompany Raja on six walks taken between 1978 and 2006. The earlier forays are peaceful affairs, allowing our guide to meditate at length on the character of his native land, a terrain of olive trees on terraced hillsides, luxuriant valleys carved by sacred springs, carpets of wild iris and hyacinth and ancient monasteries built more than a thousand years ago. Shehadeh's love for this magical place saturates his renderings of its history and topography. But latterly, as seemingly endless concrete is poured to build settlements and their surrounding walls, he finds the old trails are now impassable and the countryside he once traversed freely has become contested ground. He is harassed by Israeli border patrols, watches in terror as a young hiking companion picks up an unexploded missile and even, on one occasion when accompanied by his wife, comes under prolonged gunfire. Amid the many and varied tragedies of the Middle East, the loss of a simple pleasure such as the ability to roam the countryside at will may seem a minor matter. But in Palestinian Walks, Raja Shehadeh's elegy for his lost footpaths becomes a heartbreaking metaphor for the deprivations of an entire people estranged from their land.

6

No Way Out - Mitch Weiss & Kevin Maurer Cover Art

No Way Out

No Way Out
A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan by Mitch Weiss & Kevin Maurer

In a remote, enemy-held valley in Afghanistan, a Special Forces team planned to scale a steep mountain to surprise and capture a terrorist leader. But before they found the target, the target found them… The team was caught in a deadly ambush that not only threatened their lives, but the entire mission. The elite soldiers fought huddled for hours on a small rock ledge as rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-gun fire rained down on them. With total disregard for their own safety, they tended to their wounded and kept fighting to stay alive. When the battle finally ended, ten soldiers had earned Silver Stars—the Army’s third highest award for combat valor. It was the most Silver Stars awarded to any unit in one battle since Vietnam.   Based on dozens of interviews with those who were there, No Way Out is a compelling narrative of an epic battle that not only tested the soldiers’ mettle but serves as a cautionary tale. Be careful what you ask a soldier to do because they will die trying to accomplish their mission.

7

A Year in Treblinka - Jankiel Wiernik Cover Art

A Year in Treblinka

A Year in Treblinka by Jankiel Wiernik

An Inmate Who Escaped Tells The Day-To-Day Facts Of One Year Of His Torturous Experiences. Jankiel Wiernik was a Jewish property manager in Warsaw when the Nazis invaded Poland and was forced into the ghetto in 1940. Despite surviving the horrors of the ghetto at the advanced age of 52, he was sent to a fate worse than death at the notorious death camp at Treblinka, which he immortalized in his memoirs. “On his arrival at Treblinka aboard the Holocaust train from Warsaw, Wiernik was selected to work rather than be immediately killed. Wiernik’s first job with the Sonderkommando required him to drag corpses from the gas chambers to mass graves. Wienik was traumatized by his experiences. He later wrote in his book: “It often happened that an arm or a leg fell off when we tied straps around them in order to drag the bodies away.” He remembered the horrors of the enormous pyres, where “10,000 to 12,000 corpses were cremated at one time.” He wrote: “The bodies of women were used for kindling” while Germans “toasted the scene with brandy and with the choicest liqueurs, ate, caroused and had a great time warming themselves by the fire.” Wiernik described small children awaiting so long in the cold for their turn in the gas chambers that “their feet froze and stuck to the icy ground” and noted one guard who would “frequently snatch a child from the woman’s arms and either tear the child in half or grab it by the legs, smash its head against a wall and throw the body away.” At other times “children were snatched from their mothers’ arms and tossed into the flames alive.” “Wiernik escaped Treblinka during the revolt of the prisoners on “a sizzling hot day” of August 2, 1943. A shot fired into the air signalled that the revolt was on. Wiernik wrote that he “grabbed some guns” and, after spotting an opportunity to make a break for the woods, an axe...”

8

Anabasis - Xenophon Cover Art

Anabasis

Anabasis The Persian Expedition of Cyrus by Xenophon

Anabasis is Xenophon's most famous book. The seven-tome book of the Anabasis describes The March of the Ten Thousand and their return to Greece. Xenophon accompanied the Ten Thousand, a large army of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger, who intended to seize the throne of Persia from his brother, Artaxerxes II. The narration of the journey is Xenophon's best known work, and "one of the great adventures in human history".

9

Israel and Palestine: The Complete History [2019 Edition] - Ian Carroll Cover Art

Israel and Palestine: The Complete History [2019 Edition]

Israel and Palestine: The Complete History [2019 Edition] by Ian Carroll

In July 2018, Israel’s Knesset approved the Nation-State Bill, a controversial piece of legislation, both at home and abroad, which declared Israel a sovereign state for the Jewish people. It followed US President Donald Trump’s 2017 decision to relocate the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Both events provoked consternation and scorn from many countries, and offer the latest twists in the Israeli-Palestinian saga: two peoples on an everlasting – and seemingly irreconcilable – path to peace. Israel and Palestine: The Complete History seeks to explain the overall story of Israeli and Palestinian tensions and divisions in the region. Indeed, without properly understanding the full history of the area, it is impossible to understand the current situation. In this book, author Ian Carroll takes the reader back to the very beginning of the conflict some 4,000 years ago, then moves through the major events of the Middle Ages and 20th century, and brings us right up to the present day, documenting the significant events that have happened along the way. The reader is allowed to make up their own mind as to where praise and condemnation belong with this complicated issue. From Exodus to the birth of Jesus, from Islam to the Crusades, through the Diaspora and up to the recreation of the modern state of Israel and beyond, Israel and Palestine: The Complete History avoids a dry academic approach. It aims to tell the history of the region and peoples in a balanced and brisk fashion, from a storyteller’s perspective. With talk of a Third Intifada and the introduction of the Nation-State Bill all bringing this age-old issue to the forefront of world news once more, there has never been a more appropriate time to understand and appreciate Israel and Palestine’s history. Note: This is an updated, expanded, and re-edited version of “Israel / Palestine – a 4000 year history” by Ian Carroll, originally published in 2006.

10

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine - Rashid Khalidi Cover Art

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 by Rashid Khalidi

A landmark history of one hundred years of war waged against the Palestinians from the foremost US historian of the Middle East, told through pivotal events and family history In 1899, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, mayor of Jerusalem, alarmed by the Zionist call to create a Jewish national home in Palestine, wrote a letter aimed at Theodore Herzl: the country had an indigenous people who would not easily accept their own displacement. He warned of the perils ahead, ending his note, “in the name of God, let Palestine be left alone.” Thus Rashid Khalidi, al-Khalidi’s great-great-nephew, begins this sweeping history, the first general account of the conflict told from an explicitly Palestinian perspective. Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials and the reports of generations of family members—mayors, judges, scholars, diplomats, and journalists— The Hundred Years' War on Palestine upends accepted interpretations of the conflict, which tend, at best, to describe a tragic clash between two peoples with claims to the same territory. Instead, Khalidi traces a hundred years of colonial war on the Palestinians, waged first by the Zionist movement and then Israel, but backed by Britain and the United States, the great powers of the age. He highlights the key episodes in this colonial campaign, from the 1917 Balfour Declaration to the destruction of Palestine in 1948, from Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon to the endless and futile peace process. Original, authoritative, and important , The Hundred Years' War on Palestine is not a chronicle of victimization, nor does it whitewash the mistakes of Palestinian leaders or deny the emergence of national movements on both sides. In reevaluating the forces arrayed against the Palestinians, it offers an illuminating new view of a conflict that continues to this day.

