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 Cauldron - Simon Sebag Montefiore Cover Art

The Cauldron

The Cauldron The Making of the Modern Middle East by Simon Sebag Montefiore

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential guide to the making of the modern Middle East from 1900 to the present: a spellbinding history by the New York Times bestselling author of Jerusalem and The Romanovs "Superb. . . . The Cauldron is a triumph of blood-and-thunder narrative history.” — The Wall Street Journal Renowned historian Simon Sebag Montefiore wades into the ideological battles and geopolitical tensions of the Middle East with a comprehensive and nuanced chronicle that situates the region in the context of its last one hundred and twenty-five years. Few understand the real history of the Middle East; fewer still understand its variety and cosmopolitanism, its complexity and interconnectedness. The Cauldron is a fresh and unique survey of the region in all its diversity. Taking the reader on a spectacular journey from the Ottoman sultanate to the Trump presidency, from Morocco to Iran, this is a dazzling panorama of faith and fanaticism, creativity and tolerance, dictatorship and democracy brought to life by an extraordinary cast of kings, warriors, poets, terrorists, and peacemakers. With his signature style of voice-driven history that made Jerusalem a national bestseller, Montefiore reveals a stunning portrait of the world we have inherited and interrogates the prevailing historical narratives. This is the essential story of how the Middle East of 1900 led to the Middle East of today—and tomorrow.

2

The Best Kind of American - Kim Ghattas Cover Art

The Best Kind of American

The Best Kind of American A True Story of Murder, War, and America's Undoing in the Middle East by Kim Ghattas

A work of true crime following one American family’s search for answers after a 1984 murder in war-torn Beirut, where the Iranian revolution collided with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, setting off the geopolitical conflagration that burns to this day On January 18, 1984, Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated by a pair of gunmen outside his office. His murder, in the wake of the bombing of the US Marines’ barracks, Palestinian guerrilla warfare, and the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, was just one more shocking headline in a city ravaged by the chaos of nine years of war. There was no investigation. Four decades later, the question of who killed Malcolm, and why, is still not fully resolved. In The Best Kind of American , Kim Ghattas embarks on a quest to shed new light on Kerr’s forgotten assassination, weaving together the family’s story with that of Lebanon’s warlords and peacemakers, Hezbollah hostage takers and Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and American presidents from Reagan to Trump. She also tells the definitive story of how Beirut came to be the point of origin for the policies and people who went on to shape the Middle East for decades, from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was then assassinated in a joint US-Israeli strike in the opening salvo of their 2026 war against the Islamic Republic. With the nuance, clarity, and storytelling that made Black Wave an era-defining work on the Middle East, Ghattas delivers a riveting, deeply human saga—a must-read for understanding why this conflict continues to shape today’s world.

3

Gaza's Gravediggers - Norman Finkelstein Cover Art

Gaza's Gravediggers

Gaza's Gravediggers An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places by Norman Finkelstein

The world’s leading forensic scholar exposes international duplicity and complicity in the Gaza genocide. Methodically debunking the claims of its apologists, Norman Finkelstein has for decades laid bare the cynical politics behind Israel’s high-tech killing sprees in Gaza. Since October 7, 2023, he has been a unique voice in not just condemning Israel’s onslaught but also providing original and acute insight into it. Now, in Gaza’s Gravediggers, Finkelstein turns his critical lens to the global enablers of genocide—those who distort truth and manipulate justice as they prostitute themselves to power and privilege. With meticulous research and razor-sharp analysis, he systematically dissects and dismantles the most influential arguments defending Israel’s actions. He exposes how a United Nations special representative lent credence to an Israeli smear campaign, how officials in the world’s highest court perverted international law in Israel’s defence, and how even Israel’s severe critics colluded in misrepresenting genocide as a war. This is more than a book; it is a searing indictment of those who abused their authority to whitewash an unfolding horror. Gaza’s Gravediggers serves as a clarion call for accountability, reminding those in power: the world is watching, and History will not forgive. “It will not be forgotten,” Finkelstein admonishes. “It will no longer be business as usual, if you choose to do the Devil’s work.”

4

Black Wave - Kim Ghattas Cover Art

Black Wave

Black Wave Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East by Kim Ghattas

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 “[A] sweeping and authoritative history" ( The New York Times Book Review ), Black Wave is an unprecedented and ambitious examination of how the modern Middle East unraveled and why it started with the pivotal year of 1979. Kim Ghattas seamlessly weaves together history, geopolitics, and culture to deliver a gripping read of the largely unexplored story of the rivalry between between Saudi Arabia and Iran, born from the sparks of the 1979 Iranian revolution and fueled by American policy. With vivid story-telling, extensive historical research and on-the-ground reporting, Ghattas dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after 1979. She shows how they used and distorted religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics. Feeding intolerance, suppressing cultural expression, and encouraging sectarian violence from Egypt to Pakistan, the war for cultural supremacy led to Iran’s fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, the assassination of countless intellectuals, the birth of groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the rise of ISIS. Ghattas introduces us to a riveting cast of characters whose lives were upended by the geopolitical drama over four decades: from the Pakistani television anchor who defied her country’s dictator, to the Egyptian novelist thrown in jail for indecent writings all the way to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Black Wave is both an intimate and sweeping history of the region and will significantly alter perceptions of the Middle East.

5

Goliath - Max Blumenthal Cover Art

Goliath

Goliath Life and Loathing in Greater Israel by Max Blumenthal

From a New York Times bestselling author, a journey through the badlands and high roads of Israel-Palestine, painting a startling portrait of Israeli society under siege as the Palestinian occupation deepens. "An eye-opening and stunningly insightful book about the dramatic plight of a country central to America's political fortunes." —Glenn Greenwald, New York Times bestselling author of No Place to Hide Beginning with the national elections carried out during Israel's war on Gaza in 2008-09, which brought into power the country's most right-wing government to date, Blumenthal tells the story of Israel in the wake of the collapse of the Oslo peace process. As Blumenthal reveals, Israel has become a country where right-wing leaders like Avigdor Lieberman and Bibi Netanyahu are sacrificing democracy on the altar of their power politics; where the loyal opposition largely and passively stands aside and watches the organized assault on civil liberties; where state-funded Orthodox rabbis publish books that provide instructions on how and when to kill Gentiles; where half of Jewish youth declare their refusal to sit in a classroom with an Arab; and where mob violence targets Palestinians and African asylum seekers scapegoated by leading government officials as "demographic threats." Blumenthal interviews the demagogues and divas in their homes, in the Knesset, and in the watering holes where their young acolytes hang out, and speaks with those political leaders behind the organized assault on civil liberties. As his journey deepens, he painstakingly reports on the occupied Palestinians challenging schemes of demographic separation through unarmed protest. Through his far-ranging travels, Blumenthal illuminates the present by uncovering the ghosts of the past: the histories of Palestinian neighborhoods and villages now gone and forgotten; how that history has set the stage for the current crisis of Israeli society; and how the Holocaust has been turned into justification for occupation. A brave and unflinching account of the real facts on the ground, Goliath is an unprecedented and compelling work of journalism. Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Notable Book Award

