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Books on the Middle East

Cover art for THE OIL KINGS
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 9, 2011
THE OIL KINGS: HOW THE U.S., IRAN, AND SAUDI ARABIA CHANGED THE BALANCE OF POWER IN THE MIDDLE EAST
by Andrew Scott Cooper
"A revelatory, impressive debut."
How America's unappeasable thirst for cheap oil led to foreign-policy bungling in the Persian Gulf. Read full book review >
Cover art for ROCK THE CASBAH
NONFICTION
Released: July 19, 2011
ROCK THE CASBAH: RAGE AND REBELLION ACROSS THE ISLAMIC WORLD
by Robin Wright
"More journalism than deep analysis, the book paints a vivid portrait of dramatic changes in the Islamic world that may or may not end well."
In one of the first of a flood of books that will inevitably follow Osama bin Laden's death and the Middle East uprisings, Wright (Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East, 2008, etc.) delivers the stirring news that jihadism is fading, and Arab nations are finally entering the modern world. Read full book review >
Cover art for KING'S COUNSEL
NONFICTION
Released: May 19, 2011
KING'S COUNSEL: A MEMOIR OF WAR, ESPIONAGE, AND DIPLOMACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
by Jack O'Connell, Vernon Loeb
"A readable, potentially incendiary account that assumes a certain amount of prior knowledge about Middle East diplomacy, yet is coherent enough for novice readers to follow."
Insights about failed diplomacy in the Middle East by an American agent with a unique perspective. Read full book review >
Cover art for A PRIVILEGE TO DIE
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 28, 2010
A PRIVILEGE TO DIE: INSIDE HEZBOLLAH’S LEGIONS AND THEIR ENDLESS WAR AGAINST ISRAEL
by Thanassis Cambanis
"Hezbollah is a formidable presence that cannot be ignored, and Cambanis's book, a well-balanced blend of journalism, history and geopolitical primer, is a significant aid to understanding it."
If there's anything to unite the Arab world, it's opposition to Israel. If there's a group to do that unifying, writers former Boston Globe Middle East bureau chief Cambanis, it's the much-feared Hezbollah, the Party of God. Read full book review >
Cover art for RESET
NONFICTION
Released: June 8, 2010
RESET: IRAN, TURKEY, AND AMERICA’S FUTURE
by Stephen Kinzer
"An imaginative solution to the Middle-East stalemate, though perhaps too imaginative for most American readers."
An original, unsettling critique of America's many blunders in the Middle East. Read full book review >
Cover art for CROSSING MANDELBAUM GATE
NONFICTION
Released: April 27, 2010
CROSSING MANDELBAUM GATE: COMING OF AGE BETWEEN THE ARABS AND ISRAELIS, 1956-1978
by Kai Bird
"If one person's story can shed light on a larger history, Bird's memoir carries many excellent lessons."
A wise, intimate memoir about growing up the son of an American foreign-service officer in the Middle East, from Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Bird (co-author, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 2005, etc.). Read full book review >