11

Raid on the Sun - Rodger Claire Cover Art

Raid on the Sun

Raid on the Sun Inside Israel's Secret Campaign that Denied Saddam the Bomb by Rodger Claire

The first authorized inside account of one of the most daring—and successful—military operations in recent history From the earliest days of his dictatorship, Saddam Hussein had vowed to destroy Israel. So when France sold Iraq a top-of-the-line nuclear reactor in 1975, the Israelis were justifiably concerned—especially when they discovered that Iraqi scientists had already formulated a secret program to extract weapons-grade plutonium from the reactor, a first critical step in creating an atomic bomb. The reactor formed the heart of a huge nuclear plant situated twelve miles from Baghdad, 1,100 kilometers from Tel Aviv. By 1981, the reactor was on the verge of becoming “hot,” and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin knew he would have to confront its deadly potential. He turned to Israeli Air Force commander General David Ivry to secretly plan a daring surgical strike on the reactor—a never-before-contemplated mission that would prove to be one of the most remarkable military operations of all time. Written with the full and exclusive cooperation of the Israeli Air Force high command, General Ivry (ret.), and all of the eight mission pilots (including Ilan Ramon, who become Israel’s first astronaut and perished tragically in the shuttle Columbia disaster), Raid on the Sun tells the extraordinary story of how Israel plotted the unthinkable: defying its U.S. and European allies to eliminate Iraq’s nuclear threat. In the tradition of Black Hawk Down , journalist Rodger Claire re-creates a gripping tale of personal sacrifice and survival, of young pilots who trained in the United States on the then-new, radically sophisticated F-16 fighter bombers, then faced a nearly insurmountable challenge: how to fly the 1,000-plus-kilometer mission to Baghdad and back on one tank of fuel. He recounts Israeli intelligence’s incredible “black ops” to sabotage construction on the French reactor and eliminate Iraqi nuclear scientists, and he gives the reader a pilot’s-eye view of the action on June 7, 1981, when the planes roared off a runway on the Sinai Peninsula for the first successful destruction of a nuclear reactor in history.

12

Voices from Iraq - Mark Kukis Cover Art

Voices from Iraq

Voices from Iraq A People's History, 2003–2009 by Mark Kukis

A  Time  magazine foreign correspondent shares “moving stories from the Iraqis who lived through the nightmare” in this oral history of the Iraq War ( Kikrus ).   Journalist Mark Kukis presents a history of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq as told by Iraqis who live through it.Beginning in 2003, this intimate narrative includes the accounts of civilians, politicians, former dissidents, insurgents, and militiamen. The men and women sharing their firsthand experiences range from onetime Prime Minister Ayad Allawi to resistance fighters speaking on the condition of anonymity.    Divided into five parts, these interviews recount the 2003 invasion; the two years of chaos that followed; the start of a new order in 2006; the rise of sectarian violence; and the effort to reconstruct their society since 2008. In each section, interviews grouped into themes, with brief epilogues for the participants. As Studs Terkel's  The Good War  did for World War II,  Voices from Iraq  brings the meaning and legacy of America's campaign in Iraq to vivid life.

13

Persians - Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones Cover Art

Persians

Persians The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

A stunning portrait of the magnificent splendor and enduring legacy of ancient Persia    The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. From the palace-city of Persepolis, Cyrus the Great, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs reigned supreme for centuries until the conquests of Alexander of Macedon brought the empire to a swift and unexpected end in the late 330s BCE.    In  Persians , historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of this dynasty and the world it ruled. Drawing on Iranian inscriptions, cuneiform tablets, art, and archaeology, he shows how the Achaemenid Persian Empire was the world’s first superpower—one built, despite its imperial ambition, on cooperation and tolerance. This is the definitive history of the Achaemenid dynasty and its legacies in modern-day Iran, a book that completely reshapes our understanding of the ancient world.  

14

We Were One - Patrick K. O'Donnell Cover Art

We Were One

We Were One Shoulder to Shoulder with the Marines Who Took Fallujah by Patrick K. O'Donnell

A riveting first-hand account of the fierce battle for Fallujah during the Iraq War and the Marines who fought there--a story of brotherhood and sacrifice in a platoon of heroes Five months after being deployed to Iraq, Lima Company's 1st Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, found itself in Fallujah, embroiled in some of the most intense house-to-house, hand-to-hand urban combat since World War II. In the city's bloody streets, they came face-to-face with the enemy-radical insurgents high on adrenaline, fighting to a martyr's death, and suicide bombers approaching from every corner. Award-winning author and historian Patrick O'Donnell stood shoulder to shoulder with this modern band of brothers as they marched and fought through the streets of Fallujah, and he stayed with them as the casualties mounted.

15

Palestine 1936 - Oren Kessler Cover Art

Palestine 1936

Palestine 1936 The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict by Oren Kessler

2024 Winner, Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, The Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute • One of the Wall Street Journal's 10 Best Books of 2023 • Named a Booklist Editors' Choice in History: Adult Books, 2023 • Finalist, Writing Based on Archival Material: National Jewish Book Awards • Finalist, Sophie Brody Medal, American Library Association "[Kessler] has done an exceptional job and opened new vistas on troubles past and present." — Wall Street Journal "Kessler’s history is key to understanding the current situation between Israelis and Palestinians." — Booklist , Starred Review A gripping, profoundly human, yet even-handed narrative of the origins of the Middle East conflict, with enduring resonance and relevance for our time. In spring 1936, the Holy Land erupted in a rebellion that targeted both the local Jewish community and the British Mandate authorities that for two decades had midwifed the Zionist project. The Great Arab Revolt would last three years, cost thousands of lives—Jewish, British, and Arab—and cast the trajectory for the Middle East conflict ever since. Yet incredibly, no history of this seminal, formative first “Intifada” has ever been published for a general audience. The 1936–1939 revolt was the crucible in which Palestinian identity coalesced, uniting rival families, city and country, rich and poor in a single struggle for independence. Yet the rebellion would ultimately turn on itself, shredding the social fabric, sidelining pragmatists in favor of extremists, and propelling waves of refugees from their homes. British forces’ aggressive counterinsurgency took care of the rest, finally quashing the uprising on the eve of World War II. The revolt to end Zionism had instead crushed the Arabs themselves, leaving them crippled in facing the Jews’ own drive for statehood a decade later. To the Jews, the insurgency would leave a very different legacy. It was then that Zionist leaders began to abandon illusions over Arab acquiescence, to face the unnerving prospect that fulfilling their dream of sovereignty might mean forever clinging to the sword. The revolt saw thousands of Jews trained and armed by Britain—the world’s supreme military power—turning their ramshackle guard units into the seed of a formidable Jewish army. And it was then, amid carnage in Palestine and the Hitler menace in Europe, that portentous words like “partition” and “Jewish state” first appeared on the international diplomatic agenda. This is the story of two national movements and the first sustained confrontation between them. The rebellion was Arab, but the Zionist counter-rebellion—the Jews’ military, economic, and psychological transformation—is a vital, overlooked element in the chronicle of how Palestine became Israel. Today, eight decades on, the revolt’s legacy endures. Hamas’s armed wing and rockets carry the name of the fighter-preacher whose death sparked the 1936 rebellion. When Israel builds security barriers, sets up checkpoints, or razes homes, it is evoking laws and methods inherited from its British predecessor. And when Washington promotes a “two-state solution,” it is invoking a plan with roots in this same pivotal period. Based on extensive archival research on three continents and in three languages, Palestine 1936 is the origin story of the world’s most intractable conflict, but it is also more than that. In Oren Kessler’s engaging, journalistic voice, it reveals world-changing events through extraordinary individuals on all sides: their loves and their hatreds, their deepest fears and profoundest hopes.