6

In the War Room - Yonah Jeremy Bob & Elliot Kaufman Cover Art

In the War Room

In the War Room The Inside Story of Israel's Fight Against Hamas and the Iranian Axis by Yonah Jeremy Bob & Elliot Kaufman

The inside story of the leaders, debates, and decisions that shaped Israel’s longest war. In the War Room is the inside story of the leaders, debates, and decisions that shaped Israel’s longest war—a multifront battle that eventually led Israeli and then US jets to the heart of Iran. This book also explains the current debates in Israeli society and the clashes or cooperation with US presidents that may shape the future of US–Israel relations, beyond the current government, for those who want to understand what will come next. Led not merely by a team of rivals but by a war room of bitter enemies, Israel fought back from the October 7 massacre all the way to Tehran. To do so, the Jewish state had to defy the world and the expert predictions that claimed Israel’s strategy would lead it to calamity. Israel did fail at times, especially in Gaza, and it lost significant public support among Americans. But Israel succeeded enough to set back the Iranian proxy axis substantially. Drawing from their unique access to top Israeli and US officials, including secret intelligence sources, Bob and Kaufman reveal how Israel came back from its lowest moment to outmaneuver Iran in late 2024 and 2025, leading to their greatest confrontation yet in 2026.

7

The Fall of the Ottomans - Eugene Rogan Cover Art

The Fall of the Ottomans

The Fall of the Ottomans The Great War in the Middle East by Eugene Rogan

An international bestseller An Economist Best Book of the Year The thrilling and definitive history of World War I in the Middle East. “A page-turner as well as an accurate and comprehensive history of the Ottoman struggle for survival ... Remarkable.” — Wall Street Journal By 1914 the powers of Europe were sliding inexorably toward war, and they pulled the Middle East along with them into one of the most destructive conflicts in human history. In The Fall of the Ottomans , award-winning historian Eugene Rogan brings the First World War and its immediate aftermath in the Middle East to vivid life, uncovering the often ignored story of the region's crucial role in the conflict. Unlike the static killing fields of the Western Front, the war in the Middle East was fast-moving and unpredictable, with the Turks inflicting decisive defeats on the Entente in Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, and Gaza before the tide of battle turned in the Allies’ favor. The postwar settlement led to the partition of Ottoman lands, laying the groundwork for the ongoing conflicts that continue to plague the modern Arab world. A sweeping narrative of battles and political intrigue from Gallipoli to Arabia, The Fall of the Ottomans is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Great War and the making of the modern Middle East.

8

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.

9

The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints - Harold Lamb Cover Art

The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints

The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints by Harold Lamb

In this volume is told the genuine true story of the first crusaders. It begins with their setting out, and it ends with the death of the last survivor. Almost a thousand years have passed since then, and the lives of these men are known to us only by the chronicles of their days. Upon these original chronicles the story in this book is based. It does not deal with the legends that grew up after the crusades. It is not history revised and re-written. It is the real firsthand account story of a dozen men, most of them leaders, who started out on that long journey - what they saw on the road, and what they did, and what befell them.

10

In Mesopotamia - Martin Swayne Cover Art

In Mesopotamia

In Mesopotamia by Martin Swayne

An account of the author's experiences in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), where he served in the army. Easy to read, with some pleasant illustrations by the author himself.

11

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. "With passion, Raymond Ibrahim offers an edgy and eye-opening introduction to a millennium of warfare between the Muslim and Christian worlds before the modern age." —Thomas Madden, award-winning author of Istanbul , Venice , and Concise History of the Crusades 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 territory in 636, through the Muslim occupation of nearly three-quarters of Christendom (prompting the Crusades), followed by renewed Muslim conquests by Turks and Tatars, and 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 encounters—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.

12

Empress of the East - Leslie Peirce Cover Art

Empress of the East

Empress of the East How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire by Leslie Peirce

The "fascinating . . . lively" story of the Russian slave girl Roxelana, who rose from concubine to become the only queen of the Ottoman empire ( New York Times ). In Empress of the East , historian Leslie Peirce tells the remarkable story of a Christian slave girl, Roxelana, who was abducted by slave traders from her Ruthenian homeland and brought to the harem of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in Istanbul. Suleyman became besotted with her and foreswore all other concubines. Then, in an unprecedented step, he freed her and married her. The bold and canny Roxelana soon became a shrewd diplomat and philanthropist, who helped Suleyman keep pace with a changing world in which women, from Isabella of Hungary to Catherine de Medici, increasingly held the reins of power. Until now Roxelana has been seen as a seductress who brought ruin to the empire, but in Empress of the East , Peirce reveals the true history of an elusive figure who transformed the Ottoman harem into an institution of imperial rule.

13

Jerusalem - Simon Sebag Montefiore Cover Art

Jerusalem

Jerusalem The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore

FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED FOR 2024 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • JEWISH BOOK COUNCIL BOOK OF THE YEAR "Spectacular. [Montefiore] really tells you what the life of the city has been like and why it means so much. You fall in love with the city. It’s a treasure. It’s a wonderful book." —Bill Clinton "Impossible to put down. . . . Vastly enjoyable." — The New York Times Book Review The history of Jerusalem is the story of the world: Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths. The Holy City and Holy Land are the battlefields for today’s multifaceted conflicts and, for believers, the setting for Judgment Day and the Apocalypse. 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? Why is the Holy Land so important not just to the region and its many new players, but to the wider world too? Drawing on new archives and a lifetime’s study, Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city and turbulent region through the wars, love affairs and revelations of the kings, empresses, amirs, sultans, caliphs, presidents, autocrats, imperialists and warlords, poets, prophets, saints and rabbis who created, destroyed, chronicled, and believed in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. A classic of modern literature, this is not only the epic story of 3,000 years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism, co-existence, power and myth, but also a freshly updated, carefully balanced history of the Middle East, from King David to the new powers of the twenty-first century, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict. This is how today’s Middle East was forged, how the Holy Land became sacred and how Jerusalem became Jerusalem—the only city that exists twice—in heaven and on earth. “Magnificent. . . . Montefiore barely misses a trick or a character intaking us through the city’s story with compelling, breathless tension.” — The Wall Street Journal

14

Rise and Kill First - Ronen Bergman Cover Art

Rise and Kill First

Rise and Kill First The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations by Ronen Bergman

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first definitive history of Israel’s targeted killing programs, which have shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the larger world—from the man hailed by David Remnick as “arguably [Israel’s] best investigative reporter.” “An exceptional work, a humane book about an incendiary subject . . . full of shocking moments, surprising disturbances in a narrative full of fateful twists and unintended consequences.”— The New York Times WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD IN HISTORY • ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Economist, The New York Times Book Review, BBC History Magazine, Mother Jones The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel’s DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small, sometimes in response to attacks against the Israeli people and sometimes preemptively. In this page-turning, eye-opening book, journalist and military analyst Ronen Bergman—praised by David Remnick as “arguably [Israel’s] best investigative reporter”—offers a riveting inside account of the targeted killing programs: their successes, their failures, and the moral and political price exacted on the men and women who approved and carried out the missions. Bergman has gained the exceedingly rare cooperation of many current and former members of the Israeli government, including Prime Ministers Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as high-level figures in the country’s military and intelligence services: the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the Mossad (the world’s most feared intelligence agency), Caesarea (a “Mossad within the Mossad” that carries out attacks on the highest-value targets), and the Shin Bet (an internal security service that implemented the largest targeted assassination campaign ever, in order to stop what had once appeared to be unstoppable: suicide terrorism). Including never-before-reported, behind-the-curtain accounts of key operations, and based on hundreds of on-the-record interviews and thousands of files to which Bergman has gotten exclusive access over his decades of reporting, Rise and Kill First brings us deep into the heart of Israel’s most secret activities. Bergman traces, from statehood to the present, the gripping events and thorny ethical questions underlying Israel’s targeted killing campaign, which has shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the larger world.

