An elucidating account of the conditions that led to, and subsequently shaped the Iraq war. This book casts a light on both CIA intrigue in the Middle East and Hussein's own political motiva... read more
The C10th synthesis of Greek thought in Central Asi. Starr's magnificent book is a cultural and intellectual history of the Islamic Enlightenment and its two chief proponents - Ibn Sina and ... read more
The moral philosopher on the self-perpetuating violence of Israel and Palestine and the psychology of conflict. This has been hailed by voices from every side.
The labours of Hercules are as nothing to those of archeo-botanists... tamarisk, red bryony, poplar etc and their role in traditional medicine - based on cuneiform inscriptions and intimate ... read more
In a particularly elegant diplomatic gesture, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent an elephant to Aachen in 802 AD. This fresh perspective draws on many Arabic sources.
McCullin has travelled 5,000 miles in Turkey with the rambunctious and knowledgeable Rogerson as his cicerone. The result is this truly magnificent book of photographs, beautifully produced ... read more
The great historian of late antiquity mixes the personal with the scholarly in telling the story of his life and work. Engagement with the non-European world has been intrinsic to his work.
A compelling account of the world's first empire, drawing extensively on recent discoveries in the field with the use of new archaeological techniques.
The long shadow of Ottoman rule: Mestyan argues that new local polities were based on recalibrated Ottoman structures rather than on European colonialism (with the exception of Palestine).
Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt was the French archaeologist who, in the 1960s, faced down both de Gaulle and Nasser to dismantle and move a dozen temples - including the vast Abu Simbel - t... read more
The author fled Iraq with his family to Israel in 1950: this personal narrative of emigration also contends with the repercussions of Zionism for an Arab-Jew.
A sequence of essays about the Treaty that addressed the new Turkish state and the Middle East. At Versailles, before the rise of Ataturk, the West thought such matters had less claim on the... read more
Powerful tale of espionage and love in the early years of the Syrian war. By a former CIA agent, this was published in 2021 in the US and only now in the UK, propelled by word of mouth.
Looks at three groups of wandering herders in three very different regions - the Central Sahara, the Arabian Gulf and the Central Eurasian steppes. Many photographs.
From the Persian sack in 614AD to the end of the Crusaders. Hosler argues that despite horrific acts of violence, the medieval period is also one of tolerance, when the city's conquerors oft... read more
In one generation, the Mongols reshaped the balance of world power, aided by the internecine struggles of the Byzantines, Seljuks, Crusaders and others.
The long struggle for Kurdish identity is poured into these twelve specially commissioned short stories in which the authors conjure several possible futures.