16

The Achilles Trap - Steve Coll Cover Art

The Achilles Trap

The Achilles Trap Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq by Steve Coll

“Excellent . . . A more intimate picture of the dictator’s thinking about world politics, local power and his relationship to the United States than has been seen before.” — The New York Times “Another triumph from one of our best journalists.” — The Washington Post "Voluminously researched and compulsively readable." — Air Mail From bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Steve Coll, the definitive story of the decades-long relationship between the United States and Saddam Hussein, and a deeply researched and news-breaking investigation into how human error, cultural miscommunication, and hubris led to one of the costliest geopolitical conflicts of our time When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, its message was clear: Iraq, under the control of strongman Saddam Hussein, possessed weapons of mass destruction that, if left unchecked, posed grave danger to the world. But when no WMDs were found, the United States and its allies were forced to examine the political and intelligence failures that had led to the invasion and the occupation, and the civil war that followed. One integral question has remained unsolved: Why had Saddam seemingly sacrificed his long reign in power by giving the false impression that he had hidden stocks of dangerous weapons? The Achilles Trap masterfully untangles the people, ploys of power, and geopolitics that led to America’s disastrous war with Iraq and, for the first time, details America’s fundamental miscalculations during its decades-long relationship with Saddam Hussein. Beginning with Saddam’s rise to power in 1979 and the birth of Iraq’s secret nuclear weapons program, Steve Coll traces Saddam’s motives by way of his inner circle. He brings to life the diplomats, scientists, family members, and generals who had no choice but to defer to their leader—a leader directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, as well as the torture or imprisonment of hundreds of thousands more. This was a man whose reasoning was impossible to reduce to a simple explanation, and the CIA and successive presidential administrations failed to grasp critical nuances of his paranoia, resentments, and inconsistencies—even when the stakes were incredibly high. Calling on unpublished and underreported sources, interviews with surviving participants, and Saddam’s own transcripts and audio files, Coll pulls together an incredibly comprehensive portrait of a man who was convinced the world was out to get him and acted accordingly. A work of great historical significance, The Achilles Trap is the definitive account of how corruptions of power, lies of diplomacy, and vanity—on both sides—led to avoidable errors of statecraft, ones that would enact immeasurable human suffering and forever change the political landscape as we know it.

17

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine - Ilan Pappe Cover Art

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe

The book that is providing a storm of controversy, from ‘Israel’s bravest historian’ (John Pilger) Renowned Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe's groundbreaking work on the formation of the State of Israel. 'Along with the late Edward Said, Ilan Pappe is the most eloquent writer of Palestinian history.' NEW STATESMAN Between 1947 and 1949, over 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed, civilians were massacred and around a million men, women, and children were expelled from their homes at gunpoint. Denied for almost six decades, had it happened today it could only have been called 'ethnic cleansing'. Decisively debunking the myth that the Palestinian population left of their own accord in the course of this war, Ilan Pappe offers impressive archival evidence to demonstrate that, from its very inception, a central plank in Israel’s founding ideology was the forcible removal of the indigenous population. Indispensable for anyone interested in the current crisis in the Middle East. *** 'Ilan Pappe is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian .' JOHN PILGER 'Pappe has opened up an important new line of inquiry into the vast and fateful subject of the Palestinian refugees . His book is rewarding in other ways. It has at times an elegiac, even sentimental, character, recalling the lost, obliterated life of the Palestinian Arabs and imagining or regretting what Pappe believes could have been a better land of Palestine.' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT ' A major intervention in an argument that will, and must, continue . There's no hope of lasting Middle East peace while the ghosts of 1948 still walk.' INDEPENDENT

18

Six Days of War - Michael B. Oren Cover Art

Six Days of War

Six Days of War June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Michael B. Oren

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first comprehensive account of the epoch-making Six-Day War, from the author of Ally —now featuring a fiftieth-anniversary retrospective   Though it lasted for only six tense days in June, the 1967 Arab-Israeli war never really ended. Every crisis that has ripped through this region in the ensuing decades, from the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to the ongoing  intifada , is a direct consequence of those six days of fighting. Writing with a novelist’s command of narrative and a historian’s grasp of fact and motive, Michael B. Oren reconstructs both the lightning-fast action on the battlefields and the political shocks that electrified the world. Extraordinary personalities—Moshe Dayan and Gamal Abdul Nasser, Lyndon Johnson and Alexei Kosygin—rose and toppled from power as a result of this war; borders were redrawn; daring strategies brilliantly succeeded or disastrously failed in a matter of hours. And the balance of power changed—in the Middle East and in the world. A towering work of history and an enthralling human narrative,  Six Days of War  is the most important book on the Middle East conflict to appear in a generation. Praise for Six Days of War “Powerful . . . A highly readable, even gripping account of the 1967 conflict . . . [Oren] has woven a seamless narrative out of a staggering variety of diplomatic and military strands.” —The New York Times “With a remarkably assured style, Oren elucidates nearly every aspect of the conflict. . . . Oren’s [book] will remain the authoritative chronicle of the war. His achievement as a writer and a historian is awesome.” — The Atlantic Monthly “This is not only the best book so far written on the six-day war, it is likely to remain the best.” — The   Washington Post Book World “Phenomenal . . . breathtaking history . . . a profoundly talented writer. . . . This book is not only one of the best books on this critical episode in Middle East history; it’s one of the best-written books I’ve read this year, in any genre.” — The Jerusalem Post “[In] Michael Oren’s richly detailed and lucid account, the familiar story is thrilling once again. . . . What makes this book important is the breadth and depth of the research.” — The New York Times Book Review “A first-rate new account of the conflict.” — The Washington Post “The definitive history of the Six-Day War . . . [Oren’s] narrative is precise but written with great literary flair. In no one else’s study is there more understanding or more surprise.” —Martin Peretz, Publisher, The New Republic “Compelling, perhaps even vital, reading.” — San Jose Mercury News

19

Sword and Scimitar - Raymond Ibrahim & Victor Davis Hanson Cover Art

Sword and Scimitar

Sword and Scimitar Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West by Raymond Ibrahim & Victor Davis Hanson

A sweeping history of the often-violent conflict between Islam and the West, shedding a revealing light on current hostilities The West and Islam -- the sword and scimitar -- have clashed since the mid-seventh century, when, according to Muslim tradition, the Roman emperor rejected Prophet Muhammad's order to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam, unleashing a centuries-long jihad on Christendom. Sword and Scimitar chronicles the decisive battles that arose from this ages-old Islamic jihad, beginning with the first major Islamic attack on Christian land in 636, through the Muslim occupation of nearly three-quarters of Christendom which prompted the Crusades, followed by renewed Muslim conquests by Turks and Tatars, to the European colonization of the Muslim world in the 1800s, when Islam largely went on the retreat -- until its reemergence in recent times. Using original sources in Arabic and Greek, preeminent historian Raymond Ibrahim describes each battle in vivid detail and explains how these wars and the larger historical currents of the age reflect the cultural fault lines between Islam and the West. The majority of these landmark battles -- including the battles of Yarmuk, Tours, Manzikert, the sieges at Constantinople and Vienna, and the crusades in Syria and Spain--are now forgotten or considered inconsequential. Yet today, as the West faces a resurgence of this enduring Islamic jihad, Sword and Scimitar provides the needed historical context to understand the current relationship between the West and the Islamic world -- and why the Islamic State is merely the latest chapter of an old history.

20

One Palestine, Complete - Tom Segev & Haim Watzman Cover Art

One Palestine, Complete

One Palestine, Complete Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate by Tom Segev & Haim Watzman

A panoramic and provocative history of life in Palestine during the three strife-torn but romantic decades when Britain ruled and the seeds of today's conflicts were sown Tom Segev's acclaimed works, 1949 and The Seventh Million , overturned accepted views of the history of Israel. Now Segev explores the dramatic period before the creation of the state, when Britain ruled over "one Palestine, complete" (as noted in the receipt signed by the High Commissioner) and when its promise to both Jews and Arabs that they would inherit the land set in motion the conflict that haunts the region to this day. Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials, Segev reconstructs a tumultuous era (1917 to 1948) of limitless possibilities and tragic missteps. He introduces the legendary figures--General Allenby, Lawrence of Arabia, David Ben-Gurion--as well as an array of pioneers, secret agents, diplomats, and fanatics. He tracks the steady advance of Jews and Arabs toward confrontation and with his hallmark originality puts forward a radical new argument: that the British, far from being pro-Arab, as commonly thought, consistently favored the Zionist position, and did so out of the mistaken--and anti-Semitic belief that Jews turned the wheels of history. Rich in unforgettable characters, sensitive to all perspectives, One Palestine, Complete brilliantly depicts the decline of an empire, the birth of one nation, and the tragedy of another.