15

Islam - Karen Armstrong Cover Art

Islam

Islam A Short History by Karen Armstrong

No religion in the modern world is as feared and misunderstood as Islam. It haunts the popular Western imagination as an extreme faith that promotes authoritarian government, female oppression, civil war, and terrorism. Karen Armstrong's short history offers a vital corrective to this narrow view. The distillation of years of thinking and writing about Islam, it demonstrates that the world's fastest-growing faith is a much richer and more complex phenomenon than its modern fundamentalist strain might suggest. Islam: A Short History begins with the flight of Muhammad and his family from Medina in the seventh century and the subsequent founding of the first mosques. It recounts the origins of the split between Shii and Sunni Muslims, and the emergence of Sufi mysticism; the spread of Islam throughout North Africa, the Levant, and Asia; the shattering effect on the Muslim world of the Crusades; the flowering of imperial Islam in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries into the world's greatest and most sophisticated power; and the origins and impact of revolutionary Islam. It concludes with an assessment of Islam today and its challenges. With this brilliant book, Karen Armstrong issues a forceful challenge to those who hold the view that the West and Islam are civilizations set on a collision course. It is also a model of authority, elegance, and economy.

16

The Twilight War - David Crist Cover Art

The Twilight War

The Twilight War The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran by David Crist

"An important and timely book that should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding how the United States and Iran went from close allies to enduring enemies." — The Washington Post "Deserves a spot on the short list of must-read books on United States-Iran relations." — The New York Times The dramatic secret history of the undeclared, ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran — the story behind the headlines. The United States and Iran have been engaged in an unacknowledged secret war since the 1970s. This conflict has frustrated multiple American presidents, divided administrations, and repeatedly threatened to bring the two nations to the brink of open warfare. Drawing upon unparalleled access to senior officials and key documents of several U.S. administrations, David Crist, a senior historian in the federal government, breaks new ground on virtually every page of The Twilight War. From the Iranian Revolution to secret negotiations between Iran and the United States after 9/11, from Iran’s nuclear program to the secretive and deadly role of Qasem Soleimani, Crist brings vital new depth to our understanding of “the Iran problem”—and what the future of this tense relationship may bring. For anyone seeing a deep perspective on the ongoing conflict between America, Israel and Iran, The Twilight War is essential reading.

17

The Future Is Peace - Aziz Abu Sarah & Maoz Inon Cover Art

The Future Is Peace

The Future Is Peace A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land by Aziz Abu Sarah & Maoz Inon

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Two lifelong peace activists and guides to Israel/Palestine, both of whom have lost family in the conflict, take readers on a revealing life-changing journey across this holy, bloodstained land and discover the mythic, political, and personal history that divides but also binds them and their peoples. “[A] short but immensely poignant account of a shared journey across Israel and the West Bank . . . raw with pain and rage and yet bravely insistent on the imperative of hope.”— The New York Times “We do not see ourselves as Palestinians and Israelis, or as Jews and Arabs, but as human beings who believe in fostering a culture of dialogue, a culture of forgiveness, and a culture of peace. To those who see only division lines, we say: If you must divide us, let it be as those who believe in peace and equality and those who don’t ... yet.” Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli Maoz Inon forged a bond of brotherhood when the world expected them to be enemies. Both have lost family to the conflict. Both have known the bitterness of righteous anger. Yet, they chose a different path. In The Future Is Peace , Sarah and Inon take readers on a transformative weeklong journey across a sacred and bloodstained land. Facing competing narratives, they explore how compassion and unity can pull humanity back from the precipice of blind hatred. Throughout their travels, they have been constantly asked: In the face of so much loss, how can we ever find hope? Their answer is always the same. One cannot find hope. We must create it. This book is a rebuttal to a broken world and a bold challenge to the belief that more violence can ever bring security. Told with unflinching honesty, their story is proof that peace is not a naive dream, but a courageous choice—for reconciliation to heal the wounds of revenge, for partnerships to change a destiny of war, and for empathy to save us from drowning in sorrow. Pairing unapologetic candor and inspirational prose, Sarah and Inon are sending an urgent message that the people have the power to make change. Peace is inevitable. For Palestinians, for Israelis, and for the world that awaits their example, it is not just possible—it is the future.

18

Ghosts of a Holy War - Yardena Schwartz Cover Art

Ghosts of a Holy War

Ghosts of a Holy War The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Yardena Schwartz

An award-winning journalist presents a thoroughly researched examination of the Israel-Palestine conflict, reissued with a new postscript. "[A] compelling story ... If you are going to read one book to help you understand the current Middle East tragedy, this is it." —Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, and author of the New York Times bestseller, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor When a family in Memphis, Tennessee, discovers a box of century-old letters in their attic, a journey begins: not only to learn about the young man who wrote the letters from the holy city of Hebron in British Mandate Palestine, but about the massacre that took his life in 1929. Yardena Schwartz draws from these letters, along with extensive research and wide-ranging interviews of Israelis and Palestinians now living in Hebron, to tell a timely, captivating narrative. By illuminating the echoes of 1929 in Hamas’s massacre of October 7, 2023, Schwartz vividly illustrates how little has changed—and how much of our perspective must change if peace is ever to come to this tortured land and its people, who are destined to share it.This meticulously researched examination of the Israel-Palestine conflict's origins interweaves historical analysis with contemporary insights, providing crucial context for understanding today's Middle East tensions. Perfect for anyone who has read Yossi Klein Halevi, Matti Friedman, or Nathan Thrall, Schwartz's work is a riveting exploration of the complex background of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the ongoing struggle for peace in the region.

19

Days of Love and Rage - Anand Gopal Cover Art

Days of Love and Rage

Days of Love and Rage A Story of Ordinary People Forging a Revolution by Anand Gopal

“This story of ordinary Syrians who fought tyranny is a masterpiece.” — The New York Times Book Review From Pulitzer and National Book Award finalist Anand Gopal, an epic and enthralling account of six Syrians fighting for a better world, in the tradition of classic works by Philip Gourevitch and Katherine Boo. In 2011, in a northern Syrian city, a small group of men and women began a movement that overthrew a brutal dictatorship. For the next eighteen months, many of the citizens of Manbij carried out one of the most remarkable experiments in democracy in modern times. Days of Love and Rage details the powerfully intimate narratives of the men and women who led this struggle, and who experienced the highs of camaraderie and the lows of betrayal. Among them: a pair of best friends torn apart by political polarization, a mother who stands up to male dominance, and a worker who risks everything for the dream of equality. Anand Gopal immerses you in the world of a single city in the throes of revolution, and lays bare the danger that inequality poses to democracy. But this book transcends the particulars of one terrible conflict to tell the broader story of rising authoritarianism in our times. Days of Love and Rage has the force, sweep, and artistry of a great novel, and is ultimately a story of our enduring human need for dignity and hope.

20

Shadows Over Kabul - Hamdullah Mohib & Tam Hussein Cover Art

Shadows Over Kabul

Shadows Over Kabul An Insider's Account of the Fall of the Afghan Republic by Hamdullah Mohib & Tam Hussein

At the time of the Taliban offensive, Hamdullah Mohib was the Afghan National Security Advisor, the closest man to the Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani. It was Mohib who took the decision to leave during the fall of the Afghan republic. Western journalists blamed the Afghan government for the events of 2021. But this personal eyewitness account tells a new story. Written with award-winning journalist, Tam Hussein, the book is based on hours of interviews with Hamdullah Mohib between 2021 and 2024. Mohib shares his personal insights as somebody who was born under the shadow of the Soviet invasion, came to Britain as a child refugee, and scaled the echelons of power in Afghanistan to become Afghan ambassador to Washington and National Security Advisor. Covering Afghanistan's history since 1980, and based on Mohib's personal experiences, the book reveals why the downfall of the republic was the result of Western and Afghan leaders' betrayal.

21

Fall of Civilizations - Paul Cooper Cover Art

Fall of Civilizations

Fall of Civilizations Stories of Greatness and Decline by Paul Cooper

"A treasure trove of myths and terror… Atmospheric as hell… Immersive."―The Times Based on the podcast with over one hundred million downloads, Fall of Civilizations brilliantly explores how a range of ancient societies rose to power and sophistication, and how they tipped over into collapse. Across the centuries, we journey from the great empires of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and Vijayanagara in Asia and Songhai in West Africa; from Byzantium to the Maya, Inca and Aztecs of Central America; from Roman Britain to Rapa Nui. With meticulous research, breathtaking insight and dazzling, empathic storytelling, historian and novelist Paul Cooper evokes the majesty and jeopardy of these ancient civilizations, and asks what it might have felt like for a person alive at the time to witness the end of their world.

22

After the Prophet - Lesley Hazleton Cover Art

After the Prophet

After the Prophet The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam by Lesley Hazleton

In this gripping narrative history, Lesley Hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam. “Fascinating. . . . Lively and engaging. . . . Anyone seeking to understand today’s Middle East can learn from this book."— Seattle Times Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue, and passionate faith. Soon Islam was embroiled in civil war, pitting its founder's controversial wife Aisha against his son-in-law Ali, and shattering Muhammad’s ideal of unity. Combining meticulous research with compelling storytelling, After the Prophet explores the volatile intersection of religion and politics, psychology and culture, and history and current events. It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of the Shia–Sunni split.

23

THE MUQADDIMAH-The Modern English Edition - Ibn Khaldun Cover Art

THE MUQADDIMAH-The Modern English Edition

THE MUQADDIMAH-The Modern English Edition by Ibn Khaldun

The Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun is one of the most influential works in the history of historiography and social sciences, yet its profound insights have often been lost in translation or obscured by dense, outdated language. This modern English edition brings the timeless wisdom of this 14th-century masterpiece to life for today’s readers. Renowned for its deep analysis of human behavior, civilization, and the rise and fall of societies, The Muqaddimah remains as relevant now as it was centuries ago. But understanding it requires more than just a translation — it needs clarity, context, and guidance. This edition was crafted specifically for modern readers who want to engage with the book on their own terms. Every page has been carefully rewritten for clarity and accessibility without losing the essence of Ibn Khaldun’s original vision. This is more than just a book — it's a gateway to one of the greatest intellectual achievements of the medieval world. Whether you're a student, a history enthusiast, or a lifelong learner, this version provides the tools to fully appreciate the depth of the text. Included in this edition are six key features designed to enhance your reading experience: an original introduction that sets the historical and cultural context, a detailed author bio that sheds light on Ibn Khaldun’s life and legacy, a student-friendly character guide that simplifies complex figures, a chronological timeline that helps you follow the narrative flow, a literary analysis that unpacks the themes and structure, and 20+ discussion questions to spark thoughtful conversations. This is the definitive way to explore The Muqaddimah — without the barriers of archaic language or lack of guidance. If you're ready to dive into one of the most important works of historical and philosophical thought, this is the edition you’ve been waiting for. Start your journey today and discover why The Muqaddimah still matters.

24

The Guardians' Republic - E.B Cohen Cover Art

The Guardians' Republic

The Guardians' Republic by E.B Cohen

Three thousand years of Persian power, faith, and survival — in one definitive volume. For more than four decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has defied easy explanation. It is at once an ancient civilization and a revolutionary theocracy, a sophisticated society and a security state, a regional superpower and a regime at war with its own people. To understand it, you have to understand everything that came before. The Guardians' Republic tells the whole story — arguably the longest continuous political history on earth — in a single, gripping narrative that runs from Cyrus the Great to the violent, uncertain present. Inside, you will discover: • How the empire of Cyrus freed the Jews and created a model of tolerant rule still invoked today • Why Iran became Shia — and how one decision in 1501 set it apart from every neighbor since • The 1953 coup, the fall of the Shah, and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini • How the theocracy actually works — the Supreme Leader, the Revolutionary Guard, the hidden economy, the prisons • The shadow empire of proxies from Hezbollah to the Houthis — how it was built, and how it was broken • The nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz, and the long confrontation with Israel and the United States • The women, the young, and the protesters who have refused to be silenced • The cascade of blows since 2024 — the decapitation of Hezbollah, the fall of Assad, the 12-Day War, and the leadership crisis that followed Sober, sourced, and sweeping, this is the definitive popular history of how Iran became what it is — and what may come next. Perfect for readers of Kim Ghattas's Black Wave, Ray Takeyh's Guardians of the Revolution, and Michael Axworthy's A History of Iran — and for anyone seeking to understand the Middle East's most consequential, and most misunderstood, nation. The country that refuses to be understood. Finally explained.