21

The Yellow Star: The Moving Narrative of a Boy Who Survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald [Illustrated Edition] - S. B. Unsdorfer Cover Art

The Yellow Star: The Moving Narrative of a Boy Who Survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald [Illustrated Edition]

The Yellow Star: The Moving Narrative of a Boy Who Survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald [Illustrated Edition] by S. B. Unsdorfer

Includes 204 photos, plans and maps illustrating The Holocaust “Simcha Bunem Unsdorfer was the son of a well-known rabbi in Bratislava, the mother community for the Jewish population of Czechoslovakia. Because of the importance of his father’s position, the family was permitted to remain in the city after the German occupation during World War II. Eventually, however, the family was deported to the infamous camps of Auschwitz where the Unsdorfers were separated and the parents killed. Their nineteen-year-old son Simcha was transferred from Auschwitz to work in an airplane factory in the Buchenwald camp. Throughout his long and terrible ordeal, he and his fellow prisoners were mercilessly molested by the S.S. men, but they held on to life tenaciously, their faith in God and His Torah never wavering. When the war finally ended, workers and prisoners were freed and permitted to go home. Home! Home! cried the Czechs, dancing and kissing in mad jubilation. We, the Jews, sank down on the floor again…Home Home What a travesty. Home a place that no longer was, and never would be again. Free…What were we freed for? Only to mourn and lament for the rest of our days over the greatest tragedy that had ever befallen our people in our long and trying history. Simcha Bunem Unsdorfer has written a deeply moving account of his experiences as a devout Jew in the concentration camps and factories of the Nazi Reich. The Yellow Star is a painful story, but a heroic one, a book which cogently describes the Divine strength inherent in the Jewish soul.”-Print ed.

22

The Yom Kippur War - Abraham Rabinovich Cover Art

The Yom Kippur War

The Yom Kippur War The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East by Abraham Rabinovich

An updated edition that sheds new light on one of the most dramatic reversals of military fortune in modern history. The easing of Israeli military censorship after four decades has enabled Abraham Rabinovich to offer fresh insights into this fiercest of Israel-Arab conflicts. A surprise Arab attack on two fronts on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, with Israel’s reserves un-mobilized, triggered apocalyptic visions in Israel, euphoria in the Arab world, and fraught debates on both sides. Rabinovich, who covered the war for  The Jerusalem Post,  draws on extensive interviews and primary source material to shape his enthralling narrative. We learn of two Egyptian nationals, working separately for the Mossad, who supplied Israel with key information that helped change the course of the war; of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan’s proposal for a nuclear “demonstration” to warn off the Arabs; and of Chief of Staff David Elazar’s conclusion on the fifth day of battle that Israel could not win. Newly available transcripts enable us to follow the decision-making process in real time from the prime minister’s office to commanders studying maps in the field. After almost overrunning the Golan Heights, the Syrian attack is broken in desperate battles. And as Israel regains its psychological balance, General Ariel Sharon leads a nighttime counterattack across the Suez Canal through a narrow hole in the Egyptian line -- the turning point of the war.

23

A History of the Middle East - Peter Mansfield & Nicolas Pelham Cover Art

A History of the Middle East

A History of the Middle East Fifth Edition by Peter Mansfield & Nicolas Pelham

The definitive history of the Middle East that provides the historical context to today's headlines - now in its fifth edition "The best overall survey of the politics, regional rivalries and economics of the contemporary Arab World." - The Washington Post One of the most crucial, volatile, and complex regions of the modern world, the Middle East has long confounded the dreams of conquerors and peacemakers alike. This now-classic book, and still the essential work on the subject, follows the historic struggles of the Middle East from Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt and Syria, through the slow decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the history of Islam and its recent resurgence. For this new fifth edition (2019), Economist journalist and Middle Eastcorrespondent Nicolas Pelham has written extensive new material examining recent developments throughout the Middle East, including the aftermaths of the 'Arab Spring', the situation in Iran, thecontinuing Arab-Israeli conflict and the unfolding disasters of theSyrian and Yemeni civil war.

24

The Muqaddimah - Ibn Khaldun, N. J. Dawood & Franz Rosenthal Cover Art

The Muqaddimah

The Muqaddimah An Introduction to History - Abridged Edition by Ibn Khaldun, N. J. Dawood & Franz Rosenthal

The Muqaddimah , often translated as "Introduction" or "Prolegomenon," is the most important Islamic history of the premodern world. Written by the great fourteenth-century Arab scholar Ibn Khaldûn (d. 1406), this monumental work established the foundations of several fields of knowledge, including the philosophy of history, sociology, ethnography, and economics. The first complete English translation, by the eminent Islamicist and interpreter of Arabic literature Franz Rosenthal, was published in three volumes in 1958 as part of the Bollingen Series and received immediate acclaim in the United States and abroad. A one-volume abridged version of Rosenthal's masterful translation first appeared in 1969. This Princeton Classics edition of the abridged version includes Rosenthal's original introduction as well as a contemporary introduction by Bruce B. Lawrence. This volume makes available a seminal work of Islam and medieval and ancient history to twenty-first century audiences.

25

Vision or Mirage - David Rundell Cover Art

Vision or Mirage

Vision or Mirage Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads by David Rundell

'Clear-eyed and illuminating.' Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor 'A rich, superbly researched, balanced history of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.' General David Petraeus, former Commander U.S. Central Command and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency 'Destined to be the best single volume on the Kingdom.' Ambassador Chas Freeman, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Assistant Secretary of Defense 'Should be prescribed reading for a new generation of political leaders.' Sir Richard Dearlove, former Chief of H.M. Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Something extraordinary is happening in Saudi Arabia. A traditional, tribal society once known for its lack of tolerance is rapidly implementing significant economic and social reforms. An army of foreign consultants is rewriting the social contract, King Salman has cracked down hard on corruption, and his dynamic though inexperienced son, the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is promoting a more tolerant Islam. But is all this a new vision for Saudi Arabia or merely a mirage likely to dissolve into Iranian-style revolution? David Rundell - one of America's foremost experts on Saudi Arabia - explains how the country has been stable for so long, why it is less so today, and what is most likely to happen in the future. The book is based on the author's close contacts and intimate knowledge of the country where he spent 15 years living and working as a diplomat. Vision or Mirage demystifies one of the most powerful, but least understood, states in the Middle East and is essential reading for anyone interested in the power dynamics and politics of the Arab World.

26

They Will Have to Die Now: Mosul and the Fall of the Caliphate - James Verini Cover Art

They Will Have to Die Now: Mosul and the Fall of the Caliphate

They Will Have to Die Now: Mosul and the Fall of the Caliphate by James Verini

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2019 “It’s a small miracle that a writer as good as James Verini witnessed the battle of Mosul.… It will take its place among the very best war writing of the past two decades.” —George Packer James Verini arrived in Iraq in the summer of 2016 to write about life in the Islamic State. He stayed to cover the jihadis’ last great stand, the Battle of Mosul, not knowing it would go on for nearly a year. This “urgent, scalding, hallucinatory work of war reportage” (Patrick Radden Keefe) takes the reader into the conflict against the most lethal insurgency of our time.