25

The Conquest of the Nabataeans and the Lost City of Petra - Cornelius McNamara Cover Art

The Conquest of the Nabataeans and the Lost City of Petra

The Conquest of the Nabataeans and the Lost City of Petra by Cornelius McNamara

The Conquest of the Nabataeans and the Lost City of Petra For five centuries, the Nabataean Kingdom stood at the crossroads of the ancient world, controlling the flow of frankincense, myrrh, and spice from the highlands of Arabia Felix to the altars and markets of Rome, Egypt, and the Mediterranean world. From their rose-red capital at Petra, a city carved from living sandstone in the heart of one of the earth's most unforgiving deserts, the Nabataeans built a commercial empire of extraordinary sophistication, sustained not by military conquest but by hydraulic ingenuity, geographic intelligence, and diplomatic mastery. They gave the world the ancestor of the Arabic alphabet, engineered water systems that modern agronomists study as models for sustainable desert agriculture, and negotiated their independence against the greatest empire the Western world had ever produced with a skill that kept the legions at bay for a century and a half. When Rome finally came for them in 106 CE, the official record declared it a peaceful handover. The ballista stones in the ruins of their greatest temple tell a different story. Drawing on the latest archaeology, epigraphy, and satellite remote sensing, The Desert Kingdom recovers the full, contested, astonishing history of the Nabataeans, the people history forgot and the desert refused to erase.

26

All the Shah's Men - Stephen Kinzer Cover Art

All the Shah's Men

All the Shah's Men An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer

With a thrilling narrative that sheds much light on recent events, this national bestseller brings to life the 1953 CIA coup in Iran that ousted the country’s elected prime minister, ushered in a quarter-century of brutal rule under the Shah, and stimulated the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism in the Middle East. Selected as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and The Economist , it now features a new preface by the author on the folly of attacking Iran.

27

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.

28

Iran - Abbas Amanat Cover Art

Iran

Iran A Modern History by Abbas Amanat

A masterfully researched and compelling history of Iran from 1501 to 2009 This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.   Abbas Amanat combines chronological and thematic approaches, exploring events with lasting implications for modern Iran and the world. Drawing on diverse historical scholarship and emphasizing the twentieth century, he addresses debates about Iran’s culture and politics. Political history is the driving narrative force, given impetus by Amanat's decades of research and study. He layers the book with discussions of literature, music, and the arts; ideology and religion; economy and society; and cultural identity and heritage.

29

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.

30

The Lion House - Christopher de Bellaigue Cover Art

The Lion House

The Lion House The Coming of a King by Christopher de Bellaigue

“Christopher de Bellaigue has a magic talent for writing history. It is as if we are there as the era of Suleyman the Magnificent unfolds.” —Orhan Pamuk, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Narrated through the eyes of the intimates of Suleyman the Magnificent, the sixteenth-century sultan of the Ottoman Empire, The Lion House animates with stunning immediacy the fears and stratagems of those brought into orbit around him: the Greek slave who becomes his Grand Vizier, the Venetian jewel dealer who acts as his go-between, the Russian consort who becomes his most beloved wife. Within a decade and a half, Suleyman held dominion over twenty-five million souls, from Baghdad to the walls of Vienna, and with the help of his brilliant pirate commander, Barbarossa, placed more Christians than ever before or since under Muslim rule. And yet the real drama takes place in close-up: in small rooms and whispered conversations, behind the curtain of power, where the sultan sleeps head-to-toe with his best friend and eats from wooden spoons with his baby boy. In The Lion House , Christopher de Bellaigue tells the story not just of rival superpowers in an existential duel, nor of one of the most consequential lives in human history, but of what it means to live in a time when a few men get to decide the fate of the world.

31

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

32

مقدمة ابن خلدون - ABDU BUTAYLI Cover Art

مقدمة ابن خلدون

مقدمة ابن خلدون by ABDU BUTAYLI

المقدمة هو كتاب ألفه ابن خلدون سنة 1377م كمقدمة لمؤلفه الضخم الموسوم كتاب العبر (الاسم الكامل للكتاب هو كتاب العبر، وديوان المبتدأ والخبر في أيام العرب والعجم والبربر، ومن عاصرهم من ذوي السلطان الأكبر). وقد اعتبرت المقدمة لاحقاً مؤلفاً منفصلا ذي طابع موسوعي إذ يتناول فيه جميع ميادين المعرفة من الشريعة والتاريخ والجغرافيا والاقتصاد والعمران والاجتماع والسياسة والطب. وقد تناول فيه أحوال البشر واختلافات طبائعهم والبيئة وأثرها في الإنسان. كما تناول بالدراسة تطور الأمم والشعوب ونشوء الدولة وأسباب انهيارها مركزاً في تفسير ذلك على مفهوم العصبية. بهذا الكتاب سبق ابن خلدون غيره من المفكرين إلى العديد من الآراء والأفكار حتى اعتبر مؤسسا لعلم الاجتماع، سابقاً بذلك الفيلسوف الفرنسي أوغست كونت

33

A History of Modern Iran: Revised and updated - Ervand Abrahamian Cover Art

A History of Modern Iran: Revised and updated

A History of Modern Iran: Revised and updated by Ervand Abrahamian

In a radical reappraisal of Iran's modern history, Ervand Abrahamian traces the country's traumatic journey from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, through the discovery of oil, imperial interventions, the rule of the Pahlavis, and the birth of the Islamic Republic. The first edition was named the Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2009. This second edition brings the narrative up to date, with the Green uprisings of 2009, the second Ahmadinejad administration, the election of Rouhani, and the Iran nuclear deal. Ervand Abrahamian, who is one of the most distinguished historians writing on Iran today, is a compassionate expositor, and at the heart of the book is the people of Iran, who have endured and survived a century of war and revolution.

34

The New Middle East - James L. Gelvin Cover Art

The New Middle East

The New Middle East What Everyone Needs to Know® by James L. Gelvin

In the second edition of The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know, renowned Middle East scholar James L. Gelvin explains how in the aftermath of the collapse of the USSR, the American invasion of Iraq, and the Arab uprisings of 2010-11, a new Middle East has emerged. Syria, Libya, and Yemen have become "crisis states," where warlords vie against governments and each other. The economies of Iran, Turkey, and Lebanon, weakened by corruption, sanctions, and neoliberal economic policies, have imploded. Some states have doubled-down on repression, while others intervene in the internal affairs of their neighbors with impunity. The revised and expanded edition explores these hallmarks of the New Middle East, along with the end of American hegemony in the region, the expansion of "conflict zones," the continued centrality of the Saudi-Iranian competition, and the ramifications of the breakdown of the Israel-Palestine peace process. It also highlights the crisis of human security brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, bad governance, stagnant economies, poor healthcare and educational delivery systems, climate change, food and water insecurity, population growth and imbalance, and the unprecedented displacement of populations. In a concise question-and-answer format, Gelvin outlines the social, political, and economic contours of the New Middle East, illuminating the current crisis in the region and exploring how it is likely to evolve in the decades to come.

35

Liberation Square - Ashraf Khalil Cover Art

Liberation Square

Liberation Square Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation by Ashraf Khalil

A definitive, absorbing account of the Egyptian revolution, written by a Cairo-based Egyptian-American reporter for Foreign Policy and The Times (London), who witnessed firsthand Mubarak's demise and the country's efforts to build a democracy In early 2011, the world's attention was riveted on Cairo, where after three decades of supremacy, Hosni Mubarak was driven from power. It was a revolution as swift as it was explosive. For eighteen days, anger, defiance, and resurgent national pride reigned in the streets---protestors of all ages struck back against police and state security, united toward the common goal of liberation. But the revolution was more than a spontaneous uprising. It was the end result of years of mounting tension, brought on by a state that shamelessly abused its authority, rigging elections, silencing opposition, and violently attacking its citizens. When revolution bloomed in the region in January 2011, Egypt was a country whose patience had expired---with a people suddenly primed for liberation. As a journalist based in Cairo, Ashraf Khalil was an eyewitness to the perfect storm that brought down Mubarak and his regime. Khalil was subjected to tear gas alongside protestors in Tahrir Square, barely escaped an enraged mob, and witnessed the day-to-day developments from the frontlines. From the halls of power to the back alleys of Cairo, he offers a one-of-a-kind look at a nation in the throes of an uprising. Liberation Square is a revealing and dramatic look at the revolution that transformed the modern history of one of the world's oldest civilizations.

36

The First Barrel of Fortune - Dr. Salwa Al-Nuaimi Cover Art

The First Barrel of Fortune

The First Barrel of Fortune by Dr. Salwa Al-Nuaimi

In the span of one generation, the nation witnessed the rapid modernisation, following the discovery of oil, from a scattered tribal land with a primitive economic structure to the regional and global economic powerhouse the UAE became by the late twentieth century. Through interviews from those who steered and experienced the changes, The First Barrel of Fortune explores the development of not only the economy but also the changes on Emirati society's three pillars – the tribe, Islam and the family. "He who does not know his past cannot make the best of his present and future, for it is from the past that we learn." – Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

37

Quero estar acordado quando morrer - Atef Abu Saif Cover Art

Quero estar acordado quando morrer

Quero estar acordado quando morrer diário do genocídio em Gaza by Atef Abu Saif

Além de escritor, Atef Abu Saif foi ministro da Cultura da Autoridade Nacional Palestina. Mora em Ramallah, na Cisjordânia, e estava em Gaza cumprindo uma agenda de trabalho quando grupos da resistência armada palestina realizaram uma série de ataques ao território israelense, prontamente respondidos por Israel com todo seu poderio militar. Encurralado na estreita faixa territorial sob intenso bombardeio junto com seu filho, parentes e outros 2,3 milhões de compatriotas, Atef começou a escrever — e escreveu todos os dias até que conseguiu sair de Gaza, quase três meses depois. Quero estar acordado quando morrer  é resultado desse diário do genocídio, publicado simultaneamente por editoras de dez países. *** Há um leve consolo em ouvir o som de um foguete: você sabe que ele não vai te atingir. Você não é o alvo. Essa é uma lição que todos os moradores de Gaza aprendem. Quando você é o alvo de um foguete, você não ouve sua chegada. Só existe a morte. Você simplesmente morre. E, ainda assim, acho que vejo a morte nos meus sonhos, e ela se demora, se anuncia. Ouço seus passos. Vejo seus dentes. E nada do que a gente aprende enquanto pessoas, enquanto espécie, realmente nos ajuda em momentos como esse. Tenho que parar, por um momento, para deixar um pastor cruzar a rua com seu rebanho. Centenas de ovelhas e cabras passam por mim. Todas parecem cansadas. Talvez não tenham sido alimentadas por dias. Fico sabendo que o pastor está na rua por ter sido forçado a evacuar seu estábulo. Ele me confirma que não sabe onde esconder os animais, então os guia pelas ruas. "E de noite?", pergunto. "Eu durmo onde estou, e eles dormem do meu lado." — Atef Abu Saif, trecho do livro

38

Stolen Revolution - Yeganeh Torbati & Bozorgmehr Sharafedin Cover Art

Stolen Revolution

Stolen Revolution Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran by Yeganeh Torbati & Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

A moving and harrowing portrait of the lives of Iranians across five decades, tracing the promise of the 1979 Iranian revolution, its betrayal by forces of autocracy, and a people’s undying spirit of resistance "One of the most perceptive books on modern Iran in years." — The New York Times Book Review "The best book to understand Iran today. . . . impossible to put down." —EDWARD FISHMAN, author of Chokepoints "A masterwork of reporting. . . . a kind of skeleton key for understanding the present moment." —JONATHAN BLITZER, author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here In 1979, a revolution in Iran swept aside a monarchy, fueled by the Iranian people’s dreams of social justice and political freedom. But in the years that followed, the movement’s leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, and his acolytes instead built a system that served their narrow faction and worsened beyond imagination the brutality and corruption that had existed under the previous government. In Stolen Revolution, award-winning journalists Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin tell the entwined stories of six Iranians who, together, have lived the arc of modern Iranian history in all its bitter twists and enduring hopes. We meet Mehdi Karroubi, a devotee of Khomeini, who rose to the heights of power before being cast out of the inner circle. Hila Sedighi, a young activist, gave voice through her poetry to her peers’ hopes and shattered dreams. Amir Moghadam, an ambitious government bureaucrat, witnessed corruption and graft on a scale that impelled him to take enormous risks to expose the truth. Said Rahmani returned to Iran to spark a start-up boom in his native country and encountered a ruthless security state. And Rozhin Yousefzadeh and Kosar Eftekhari, both born in the 1990s, joined a mass movement that confronted a ferocious state apparatus: the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. All have paid an enormous price for resisting the government’s strangling rule. Today, Iran is caught between crisis and hope. In this vivid and unforgettable narrative, Stolen Revolution centers ordinary Iranians and their destiny, and conveys a gutting view of life in a modern authoritarian state.

39

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

A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book • Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker • Nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction • Finalist for the PEN America Literary Award “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 news-breaking investigation into 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. Calling on unpublished and underreported sources, interviews with surviving participants, and Saddam’s own transcripts and audio files, Steve 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 exposes 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.

40

The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine - Michael Scott-Baumann Cover Art

The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine

The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace 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. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.

41

Countercoup: The Struggle for the Control of Iran - Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. Cover Art

Countercoup: The Struggle for the Control of Iran

Countercoup: The Struggle for the Control of Iran by Kermit Roosevelt, Jr.

“With the publication of this exciting story, told well and in detail, there is little mystery left about the overthrow of Mohammed Mossadeq in 1953. Not just the CIA but the Shah himself, key Iranians, and the support the Shah then had in the armed forces and the populace made success possible. At the center of planning (from 1951) and operations was Kermit Roosevelt, acting with the backing of the highest officials of the U.S. and the British governments. Although the Americans assumed that Mossadeq had become an ally or instrument of the Russians, the book provides no new evidence on the Soviet role.” — Foreign Affairs “Roosevelt recounts his previous experiences in Iran with the OSS, and then runs through the details of the coup with a heavy concentration on individual personalities — consistently depicting Mossadegh and his allies as morally or physically weak, while pro-Shah types are invariably strong... Roosevelt and his operatives fanned the flames of the pro-Shah forces while coordinating the military-backed dismissal of Mossadegh. The moral is that if the CIA is going to overthrow a government, it should make sure of the support of the population and — oh yes, the military.” — Kirkus “Roosevelt is surprisingly candid in his effort to recreate the feel of the times, the dialogue of the participants, the sequence of events, and the ease with which Great Powers, through their agents, could control events. It is a circus atmosphere in which the author himself is at the center of attention and power.” — Review of Middle East Studies “This book is so outrageous in so many ways that there is real danger that it will be dismissed. It should not be. Miles Copeland’s Game of Nations and Wilbur Crane Eveland’s Ropes of Sand are far less outrageous, but they are of the same genre: descriptions of major American interventions carried out by adventurers with barely a surface comprehension of the complex societies with which they were playing. To be sure, the three authors have a grossly exaggerated sense of self-importance, and actual American policy was surely very different from their descriptions. But there is no reason to question the centrality of their roles, and it is most enlightening to see the reality of American policy as they remember it. American policy is the product of a complex process which the academic analyst must attempt to describe. What Roosevelt, Copeland, and Eveland are telling us is that individual adventurism at the near top was an important aspect of that process.” — Iranian Studies “As a first book totally devoted to the 1953 coup... Countercoup is a welcome addition. With all of its limitations and Roosevelt’s personal biases, this book sheds some light on this dark area in the history of Iran.” — Journal of Political & Military Sociology