27

Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict - Michael Rydelnik & Michael Easley Cover Art

Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict What the Headlines Haven't Told You by Michael Rydelnik & Michael Easley

Michael Rydelnik, professor of Jewish studies at Moody Bible Institute, goes beyond the media images for an in depth, biblically grounded look at the "crisis that never ends"--the conflict between the Israelis and the Arabs. Dr. Rydelnik explores such questions as: • Will the violence ever stop? • Who really has a right to the land? • How did it all start...and where will it all end? This revised and updated edition includes a new chapter that looks at the events that brought the end to the Terror War in 2004, discusses the change of leadership in the Israeli government, and examines the conflict within the Palestinian government following the surprise election victory of the terrorist group Hamas.

28

Cambridge Medieval History: The Eastern Roman Empire - J.B. Bury Cover Art

Cambridge Medieval History: The Eastern Roman Empire

Cambridge Medieval History: The Eastern Roman Empire by J.B. Bury

The Cambridge Medieval History collection on the Eastern Roman Empire is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of  the Eastern Empire, from the Balkans to Armenia. The collection is an exhaustive resource,  discussing  the empire from 500 – 1500 A.D.  Topics such as the history of the Bulgarian kingdom, Armenia, the Venetian occupation of Greece , the Golden Horde, the Seljuqs, and the Ottomans and their conquests in Europe are discussed. A table of contents is included to navigate through the 24 chapters and over 750 full length pages

29

A Thousand Miles up the Nile - Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards Cover Art

A Thousand Miles up the Nile

A Thousand Miles up the Nile by Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards

It is the traveler’s lot to dine at many table-d’hôtes in the course of many wanderings; but it seldom befalls him to make one of a more miscellaneous gathering than that which overfills the great dining-room at Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo during the beginning and height of the regular Egyptian season. Here assemble daily some two to three hundred persons of all ranks, nationalities, and pursuits; half of whom are Anglo-Indians homeward or outward bound, European residents, or visitors established in Cairo for the winter. The other half, it may be taken for granted, are going up the Nile. So composite and incongruous is this body of Nile-goers, young and old, well-dressed and ill-dressed, learned and unlearned, that the new-comer’s first impulse is to inquire from what motives so many persons of dissimilar tastes and training can be led to embark upon an expedition which is, to say the least of it, very tedious, very costly, and of an altogether exceptional interest. His curiosity, however, is soon gratified. Before two days are over, he knows everybody’s name and everybody’s business; distinguishes at first sight between a Cook’s tourist and an independent traveler; and has discovered that nine-tenths of those whom he is likely to meet up the river are English or American. The rest will be mostly German, with a sprinkling of Belgian and French. So far en bloc ; but the details are more heterogeneous still. Here are invalids in search of health; artists in search of subjects; sportsmen keen upon crocodiles; statesmen out for a holiday; special correspondents alert for gossip; collectors on the scent of papyri and mummies; men of science with only scientific ends in view; and the usual surplus of idlers who travel for the mere love of travel or the satisfaction of a purposeless curiosity. Now in a place like Shepheard’s, where every fresh arrival has the honor of contributing, for at least a few minutes, to the general entertainment, the first appearance of L—— and the writer, tired, dusty, and considerably sunburned, may well have given rise to some of the comments in usual circulation at those crowded tables. People asked each other, most likely, where these two wandering Englishwomen had come from; why they had not dressed for dinner; what brought them to Egypt; and if they also were going up the Nile—to which questions it would have been easy to give satisfactory answers. We came from Alexandria, having had a rough passage from Brindisi, followed by forty-eight hours of quarantine. We had not dressed for dinner because, having driven on from the station in advance of dragoman and luggage, we were but just in time to take seats with the rest. We intended, of course, to go up the Nile; and had any one ventured to inquire in so many words what brought us to Egypt, we should have replied: “Stress of weather.”

30

Auschwitz In Retrospect: The Self-Portrait Of Rudolf Hoess, Commander Of Auschwitz - Joseph Tenenbaum Cover Art

Auschwitz In Retrospect: The Self-Portrait Of Rudolf Hoess, Commander Of Auschwitz

Auschwitz In Retrospect: The Self-Portrait Of Rudolf Hoess, Commander Of Auschwitz by Joseph Tenenbaum

Joseph Tenenbaum sketches a portrait of the infamous “Commandant of Auschwitz”, Rudolf Hoess. “Rudolf Hoess has killed more people than any man in history, and Auschwitz was the greatest charnel house of all times. There has been no dearth of publications about the place or the person. […] It seems that after a period of repudiation of the crimes and apologia for them, we are entering an era of memoirs by boastful generals and complacent Nazi small fry, eager to bask in the sun of regained self-confidence and unregenerate Nazi mentality. The Hoess memoirs are an exception to both trends. His revelations are neither apologetic nor an attempt at vindication. The memoirs are indeed a unique literary document, in which the author is trying to explain, first and foremost himself to himself, Hoess to Hoess, and incidentally also to shed light on the most hidden mainsprings of a mind gone criminal.”—From Author’s Preface

31

The Founding of Israel - Martin Connolly Cover Art

The Founding of Israel

The Founding of Israel The Journey to a Jewish Homeland from Abraham to the Holocaust by Martin Connolly

A chronological history of the Jewish people—from the earliest attempts to establish a homeland during Biblical times to the creation of Israel.   More than seventy years ago in 1948, the State of Israel came into being amidst great controversy. How did the state arise? What led to the founding of Israel?   This book sets out to give a chronological journey of the Jewish people from the time Abraham came out of the land of Ur three thousand years ago, until six million of them died in the horror of the Holocaust under Hitler and his Nazi regime.   It recounts the many expulsions from the land in which they lived, the suffering under Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, the destruction of their temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, and finally, genocide and the expulsion by the Romans in 132 AD creating a diaspora across the world.   The Jews would be charged with killing God and throughout the following centuries would be expelled from countries, burned alive after being locked in synagogues or at the stake, have all their property seized, and get herded into ghettoes. All of this until that fatal Holocaust, which attempted to wipe them from the face of the earth.   This book recounts their story to achieve a homeland, using a wide-range of historical documents to tell the story of humiliation, suffering, poverty, and death. It tells of religious persecution that would not let them rest, and as their journey enters the twentieth century, gives a behind-the-scenes look at how governments manipulated the Middle East and exacerbated divisions.

32

Israel - Noa Tishby Cover Art

Israel

Israel A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by Noa Tishby

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A “fascinating and very moving” (Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenwriter of The West Wing and The Social Network ) chronological timeline spanning from Biblical times to today that explores one of the most interesting countries in the world—Israel. Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. But “this is not your Bubbie’s history book” (Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher ). Instead, offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her “passion, humor, and deep intimacy” (Yossi Klein Halevi, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor ) to the subject, creating an accessible and dynamic portrait of a tiny country of outsized relevance. Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel’s creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.

33

What's Next? Israel-Gaza War - Jimmy Evans & Mark Hitchcock Cover Art

What's Next? Israel-Gaza War

What's Next? Israel-Gaza War by Jimmy Evans & Mark Hitchcock

Are you ready to take a stand? The world is closely watching Israel following a severe conflict with Hamas. As tensions escalate, the potential for a broader regional conflict looms. What implications does this hold for Israel's future and biblical prophecy? This insightful book delves into Israel's historic and prophetic role in God's plan. Authors Jimmy Evans and Mark Hitchcock offer perspective on the: •Biblical foundations for Israel's claim to the land •Intricate history of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute •Emergence of radical Islam and the rise of anti-Semitism •Prophecies concerning Israel in the End Times •Ways Christians can pray for and stand with Israel God assures blessing for those who bless Israel. As global sentiment shifts, understanding Israel's importance is crucial. Equip yourself with knowledge and stand with Israel in these pivotal moments.