42

The Great Arab Conquests - Hugh Kennedy Cover Art

The Great Arab Conquests

The Great Arab Conquests How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In by Hugh Kennedy

This history of Arabia's overpowering cultural expansion across the globe is "a brisk account of Islam's momentous first century" ( New York Times ). Today's Arab world was created at breathtaking speed. In just over one hundred years following the death of Mohammed in 632, Arabs had subjugated a territory with an east-west expanse greater than the Roman Empire, and they did it in about one-half the time. By the mid-eighth century, Arab armies had conquered the thousand-year-old Persian Empire, reduced the Byzantine Empire to little more than a city-state based around Constantinople, and destroyed the Visigoth kingdom of Spain. The cultural and linguistic effects of this early Islamic expansion reverberate today. The Great Arab Conquests is the first popular English-language account in many years of this astonishing remaking of the political and religious map of the world. Hugh Kennedy's sweeping narrative reveals how the Arab armies conquered almost everything in their path, and brings to light the unique characteristics of Islamic rule. One of the few academic historians with a genuine talent for storytelling, Kennedy offers a compelling mix of larger-than-life characters, fierce battles, and the great clash of civilizations and religions. "States historical truths most nonexperts, general readers, and politicians ignore." — Philadelphia Inquirer "An eminently readable history of one of the most significant periods in world history." — Charleston Post and Courier "History at its most vivid and enthralling. . . . [A] truly magnificent achievement." — New Statesman

43

Iran–Iraq War - Anthony Tucker-Jones Cover Art

Iran–Iraq War

Iran–Iraq War The Lion of Babylon, 1980–1988 by Anthony Tucker-Jones

The dramatic story of the brutal eight-year war between these rival powers in the 1980s, with numerous photos included.   The bloody eight-year Iran-Iraq war is now almost forgotten, overshadowed by the subsequent Gulf War and Iraq War. It is best remembered for the unique so-called Tanker War, which threatened to strangle the world's oil supplies.   At the time, defense analyst Anthony Tucker-Jones wrote extensively on the war and now brings his expertise to bear with this account of a conflict fueled by festering regional rivalries, the Cold War, and the emerging threat posed by militant Shia Islam. Fought on land, at sea, and in the air using some of the most modern weapons money could buy, Western-backed Saddam Hussein's Sunni Iraq and Shia Iran under the ayatollahs fought themselves to a standstill.   Once Saddam's armored blitzkrieg had been halted and Iran's human-wave counterattacks fought off, it became a war of attrition with major battles fought for the possession of Khorramshahr and Basra. Both sides resorted to chemical weapons and bombarded each other with missiles. When the war finally spilled over into the waters of the Gulf, it sparked open Western intervention. This is the riveting story of this long and devastating conflict, accompanied by extensive photos.

44

Ungrounding - Eyal Weizman Cover Art

Ungrounding

Ungrounding The Architecture of Genocide by Eyal Weizman

“This impressive exposé from Weizman, founder of human rights investigative group Forensic Architecture, outlines how Israel uses environmental destruction as a tool of 'ethnic cleansing' against Palestinians.” —Publisher's Weekly (starred review) “Ungrounding is a work of profound moral clarity and scientific precision, based on years of tireless collaboration and advocacy. Urgent and essential reading.” —David Wengrow, co-author of New York Times -bestselling The Dawn of Everything From an acclaimed architect and investigator, a devastating, meticulous accounting of Israel’s destruction of Gaza and crimes against its people Eyal Weizman is one of the world’s leading experts on the relationship between violence, conflict, and the built and natural environment. As director of the organization Forensic Architecture, he and his team of interdisciplinary researchers have spent decades investigating and documenting acts of war and human rights violations around the world, including extensive work in Weizman's native Israel and Palestine. Since 2023, the group’s efforts have focused on producing evidence for the International Court of Justice’s case against Israel. In this revelatory new project, Weizman draws on that original and extraordinarily comprehensive research to bring us on an eye-opening journey through the “deep cartography” of the area extending from Gaza’s subterranean tunnels through to its militarized topography, settlements, and barriers. He catalogs, in unflinching and exacting detail, the Israeli campaigns of violence and displacement that have reshaped the region in an effort to make Gaza and its surrounding areas unlivable for the Palestinian people. Taking us through the broader geographical and historical context, from the Nakba in 1948 to the present day, Ungrounding establishes that architectural and territorial analysis is key to understanding the relationship between colonizer and colonized — and how Israel’s actions have escalated into violence so extreme and so far-reaching as to, Weizman argues, meet the definition of genocide. Deeply informative and profoundly affecting in its scope and precision, Ungrounding is an essential document of atrocity in our time.

45

A History of the Modern Middle East - William L Cleveland & Martin Bunton Cover Art

A History of the Modern Middle East

A History of the Modern Middle East by William L Cleveland & Martin Bunton

A History of the Modern Middle East examines the profound and often dramatic transformations of the region in the past two centuries, from the Ottoman and Egyptian reforms, through the challenge of Western imperialism, to the impact of US foreign policies. Built around a framework of political history, while also carefully integrating social, cultural, and economic developments, this expertly crafted account provides readers with the most comprehensive, balanced, and penetrating analysis of the modern Middle East. The seventh edition has been substantially revised to reflect the significance of the 2011 Arab Uprisings as a major turning point in the modern history of the region. A new chapter considers how regional powers, especially in the Gulf, are now asserting themselves more forcefully, seeking to push their own interests while Russia and China contest America’s position. Including an annotated and updated bibliography that offers guidance to readers seeking more in-depth information and incorporating an online companion website featuring quizzes, timelines, and instructor resources, A History of the Modern Middle East remains the quintessential text for courses on Middle Eastern history.