34

Gaza - Norman Finkelstein Cover Art

Gaza

Gaza An Inquest into Its Martyrdom by Norman Finkelstein

"In its comprehensive sweep, deep probing and acute critical analysis, Finkelstein's study stands alone."—Noam Chomsky "No one who ventures an opinion on Gaza . . . is entitled to do so without taking into account the evidence in this book." —The Intercept The Gaza Strip is among the most densely populated places in the world. More than two-thirds of its inhabitants are refugees, and more than half are under eighteen years of age. Since 2004, Israel has launched eight devastating “operations” against Gaza’s largely defenseless population. Thousands have perished, and tens of thousands have been left homeless. In the meantime, Israel has subjected Gaza to a merciless illegal blockade.   What has befallen Gaza is a man-made humanitarian disaster.   Based on scores of human rights reports, Norman G. Finkelstein's new book presents a meticulously researched inquest into Gaza’s martyrdom. He shows that although Israel has justified its assaults in the name of self-defense, in fact these actions constituted flagrant violations of international law.   But Finkelstein also documents that the guardians of international law—from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to the UN Human Rights Council—ultimately failed Gaza. One of his most disturbing conclusions is that, after Judge Richard Goldstone's humiliating retraction of his UN report, human rights organizations succumbed to the Israeli juggernaut. Finkelstein’s magnum opus is both a monument to Gaza’s martyrs and an act of resistance against the forgetfulness of history.

35

The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace (Shortest History) - Michael Scott-Baumann Cover Art

The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace (Shortest History)

The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace (Shortest History) by Michael Scott-Baumann

An accessible chronicle of how the Israel-Palestine conflict originated and developed over the past century. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. The ongoing struggle between Israel and Palestine is one of the most bitter conflicts in history, with profound global consequences. In this book, Middle East expert Michael Scott-Baumann succinctly describes its origins and charts its evolution from civil war to the present day. Each chapter offers a lucid explanation of the politics and ends with personal testimony from Palestinians and Israelis whose lives have been impacted by the dispute. While presenting competing interpretations, Scott-Baumann examines the key flash points, including the early role of the British, the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the Trump administration’s peace plan, pitched as “the deal of the century,” in 2020. He delineates both the nature of Israeli control over the Palestinian territories and Palestinian resistance—going to the heart of the clashes in recent decades. The result is an indispensable history, including a time line, glossary, and analysis of why efforts to restore peace have continually failed and what it will take to succeed.

36

The Invention of the Jewish People - Shlomo Sand & Yael Lotan Cover Art

The Invention of the Jewish People

The Invention of the Jewish People by Shlomo Sand & Yael Lotan

A historical tour de force, The Invention of the Jewish People offers a groundbreaking account of Jewish and Israeli history. Exploding the myth that there was a forced Jewish exile in the first century at the hands of the Romans, Israeli historian Shlomo Sand argues that most modern Jews descend from converts, whose native lands were scattered across the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In this iconoclastic work, which spent nineteen weeks on the Israeli bestseller list and won the coveted Aujourd’hui Award in France, Sand provides the intellectual foundations for a new vision of Israel’s future.

37

Jerusalem - Simon Sebag Montefiore Cover Art

Jerusalem

Jerusalem The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore

The epic history of three thousand years of faith, fanaticism, bloodshed, and coexistence, from King David to the 21st century, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, from the bestselling author of The Romanovs • "Impossible to put down…. Vastly enjoyable." — The New York Times Book Review   How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the “center of the world” and now the key to peace in the Middle East? In a gripping narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city in its many incarnations, bringing every epoch and character blazingly to life. Jerusalem’s biography is told through the wars, love affairs, and revelations of the men and women who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem. As well as the many ordinary Jerusalemites who have left their mark on the city, its cast varies from Solomon, Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent to Cleopatra, Caligula and Churchill; from Abraham to Jesus and Muhammad; from the ancient world of Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and Nero to the modern times of the Kaiser, Disraeli, Mark Twain, Lincoln, Rasputin, Lawrence of Arabia and Moshe Dayan.   In this masterful narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore brings the holy city to life and draws on the latest scholarship, his own family history, and a lifetime of study to show that the story of Jerusalem is truly the story of the world.

38

Bible and Sword - Barbara W. Tuchman Cover Art

Bible and Sword

Bible and Sword England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour by Barbara W. Tuchman

From Barbara W. Tuchman, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Guns of August, comes history through a wide-angle lens: a fascinating chronicle of Britain’s long relationship with Palestine and the Middle East, from the ancient world to the twentieth century.   Historically, the British were drawn to the Holy Land for two major reasons: first, to translate the Bible into English and, later, to control the road to India and access to the oil of the Middle East. With the lucidity and vividness that characterize all her work, Barbara W. Tuchman follows these twin spiritual and imperial motives—the Bible and the sword—to their seemingly inevitable endpoint, when Britain conquered Palestine at the conclusion of World War I. At that moment, in a gesture of significance and solemnity, the Balfour Declaration of 1917 established a British-sponsored mandate for a national home for the Jewish people. Throughout this characteristically vivid account, Tuchman demonstrates that the seeds of conflict were planted in the Middle East long before the official founding of the modern state of Israel.   Praise for Bible and Sword   “Tuchman is a wise and witty writer, a shrewd observer with a lively command of high drama.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer   “In her métier as a narrative popular historical writer, Barbara Tuchman is supreme.” — Chicago Sun-Times

39

A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914-1948 - James Barr Cover Art

A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914-1948

A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914-1948 by James Barr

“A provocative history . . . helps us to understand why the Arab spring is so important and valuable.”—David Ignatius, National Interest In the twentieth century, while fighting a common enemy in Europe, Britain and France were locked in a clandestine struggle for power in the Middle East. From the first agreement to divide the region between them to the birth of Israel, A Line in the Sand is a gripping narrative of the last gasp of imperialism, with tales of unscrupulous double-dealing, cynical manipulation, and all-too-frequent violence that continues to the present day.

40

Istanbul - Thomas F. Madden Cover Art

Istanbul

Istanbul City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World by Thomas F. Madden

For more than two millennia Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across at the shores of Asia. The history of this city—known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul—is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire, to the Romans and later the Ottomans. At its most spectacular, Istanbul was re-founded by Emperor Constantine I as New Rome, the capital of the eastern Roman Empire. He dramatically expanded the city, filling it with artistic treasures, and adorning the streets with opulent palaces. Constantine built new walls around it all—walls that were truly impregnable and preserved power, wealth, and withstood any aggressor—walls that still stand for tourists to visit. From its ancient past to the present, we meet the city through its ordinary citizens—the Jews, Muslims, Italians, Greeks, and Russians who used the famous baths and walked the bazaars, and the rulers who built it up and then destroyed it, including Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the man who christened the city "Istanbul" in 1930. Thomas Madden's entertaining narrative brings to life the city we see today, including the rich splendor of the churches and monasteries that spread throughout the city. Istanbul  draws on a lifetime of study and the latest scholarship, transporting readers to a city of unparalleled importance and majesty that holds the key to understanding modern civilization. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, "If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital."

41

The Home That Was Our Country - Alia Malek Cover Art

The Home That Was Our Country

The Home That Was Our Country A Memoir of Syria by Alia Malek

At the Arab Spring's hopeful start, Alia Malek returned to Damascus to reclaim her grandmother's apartment, which had been lost to her family since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Its loss was central to her parent's decision to make their lives in America. In chronicling the people who lived in the Tahaan building, past and present, Alia portrays the Syrians-the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and Kurds-who worked, loved, and suffered in close quarters, mirroring the political shifts in their country. Restoring her family's home as the country comes apart, she learns how to speak the coded language of oppression that exists in a dictatorship, while privately confronting her own fears about Syria's future. The Home That Was Our Country is a deeply researched, personal journey that shines a delicate but piercing light on Syrian history, society, and politics. Teeming with insights, the narrative weaves acute political analysis with a century of intimate family history, ultimately delivering an unforgettable portrait of the Syria that is being erased.

42

Imperial Hubris - Michael Scheuer Cover Art

Imperial Hubris

Imperial Hubris Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror by Michael Scheuer

Though U.S. leaders try to convince the world of their success in fighting al Qaeda, one member of the U.S. intelligence community would like to inform the public that we are, in fact, losing the war on terror. Further, until U.S. leaders recognize the errant path they have irresponsibly chosen, he says, our enemies will only grow stronger. According to the author Michael Scheuer, the greatest danger for Americans confronting the Islamist threat is to believe—at the urging of U.S. leaders—that Muslims attack us for what we are and what we think rather than for what we do. Blustering political rhetoric “informs” the public that the Islamists are offended by the Western world’s democratic freedoms, civil liberties, inter-mingling of genders, and separation of church and state. However, although aspects of the modern world may offend conservative Muslims, no Islamist leader has fomented jihad to destroy participatory democracy, for example, the national association of credit unions, or coed universities. Instead, a growing segment of the Islamic world strenuously disapproves of specific U.S. policies and their attendant military, political, and economic implications. Capitalizing on growing anti-U.S. animosity, Osama bin Laden’s genius lies not simply in calling for jihad, but in articulating a consistent and convincing case that Islam is under attack by America. Al Qaeda’s public statements condemn America’s protection of corrupt Muslim regimes, unqualified support for Israel, the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and a further litany of real-world grievances. Bin Laden’s supporters thus identify their problem and believe their solution lies in war. Scheuer contends they will go to any length, not to destroy our secular, democratic way of life, but to deter what they view as specific attacks on their lands, their communities, and their religion. Unless U.S. leaders recognize this fact and adjust their policies abroad accordingly, even moderate Muslims will join the bin Laden camp.

43

Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict - Norman G. Finkelstein Cover Art

Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict by Norman G. Finkelstein

“An impressive analysis of Zionist ideology and a searing . . . indictment of Israel’s treatment of the Arabs since 1948” through a survey of popular and scholarly images ( London Review of Books ) “The most revealing study of the historical background of the conflict.” —Noam Chomsky Finkelstein opens this acclaimed study with a theoretical discussion of Zionism, locating it as a romantic form of nationalism that assumed the bankruptcy of liberal democracy. He goes on to look at the demographic origins of the Palestinians, with particular reference to the work of Joan Peters, and develops critiques of the influential studies of both Benny Morris and Anita Shapira. Reviewing the diplomatic history with Aban Eban‘s oeuvre as his foil, Finkelstein closes by demonstrating that the casting of Israel as the innocent victim of Arab aggression in the June 1967 and October 1973 wars is not supported by the documentary record. This new edition critically reexamines dominant popular and scholarly images in the light of the current failures of the peace process.

44

History of the Phoenician Civilization - George Rawlinson Cover Art

History of the Phoenician Civilization

History of the Phoenician Civilization by George Rawlinson

Phoenicia was a great and highly influential ancient civilization that originated in the Eastern Mediterranean. Scholars generally agree that it included the coastal areas of today's Lebanon, northern Israel and southern Syria reaching as far north as Arwad. Phoenician civilization spread across the Mediterranean between 1500 BC and 300 BC. Phoenician colonies reached the Western Mediterranean, most notably Carthage, and even the Atlantic Ocean. Phoenician writing became one of the most widely used writing systems, spread by Phoenician merchants across the Mediterranean world, where it evolved and was assimilated by many other cultures. Contents: The Land Climate and Productions The People—origin and Characteristics The Cities The Colonies Architecture Aethetic Art Industrial Art and Manufactures Ships, Navigation, and Commerce Mining Religion Dress, Ornaments, and Social Habits Phoenician Writing, Language, and Literature Political History Phoenicia, Before the Establishment of the Hegemony of Tyre. Phoenicia Under the Hegemony of Tyre Phoenicia During the Period of Its Subjection to Assyria Phoenicia During Its Struggles With Babylon and Egypt Phoenicia Under the Persians Phoenicia in the Time of Alexander the Great Phoenicia Under the Greeks Phoenicia Under the Romans

45

The Edge of the Sword: Israel’s War of Independence 1947-1949 - Netanel Lorch Cover Art

The Edge of the Sword: Israel’s War of Independence 1947-1949

The Edge of the Sword: Israel’s War of Independence 1947-1949 by Netanel Lorch

Netanel Lorch, who fought as an officer in Jerusalem during Israel’s War of Independence and later founded the Israel Defense Forces’ Historical Section, offers a detailed military history of the years 1947-49. The book begins with the tensions of the British Mandate period in Palestine, including the international debates over proposed boundaries for the new Jewish state, and examines the chaos that followed the British evacuation, the invasion of five Arab armies supported by guerrilla fighters inside Israel, the defeat of the Arab armies, and the signing of armistice agreements at Rhodes. It surveys the strength, weaknesses, equipment and manpower of Jewish and Arab forces and describes the strategies and tactics used in operations launched by all sides, together with the results of the battles that led to Israel’s pre-1967 borders. “In splendidly crisp, frugal but always fluent narrative, Col. Netanel Lorch relates how Israel won her life with ‘The Edge of the Sword.’ It is an apt title for this masterly deployment of bare facts, devoid of speculative afterthoughts, almost devoid of comment... I rate this book a splendid job of work, absorbing to a student of war, a fit memorial to heroic events passing comprehension.” — The New York Times “... minute in its detail, meticulous in its completeness, matter of fact in its style... but, professional objectivity notwithstanding, he offers a penetrating insight into the passions and purposes that underlay this struggle.” — Herbert Kupferberg, The New York Herald Tribune “Lorch... was fortunate in holding a position in which he was able to obtain and sift much data not normally available to the public. This he has done admirably... It is a timely, comprehensive book... clearly a must for the bookshelf of everyone who takes an interest in military matters or in the Middle East.” — Edgar O’Ballance, The Spectator , London “... a fascinating work. The book teems with technical details and military terms; it gives blow by blow the story of every campaign, and almost every action.” — Marvin Lowenthal, Jewish Social Studies “Genuine history, admirably written...” — Bernard Fergussen, London Daily Telegraph “[Lorch] writes with a clarity quite unusual in military specialists... superbly written and fascinating.” — The Cape Argus , Capetown “The most detailed and most searching study of this momentous little war which has yet been published. It is also remarkably readable... it teaches quietly and with no brashness, a number of salutary lessons, strategic and tactical, logistic and moral, which every soldier ought to ponder... Lorch’s narrative is as candid as it is well marshalled. He is not sparing in his criticism of Israeli mistakes. He does not sneer and he does not exult.” — Journal of the Royal United Services Institution

46

History of the Jews (Complete) - Heinrich Graetz Cover Art

History of the Jews (Complete)