46

Six Days - Jeremy Bowen Cover Art

Six Days

Six Days How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East by Jeremy Bowen

A "fast-paced . . . hour-by-hour narrative" of the 1967 war: "the most gripping military tale since the fall of France in the Second World War" ( Daily Telegraph) . The ongoing tensions between Israel and Palestine are a complex and bloody legacy, all stemming from six days of war in 1967. In this rigorous and original piece of modern history, Jeremy Bowen not only sheds new light on one of the key conflicts of the twentieth century, but also explains much about the Middle East and the problems it faces today. After the state of Israel emerged from war in 1948, both sides knew more battles were coming. In June of 1967, years of slow-burning tension exploded. In six extraordinary days, Israel destroyed the armed forces of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. But far from bringing peace, their stunning victory turned into a curse. From the initial battle order issued to the Israeli air force on June 5, 1967, to the final ceasefire on the evening of Saturday the 10th, the Six-Day War was a riveting human drama. Building on original research and his own experience as a Middle East Correspondent, Bowen presents a compelling new history of the conflict. Interweaving testimonies of combatants from all sides, Six Days vividly recreates the bullying and brincksmanship that led four nations to war.

47

The Missing Peace - Dennis Ross Cover Art

The Missing Peace

The Missing Peace The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace by Dennis Ross

"The definitive and gripping account of the sometimes exhilarating, often tortured twists and turns in the Middle East peace process, viewed from the front row by one of its major players."--Bill Clinton The Missing Peace , published to great acclaim last year, is the most candid inside account of the Middle East peace process ever written. Dennis Ross, the chief Middle East peace negotiator in the presidential administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, is that rare figure who is respected by all parties: Democrats and Republicans, Palestinians and Israelis, presidents and people on the street in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Washington, D.C. Ross recounts the peace process in detail from 1988 to the breakdown of talks in early 2001 that prompted the so-called second Intifada-and takes account of recent developments in a new afterword written for this edition. It's all here: Camp David, Oslo, Geneva, Egypt, and other summits; the assassination of Yitzak Rabin; the rise and fall of Benjamin Netanyahu; the very different characters and strategies of Rabin, Yasir Arafat, and Bill Clinton; and the first steps of the Palestinian Authority. For the first time, the backroom negotiations, the dramatic and often secretive nature of the process, and the reasons for its faltering are on display for all to see. The Missing Peace explains, as no other book has, why Middle East peace remains so elusive.

48

In the Belly of the Whale - Ruth Margalit Cover Art

In the Belly of the Whale

In the Belly of the Whale Portraits from a Fractured Israel by Ruth Margalit

“Margalit is one of those rare, dogged reporters who renders real lives with the subtle beauty and pain of fiction. Her portrait of Israeli society is intimate, humane, and haunting. Future generations must read this book to understand the time in which we lived.”  — Evan Osnos, author of The Haves and Have-Yachts For more than a decade, Ruth Margalit has been chronicling life in contemporary Israeli for The New Yorker and the New York Times magazine as the country has embraced right-wing extremism under Benjamin Netanyahu. Here she collects 11 of her profiles of wide-ranging figures from across society, returning to consider and update them from her current reality as a writer and mother living in Tel Aviv at a time of war. To live in Israel today, Margalit writes, is to be either a whale or a Jonah—trying to make do in the belly of the whale. Her profiles of Israelis from all strata of society represent both: outsiders trying to make a life in a system designed against them, and insiders hatching plans and amassing power all while riding the twin waves of populism and jingoism. Richly reported and animated by a novelist’s eye for detail and drama, Margalit’s writing is distinguished by its political acuity and narrative sweep. Kaleidoscopic in scope and poignant in its portrait of a country in turmoil, In the Belly of the Whale traces an unforgettable journey through present-day Israel, illuminating realities that can seem inscrutable even to the keenest observers.

49

Dreams of Empire - Carter Vaughn Findley Cover Art

Dreams of Empire

Dreams of Empire A History of the Ottomans by Carter Vaughn Findley

A new, comprehensive history of the Ottoman Empire from its beginnings in 1300 to its dissolution in 1922 written by North America's leading expert in the field. The Ottoman Empire was one of the mightiest empires in world history, ruling parts of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa for more than six hundred years. At its height in the sixteenth century, it was more formidable militarily, better financed, more highly centralized, and more efficiently ruled than any rival power. For centuries, the sultans who governed it were the most powerful and prestigious "defenders of Islam." At the same time, this Islamic empire accommodated religious diversity in a way Europe's Christian powers would not. Encompassing politics and war, economics and society, culture and religion, Dreams of Empire shows how across the centuries, the Ottoman state evolved from a ministate in the northwest corner of Anatolia (the Asian part of today's Turkish republic) to a world empire sovereign over lands stretching from Hungary to Iraq and Algeria. Subsequently, it experienced centuries of adversity, then recovery, then finally--although both diminished in size and buffeted by separatist nationalism in the Balkans and European imperialism in Asia and North Africa--a remarkable surge of reformist dynamism to fight for its survival. This reformist dynamism enabled the Turkish people to survive near destruction in World War I and re-emerge in the independent Turkish Republic. In addition to examining the state's central role in maintaining the empire, Carter Findley explores the prodigiously diverse communities residing in its sprawling lands, including nomadic tribes, settled agrarian communities, and religious groups of all sizes and types, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Charismatic Sufis, warriors for Islam, merchants in Cairo, compulsive travelers, a would-be Jewish messiah, revolutionaries, and pioneering women novelists all inhabit these pages. Incorporating a wealth of scholarship, primary sources, maps, and plentiful illustrations in both color and black and white, Dreams of Empire masterfully depicts both great issues and human stories of women and men whose deeds and misdeeds helped shape the epic history of this long-lasting, cosmopolitan empire.

50

To See In the Dark - Nicholas Mirzoeff Cover Art

To See In the Dark

To See In the Dark Palestine and Visual Activism Since October 7 by Nicholas Mirzoeff

"Timely and clearly written, To See In the Dark is a manifesto to solidarity"  Stephen Sheehi, co-author of  Psychoanalysis Under Occupation "Mirzoeff sharply urges us to divest from a mere spectatorship to a genocide, and insists that we see in relation, in solidarity and as an anti-colonial collective" Simone Browne, author of  Dark Matters "Mirzoeff argues incisively for a return to ways of seeing that are grounded in solidarity and resistance" Candice Breitz, video and photography artist To see Palestine is to see the world. Since October 7th 2023, the forces of racial capitalism and settler colonialism have become all too visible in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.  In  To See In the Dark , Nicholas Mirzoeff explores how images, and especially video, viewed outside Palestine enabled a dramatic switch in public opinion, leading to a global uprising against the genocide. In this groundbreaking analysis, he connects the personal and the political through his own anti-Zionist Jewishness and its histories of violence.  The result is a new collective and anti-colonial way of seeing, intersecting online and embodied experience. Nicholas Mirzoeff is a pioneering figure in the field of visual culture and has written extensively on Jewishness and Palestine. His books include  How To See The World , and  The Right to Look . He has written for the  Guardian  and  The Nation . 

Books

Book Charts

Apple Books Best Sellers

Fiction Ebook Best Sellers

Nonfiction Ebook Best Sellers

iTunes Audiobook Charts

Audiobook Best Sellers

iTunes Halloween Related Charts

iTunes Music Charts

Most Popular Music Charts

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