History of the Jews (Complete) by Heinrich Graetz

It was on a spring day that some pastoral tribes passed across the Jordan into a strip of land which can only be regarded as an extended coast-line of the Mediterranean. This was the land of Canaan , subsequently called Palestine . The crossing of the Jordan and the entry into this territory were destined to become of the utmost importance to mankind. The land of which the shepherd tribes possessed themselves became the arena of great events, so enduring and important in their results, that the country in which they took place became known as the Holy Land . Distant nations had no conception that the entry of the Hebrew or Israelite tribes into the land of Canaan would have such momentous consequences. Even the inhabitants of Palestine were far from recognising in this invasion an occurrence fraught with vital significance to themselves. At the time when the Hebrews occupied this territory it was inhabited by tribes and peoples dissimilar in descent and pursuits. The primary place was held by the aborigines, the Anakim and Rephaim , a powerful race of giants. Tradition represents them as the descendants of that unruly and overbearing race which, in primæval times, attempted to storm the heavens. For this rebellious attempt they had been doomed to ignominious destruction. Their reputed descendants, the powerful natives of the country—who by some of the ancient nations were called Emim , "terrible men"—were unable to maintain themselves; notwithstanding their imposing figures, they were destroyed by races of inferior stature. The rest were obliged to migrate to the East-Jordanic lands, to the south, and also to the south-west of the West-Jordanic region. This remnant of the Anakim filled the Israelite spies with such abject terror that they made the entire nation despair of ever obtaining possession of the country. This gave rise to the proverb, "Who can stand before the children of Anak?" "We were," said the spies, "in our own eyes as grasshoppers, and so we appeared unto them." These giants were eventually overcome by the Israelite dwarfs. Another group of inhabitants which had settled in the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan was that of the Canaanites , whom the Greeks called Phœnicians. These Phœnicians appear to have pursued the same employment in their new country as they had followed on the banks of the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf. Their chief pursuits were navigation and commerce. The position which they had selected was eminently favourable to their daring expeditions. The great ocean, forming a strait at the Pillars of Hercules, and separating Europe from Africa, as the Mediterranean Sea, has here its extreme limit. At the foot of the snow-topped Lebanon and its spurs, commodious inlets formed natural harbours that required but little improvement at the hand of man. On this seaboard the Canaanites built the town of Sidon, situated on a prominent crag which overhangs the sea. They afterwards built, on a small rocky island, the port of Tyre (Tor, which subsequently became celebrated); they also built Aradus to the north of Sidon, and Akko (Acre) to the south of Tyre. The neighbouring forests of the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon supplied them with lofty cedars and strong cypresses for ships. The Canaanites, who became the first mercantile nation in the world, owed much of their success to the advantage of finding on their coast various species of the murex ( Tolaat shani ), from the fluid of which was obtained a most brilliant and widely celebrated purple dye. The beautiful white sand of the river Belus, near Acre, supplied fine glass, an article which was likewise in much request in the Old World. The wealth of the country lay in the sands of the sea-shore. The Canaanites, on account of their extensive trade, required and introduced at an early period a convenient form of writing, and their alphabet, the Phœnician, became the model for the alphabets of ancient and modern nations. In a word, the narrow belt of land between the Mediterranean and Mount Lebanon, with its spurs, became one of the most important points on the face of the globe. Through the peaceful pursuits of commerce the Canaanites were brought into contact with remote nations, who were gradually aroused from a state of inactivity. They became subdivided into the small nationalities of Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, and Perizzites. The Jebusites, who inhabited this district, were of minor importance; they dwelt on the tract of land which afterwards became the site for the city of Jerusalem. Of still less account were the Girgashites, who had no fixed residence. All these names would have remained unknown had not the Israelites entered the land.

47

A Congress of Kings - James Boschert Cover Art

A Congress of Kings

A Congress of Kings by James Boschert

The year 1191 is the beginning of the Third  Christian crusade in the Holy Land, and one of the most significant Under the vigilant protection of Lord Talon and his companions, the land of Kantara enjoys peace even as the tyrant Isaac Komnenos continues to plunder the rest of Cyprus. However, dark clouds are gathering and great storms bring with them unwelcome Norman visitors. Soon Talon is embroiled in the invasion of Cyprus, assisting King Richard of England who, en route to Acre for the Third Crusade, must save his royal sister, Queen Joanna, from Isaac's clutches. Talon is forced to accompany Richard I to the besieged city of Acre—a city which holds painful memories for Talon. There, quarreling kings, men who once were kings, and men who want to be kings form the leadership of the Crusading armies. Their lust for power blinds them to the threat posed by Salah ad Din, the skilled general who fights on the Arab side, continuing the tragedy that started with the terrible defeat at Hattin. And lurking out of sight is yet another implacable foe who prepares his own assassins for a mission of revenge. Talon has eluded the Fidai of The Master, Rashid ad Din for nearly twenty years, but his luck may be running out.

48

A Peace to End All Peace - David Fromkin Cover Art

A Peace to End All Peace

A Peace to End All Peace The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin

Published with a new afterword from the author—the classic, bestselling account of how the modern Middle East was created The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts—including the hostilities between Arabs and Israelis, and the violent challenges posed by Iraq's competing sects—are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. In A Peace to End All Peace , David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time, showing how the choices narrowed and the Middle East began along a road that led to the conflicts and confusion that continue to this day. A new afterword from Fromkin, written for this edition of the book, includes his invaluable, updated assessment of this region of the world today, and on what this history has to teach us.

49

The Confidence Men - Margalit Fox Cover Art

The Confidence Men

The Confidence Men How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History by Margalit Fox

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Great Escape for the Great War: the astonishing true story of two World War I prisoners who pulled off one of the most ingenious escapes of all time. FINALIST FOR THE EDGAR ® AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR • “Fox unspools Jones and Hill’s delightfully elaborate scheme in nail-biting episodes that advance like a narrative Rube Goldberg machine.”— The New York Times Book Review Imprisoned in a remote Turkish POW camp during World War I, having survived a two-month forced march and a terrifying shootout in the desert, two British officers, Harry Jones and Cedric Hill, join forces to bamboozle their iron-fisted captors. To stave off despair and boredom, Jones takes a handmade Ouija board and fakes elaborate séances for his fellow prisoners. Word gets around, and one day an Ottoman official approaches Jones with a query: Could Jones contact the spirit world to find a vast treasure rumored to be buried nearby? Jones, a trained lawyer, and Hill, a brilliant magician, use the Ouija board—and their keen understanding of the psychology of deception—to build a trap for their captors that will ultimately lead them to freedom.  A gripping nonfiction thriller, The Confidence Men is the story of one of the only known con games played for a good cause—and of a profound but unlikely friendship. Had it not been for “the Great War,” Jones, the Oxford-educated son of a British lord, and Hill, a mechanic on an Australian sheep ranch, would never have met. But in pain, loneliness, hunger, and isolation, they formed a powerful emotional and intellectual alliance that saved both of their lives.  Margalit Fox brings her “nose for interesting facts, the ability to construct a taut narrative arc, and a Dickens-level gift for concisely conveying personality” (Kathryn Schulz, New York ) to this tale of psychological strategy that is rife with cunning, danger, and moments of high farce that rival anything in Catch-22 .

50

A History of the Muslim World - Michael A. Cook Cover Art

A History of the Muslim World

A History of the Muslim World From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity by Michael A. Cook

A panoramic history of the Muslim world from the age of the Prophet Muḥammad to the birth of the modern era This book describes and explains the major events, personalities, conflicts, and convergences that have shaped the history of the Muslim world. The body of the book takes readers from the origins of Islam to the eve of the nineteenth century, and an epilogue continues the story to the present day. Michael Cook thus provides a broad history of a civilization remarkable for both its unity and diversity. After setting the scene in the Middle East of late antiquity, the book depicts the rise of Islam as one of the great black swan events of history. It continues with the spectacular rise of the Caliphate, an empire that by the time it broke up had nurtured the formation of a new civilization. It then goes on to cover the diverse histories of all the major regions of the Muslim world, providing a wide-ranging account of the key military, political, and cultural developments that accompanied the eastward and westward spread of Islam from the Middle East to the shores of the Atlantic and the Pacific. At the same time, A History of the Muslim World contains numerous primary-source quotations that expose the reader to a variety of acutely insightful voices from the Muslim past.

Books

Ebook Charts

Apple Books Ebook Best Sellers

Fiction Ebook Best Sellers

Non-Fiction Ebook Best Sellers

iTunes Audio Book Charts

Audiobook Best Sellers

iTunes Music Charts

Most Popular Music Charts

iTunes Movie Charts

Top Movies

iTunes TV Charts

Top Television Shows

iTunes iOS App Charts

Top iPhone Apps

Top iPad & iPad Mini Apps

International iTunes Charts

Apple Books Best Selling Ebook Charts